The chapter opens with a flashback to the previous chapter, in which the narrator explains that he is now twenty-one years old and that he has just returned from having sex with a prostitute. He is now a "rent boy" , which is a term used to describe a young man who is forced to work as a prostitute to support his family. He does not want to be a prostitute because he does not have anything to lose, but he does want to protect his family from harm. The narrator tells the reader that the reason why he is a prostitute is because he is bored. He tells the audience that he will not commit suicide because he knows that if he does, he will be thrown out of the house by his father. He warns the reader to think of himself as a weak link in the chain of command that leads to his father's downfall.