Trash

Trash

by

Andy Mulligan

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Trash makes teaching easy.
A 33-year-old man who is killed by the police during an interrogation just before the start of the story. Although José Angelico dies before the novel’s action, he is central to the plot. José Angelico was adopted by Dante Jerome, the son of Gabriel Olondriz, a man who was imprisoned decades ago for attempting to expose a corrupt politician named Senator Zapanta. José Angelico—whose wife and son died—works as Senator Zapanta’s servant to pay for his young daughter, Pia Dante, to attend school in another town. José Angelico devises an elaborate plan to steal Senator Zapanta’s fortune so that he can return it to the poor. Right before José Angelico is caught, he throws a bag in the trash with clues to the location of the hidden fortune, which three young scavengers named Raphael, Gardo, and Rat discover. The boys successfully find the fortune, save Pia Dante, and honor José Angelico’s wishes by distributing the fortune among the city’s poorest residents. The three boys feel a great deal of solidarity with José Angelico and his cause, and they often feel as if he is supporting them from beyond the grave.

José Angelico Quotes in Trash

The Trash quotes below are all either spoken by José Angelico or refer to José Angelico . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Childhood, Poverty, and Injustice Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Chapter 4 Quotes

Trash is often wet, and the juices are always running. Maybe the ground here was a bit lower, I don’t know—but it was always muddy […] I got down low with the candle, trying not to breathe too deep because of the stink […] It might seem crazy asking a kid if you can come into his hole, but this hole was about the only thing Rat had, apart from what he wore. I would not have lived there – anywhere would have been better.

Related Characters: Raphael Fernández (speaker), Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, José Angelico
Related Symbols: Trash
Page Number: 25
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Chapter 2 Quotes

It sounds crazy, but there was some part of me sure I’d never found it, and some other part of me begging me not to give up—maybe for José Angelico, because we knew more about him now.

Related Characters: Raphael Fernández (speaker), Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, José Angelico , Tired man
Related Symbols: Trash
Page Number: 69
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Chapter 5 Quotes

What matters is that forty years ago I came upon information that Senator Zapanta had spirited away thirty million dollars of international aid money […] But no schools or hospitals were ever built, and the city stayed poor.

Related Characters: Olivia Weston (Sister Olivia) (speaker), Gabriel Olondriz (speaker), Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, Senor Zapanta (vice-president) , José Angelico
Page Number: 104
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Chapter 4 Quotes

Once again, the trash boys were ahead of the trash police.

Related Characters: Raphael Fernández (speaker), Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, Senor Zapanta (vice-president) , José Angelico , Gabriel Olondriz, Marco
Related Symbols: Trash
Page Number: 175
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Chapter 7 Quotes

What was ten million dollars doing in your house, sir?

Related Characters: Mohun (speaker), Raphael Fernández, Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, Senor Zapanta (vice-president) , José Angelico , Gabriel Olondriz
Page Number: 188
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Chapter 1 Quotes

We were amongst wealthy people in very fancy clothes, and we felt even greyer and dirtier, but there was nothing for it, and still nobody was worrying about us – no one seemed to see us, like we were ghosts.

Related Characters: Raphael Fernández (speaker), Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, Senor Zapanta (vice-president) , José Angelico
Page Number: 198
Explanation and Analysis:

And that is when we saw the brightest light.

Related Characters: Raphael Fernández (speaker), Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, Senor Zapanta (vice-president) , José Angelico , Pia Dante Angelico
Related Symbols: Brightest Light, Trash
Page Number: 198
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Chapter 5 Quotes

I wanted to hang back and see what happened when the first trash boy of the morning hooked up—not a stupp, but a hundred dollar bill.

Related Characters: Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun (speaker), Raphael Fernández, Gardo, José Angelico , Pia Dante Angelico
Related Symbols: Trash
Page Number: 220
Explanation and Analysis:
Appendix Quotes

Beware, because this money belongs to the poor.

Related Characters: José Angelico (speaker), Senor Zapanta (vice-president)
Page Number: 229
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Trash LitChart as a printable PDF.
Trash PDF

José Angelico Quotes in Trash

The Trash quotes below are all either spoken by José Angelico or refer to José Angelico . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Childhood, Poverty, and Injustice Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Chapter 4 Quotes

Trash is often wet, and the juices are always running. Maybe the ground here was a bit lower, I don’t know—but it was always muddy […] I got down low with the candle, trying not to breathe too deep because of the stink […] It might seem crazy asking a kid if you can come into his hole, but this hole was about the only thing Rat had, apart from what he wore. I would not have lived there – anywhere would have been better.

Related Characters: Raphael Fernández (speaker), Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, José Angelico
Related Symbols: Trash
Page Number: 25
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: Chapter 2 Quotes

It sounds crazy, but there was some part of me sure I’d never found it, and some other part of me begging me not to give up—maybe for José Angelico, because we knew more about him now.

Related Characters: Raphael Fernández (speaker), Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, José Angelico , Tired man
Related Symbols: Trash
Page Number: 69
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3: Chapter 5 Quotes

What matters is that forty years ago I came upon information that Senator Zapanta had spirited away thirty million dollars of international aid money […] But no schools or hospitals were ever built, and the city stayed poor.

Related Characters: Olivia Weston (Sister Olivia) (speaker), Gabriel Olondriz (speaker), Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, Senor Zapanta (vice-president) , José Angelico
Page Number: 104
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Chapter 4 Quotes

Once again, the trash boys were ahead of the trash police.

Related Characters: Raphael Fernández (speaker), Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, Senor Zapanta (vice-president) , José Angelico , Gabriel Olondriz, Marco
Related Symbols: Trash
Page Number: 175
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 4: Chapter 7 Quotes

What was ten million dollars doing in your house, sir?

Related Characters: Mohun (speaker), Raphael Fernández, Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, Senor Zapanta (vice-president) , José Angelico , Gabriel Olondriz
Page Number: 188
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Chapter 1 Quotes

We were amongst wealthy people in very fancy clothes, and we felt even greyer and dirtier, but there was nothing for it, and still nobody was worrying about us – no one seemed to see us, like we were ghosts.

Related Characters: Raphael Fernández (speaker), Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, Senor Zapanta (vice-president) , José Angelico
Page Number: 198
Explanation and Analysis:

And that is when we saw the brightest light.

Related Characters: Raphael Fernández (speaker), Gardo, Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun, Senor Zapanta (vice-president) , José Angelico , Pia Dante Angelico
Related Symbols: Brightest Light, Trash
Page Number: 198
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 5: Chapter 5 Quotes

I wanted to hang back and see what happened when the first trash boy of the morning hooked up—not a stupp, but a hundred dollar bill.

Related Characters: Rat / Jun / Jun-Jun (speaker), Raphael Fernández, Gardo, José Angelico , Pia Dante Angelico
Related Symbols: Trash
Page Number: 220
Explanation and Analysis:
Appendix Quotes

Beware, because this money belongs to the poor.

Related Characters: José Angelico (speaker), Senor Zapanta (vice-president)
Page Number: 229
Explanation and Analysis: