The Rockpile

The titular rockpile is a space of great power in the story. John and Roy have both heard from their aunt that the rockpile is there to prevent subway cars from falling off their tracks, and John once saw funeral procession disappear into the house adjacent to the rockpile. Thus, he sees the rocks as a source of protection for the living and a spot that absorbs the dead. It also serves as a liminal space, then, where transformations occur. A way station between life and the afterlife, but it is also a place where boys transform into violent fighters trying to kill each other. For Roy, it very well could have been a place that didn’t merely slightly disfigure his forehead but that, instead, transported him to the afterlife.

Both boys are intrigued by the rockpile for different reasons. John is afraid of it but cannot stop staring at it on Saturdays, while Roy is drawn to it. For both boys, the power and threat of the rockpile is similar to Gabriel’s power, which explains their different feelings about the pile. While Roy is not punished by Gabriel all that harshly, John is the target of his abuse; thus, Roy does not perceive the threat of the rockpile in the same way as John does, for Roy sees power as something other than hostile and cruel.