# II explained — You Can’t Win

> Chapter companion for You Can’t Win by Jack Black.

## What happens

The narrator recounts his time at a Catholic convent school, where he forms a bond with the coachman Thomas, who tells him stories of Jesse James and other outlaws. He becomes fascinated with crime stories, especially after reading about Jesse James's murder, which fuels his sympathy for outlaws and his eventual turn toward crime. The chapter explores his internal conflict between religious devotion and admiration for lawless heroes.

## Themes in this chapter

### Fate and Early Influence

The narrator's early exposure to stories of outlaws like Jesse James, combined with his cloistered upbringing, shapes his romanticized view of crime and sets him on a path toward criminality.

### Alienation from Society

The narrator feels isolated at the convent, being the only boy who never goes home for holidays, and finds solace in the rebellious tales of outlaws, reinforcing his sense of being an outsider.

## Character check-ins

### Thomas

The coachman and Civil War veteran who tells the narrator stories of Jesse James and other outlaws, influencing his fascination with crime.

### Jesse James

The outlaw whose murder the narrator reads about, sparking his deep sympathy for hunted men and his desire to emulate such figures.

### Frank James

Jesse's brother, a hunted fugitive whom the narrator sympathizes with and wishes to help escape his pursuers.

### Bob Ford

The traitor who murdered Jesse James; the narrator loathes him and rejoices that Ford was nearly lynched.

## Key lines

> Looking back now I can plainly see the influence the James boys and similar characters had in turning my thoughts to adventure and later to crime.

In retrospect, the narrator recognizes that his childhood fascination with outlaws like the James brothers directly led him toward a life of crime.

_The narrator reflects on the formative impact of crime stories on his future choices._

> I was a problem to my father, running loose about the hotel while he was at work, and finally he took me to a Catholic school one hundred miles away.

Because the narrator was unruly at the hotel, his father sent him to a distant Catholic boarding school.

_The narrator explains the reason for his enrollment at the convent school._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/you_can_t_win_se/chapters/ii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/you_can_t_win_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/you_can_t_win_se/chapters