The Soloist 2

"If he's got a cart," he tells me, sharing a bit of street wisdom that seems obvious now that he mentions it, "that's not the type that's ready to come in." (p. 64)

This quote brings many questions to mind.
-Why does the shopping cart mean that Nathaniel wouldn't want to stay at Lamp?
-Is the shopping cart a representation of ownership, responsibility, pride?
-If Nathaniel gets rid of the cart, will that be the first step he takes towards improvement?
-Why is this piece of advice, coming from a homeless man, seem so critical and obvious to Lopez after he had heard it?
-Is it a well known fact that a homeless person with a cart isn't ready to leave his street sleeping night?

Maybe this quote is the answer to my questions above......
"you can't organize your mind, but you can organize your shopping cart. So you do." (p. 67)
This quote means that Nathaniel's condition prevents him from having an organized mind, so he organizes what he can in life, and all that is available to him is this shopping cart full of his personal items. I don't see why he couldn't organize his items in a room at Lamp though. Nathaniel states that he wouldn't want to live in a shelter because he would feel too confined but Lamp isn't like a normal shelter that most of the homeless population try to avoid. Lamp will provide Nathaniel will his own housing and medications for his schizophrenia. He would be able to go in and out as if it were his own apartment.


In these chapters we are introduced to a very important character. Joseph Russo considered himself a very good friend of Nathaniel. He tells us how he made it to Julliard and all about his relationship with Nathaniel. He goes on to describe more specific memories he had with his Julliard classmate. Russo says that he first had the thought that something was seriously wrong with Nathaniel when, at a party, Nathaniel got furious when Russo referred to him as kid. Nathaniel thought Russo was being a racists, despite the fact that Russo invited him over for the holiday and was one of his closest pals. I think this is a really important part of the novel because it gives the reader some insight into the life of Nathaniel before he became homeless and schizophrenic.


"It's not clear to either of us what my role is in his life."
I think that it is very clear to me as a reader what Lopez's role in Nathaniel's life is. He is a friend, a guardian, and a reporter. He is a friend because he truly cares for this man and he is doing everything that he can in order to help Nathaniel out. He is a guardian because he looks out for him and makes sure that he is safe. He pushes the issue of housing and medication to assure Nathaniel will be out of harms way. However, Lopez is still a reporter and we as readers have to remember that he might not have this much interest in a homeless person, unless he could get a story out of it. The facts that this man could play beautiful music and had a peculiar personality are what drew Lopez in. He wouldn't have spent this much time on a person that he couldn't advance a story out of. Now that he has gotten involved, he feels it would be wrong to neglect him now.