The Juvie Three

The bowling trophy is a figure of a bowler that was held onto a base by a metal spike; a brass plaque reads: “City Finals—1977; Douglas Healy—2nd Place” (26). This trophy is a recurring motif that stays with the boys throughout the ups and downs of their journey, sometimes metaphorically and sometimes playing an integral role in the plot.

Its first appearance comes when the boys move into the shared bedroom. Gecko and Terence get in a fight, which knocks the bowling trophy onto the floor, causing the bowling figure to become separated from its base. Terence asks why it’s in their room, and Healy tells them that he worked hard for it, and he thought it would inspire them. As he speaks he tries to put the two pieces back together, but they fall apart, suggesting a difficult road ahead in rehabilitating the boys.

After the boys have taken Healy to the hospital and are sitting at home waiting for him to call, the trophy motif appears again. Arjay’s heavy footsteps loosen the glued-on figure, which topples to the floor with a bang: “In the four a.m. quiet, the noise is a bomb blast” (82). Its presence here as a literary device shows how their situation has gotten very dire very quickly. Later, when the three of them band together to maintain the illusion that Healy is still in the apartment with them, the bowling trophy “now duct-taped together, presides over some major homework battles” (102-03). This suggests that although the solution isn’t permanent, the boys have come together in fragile unity over a common cause.

At the climax of the novel, the bowling trophy makes a grand reappearance and even saves Terence’s life. While he’s being held hostage in the apartment by DeAndre, Gecko grabs the bowling trophy which comes apart immediately to reveal the sharp exposed metal spike. He hurls it at DeAndre, and the spike imbeds itself in his arm, giving Terence a chance to escape. In the commotion, Healy, who still doesn’t have his memory back, reads the plaque on the trophy base with his name on it.

The final appearance of this motif comes at the end of the novel when Ms. Vaughn comes to the apartment for her inspection. She is horrified to find the dangerously sharp trophy stand in their apartment, which she says is in conflict with the non-negotiable ban on sharp objects. She goes on to say that the breach is enough to shut the program down and send the boys back to juvie. However, in light of their impressive progress, she agrees to let them stay—as long as the trophy is thrown away before she leaves. Throwing the bowling trophy in the garbage symbolizes an end to their journey and a new beginning.