In this chapter, we are introduced to a number of characters who have been introduced in the previous chapters. The first person introduced in this chapter is the protagonist of the previous chapter, who is now referred to as the "young gun" . The protagonist is a young man who has just turned twenty-one years old. He is a self-confessed alcoholic who has been kicked out of his house by his friends. He tells his friends that he is now in a "blaze of glory" and that he has no intention of returning to his old life. He asks one of his friends to take him down to the dance floor, but the friend refuses, saying that he would rather die than be kicked out. He then tells the protagonist to go into the room where the other young men are gathered, and the protagonist agrees to go in. The young men begin to dance, and one of them, Hillary, asks the protagonist if he would like to be in the room with them. He says he would, but Hillary tells him he is a "freak" , a "willy chubby" and a "bastard style martial arts hit." The protagonist responds by saying that they want a "fuckin' room," and that they have eight people in it. Hillary says that they don't want to read korean, but they do want a room where they can "be fuckin." He then says that he and his friends are going to "bawk" in "vietnamese," a language that is not yet spoken in the United States. They begin to