The Wasp Factory

Frank is annoyed that something about the child was impossible for Eric to process. Eric has a weakness that Frank associates with women: “I suspect that Eric was the victim of a self with just a little too much of the woman in it. That sensitivity, that desire not to hurt people, that delicate, mindful brilliance—these things were his partly because he thought too much like a woman” (148).

Frank arrives at the dump around noon, where he hears a howling animal that is obviously in pain. Through the binoculars, he sees what looks like a burning animal run out of the trees before running into the brush. He follows it and finds the dog lying in a stream, nearly dead. He kills it with the catapult and says, “Frank’ll get you” (153). He then buries the dog and burns the brush around it before going home. His father’s newspaper says MYSTERY BLAZE IN HOLIDAY COTTAGE. Frank realizes that the cottage was probably the house Eric called from.

The phone rings later. It is Eric, and he is manic. Frank tells him not to hurt more dogs, worms, or kids, and then hangs up, before sleeping badly that night.