what can we infer about him/her 

“You give me that fifty? Now? Make it a hundred, or you get no further.” 

This sentence can help show us that Jun-Jun expects to be paid for whatever he seems to be helping Gardo and Raphael with. 

“He lived with the rats and had come to look like one” (Page 19)

We know that this is direct characterization as it is describing how Jun-Jun/rat looks in a straightforward way. From this statement we can form an opinion that the place Jun-Jun lives in is a foul and filthy place and affected him so much that his appearance has completely changed to resemble rats. 

His/her voice the way s/he tells the story:
“Where it gets bad, bloody and oh so dangerous!” We can tell that the way Jun-Jun tells his part of the story or perspective can sometimes seem exaggerated. He makes it look like they’re on some sort of perilous adventure which also makes and helps us become more captivated on what he will say next in the story. 

Based on the previous sentences, we can infer that Jun-Jun likes to be paid for his efforts when he helps others. Another inference we can make is that Jun-Jun might have a sickly appearance since Raphael describes him as rat-like since he lives in an area of the dumpsite full of rats. 

“He got so excited thinking about what he might find, I had to say no about ten times,” (Page 27)

Through Gardo’s description, we can tell that Raphael behaves in a very child-like manner since he seemed so excited to go somewhere and repeatedly asked Gardo to the point where he had to refuse many times. Through this sentence, we can tell that Raphael is quite energetic. 

“I have to say, though: I’m a trash boy with style.” This sentence can be considered a form of direct characterization since we see that Raphael thinks highly of himself despite living in the dumpsite. We may also think that Raphael has a large ego since he believes himself to be quite stylish although he lives in a dumpsite.

“So sorry, but I want to tell about Rat, and then I will hand over.” From this sentence, we can form an opinion on Raphael’s voice in the story. Although Raphael is a dumpsite child, he shows us that he has manners and this sentence almost makes it seem like he is directly talking to us in a polite manner. 

What we know about Raphael is that he is a 14 year old boy that lives in a dumpsite. HIs daily routine consists of picking up and sorting through trash. Although he is a teenager, he exhibits child-like behaviour but is also polite. We can infer that Raphael would take many great risks if his family members or friends were in great danger based on his actions in the story such as: the time he got beaten and did not tell the police where the bag was. 

"I couldn't believe auntie had said what she said" This shows us that Raphael’s aunt isn’t reliable since she had revealed something to the police that Raphael was trying to keep a secret. We can also tell that Auntie may be scared of the police which is why she said something. 

"I guess she had some feeling" This part tells us that Raphael’s aunt may be thinking ahead and is aware that lying to the police and not telling them what Raphael found would lead to large problems. We can also tell that based on past events, Auntie is quite cautious around the police and could be the reason she spoke up. 

In the book, Raphael’s aunt does speak but she doesn’t have her own part in the book. But based on her previous dialogue, we could infer that Auntie is quite cautious and can get anxious easily. At one point, Auntie seems to be quite worried when Raphael lies to the police and later says “She looked at me hard again, and shook her head. ‘You gonna get us into a lot of trouble, I think. Whose wallet was it? People always have a name, and if you—” This sentence makes it seem like Raphael’s aunt is rambling on and on about the dangers of lying to the police.

Although we know that Auntie is very untrustworthy, unreliable and prefers to be honest, she also shows that she cares for not only Raphael, but Gardo too (despite the fact of them not being related). We can infer that even though she cares about the safety of Raphael, Gardo and her children, she might be scared of the police which is what might have led her to confess to them. Raphael even mentions at one point that “I knew she’d had problems with the police before, on account of my father,”. 

“Gardo’s my partner, and we always work together. He looks after me.” In these sentences, Raphael’s description talks about how Gardo takes care of Raphael and this makes us think that to Raphael, Gardo is like an older-brother figure and that they always stick together. 

“Serious face, like Gardo’s” From this part of the sentence, we know that Gardo probably doesn’t smile often and fools around less than Raphael. We can also tell that he may have a more neutral demeanour which is why he seems to have such a serious face or expression. 

“We agreed to split the story because some things he forgets” From this, we can tell that Gardo is not only serious but is honest and does not mind pointing out certain things about other people. 

We know that Gardo can have quite a serious personality on the inside but he still shows that he cares about others, such as his friends from time-to-time. We can infer that Gardo mostly goes through with things using logic and less of his feelings. However later on in the book, we see that Gardo is opening up more and expresses himself more too. Lastly, we also know that Gardo does display forms of affections to the people he cares about, like Raphael. 

“My name is Grace and you will hear only one thing from me.” This shows us that Grace is going directly to the point of saying whatever it is that she is going to say in her part of the book. This sentence can also lead us to the conclusion that although Grace does have a part, she doesn’t have as large of a role then most of the other characters in the book. 

“I am a maid to Senator Zapanta” This part of the sentence informs us on who Grace is, what her role was, how she was connected not only to Senator Zapanta, but to Jose Angelico too. 

“I can say that José was kind, gentle, trustworthy and honest.” This sentence shows us that Grace and José Angelico were probably very close since she seems to be fond of him through her description of him. We can also tell that Grace is honest from the way she describes José since other characters had also described him as kind and trustworthy. 

Based on the information that Grace gives us in her part and how she talks/writes, we can infer that Grace is probably quite friendly and probably gets along with the majority of the other workers from Senator Zapanta’s house. 

“– all names changed, for obvious reasons.” This tells us that Father Juilliard is respectful since he cares for the privacy of others or in order to keep the people mentioned in the story safe. Father Juilliard also seems honest since he doesn’t mind pointing out the fact that the names have been changed “for obvious reasons”. 

“I will just tell you that I have been running the Pascal Aguila Mission School on the Behala dumpsite for seven years.” This sentence informs us on how Father Juilliard is connected to the dumpsite children. This is considered to be direct characterization since the author is describing Father Juilliard through his line of work. Through that description, we can also think about the possible role that Father Juilliard will play throughout the story. 

“ No government is going to give away its children, I understand that– and yet you look around at the thousands who cannot be taken care of and it breaks your heart.” 

Since it is mentioned earlier, we know a bit about the role that Father Juilliard plays in the story. We also know that Father Juilliard is willing to break the rules or take certain measures in order to help the dumpsite children. Something else we know is that Father Juilliard had taken a liking to Jun-Jun/Rat since they both seem to be close to each other. Lastly, we can infer that Father Juilliard is reliable and kind based on his actions in the book.