Page 149

On page the old man with the eye patch decides that his portable radio will not be used as goods in exchange for food, from the hoodlums in the third ward.  The girl with the dark glasses asks the old man if she can listen to music, but the old man says no, he says "if anyone wants to listen to music they could hear it in their own heads."  The old man with the eye patch knows his little radio is the only link he and the others have to the outside world.  Also, in the following pages the old man with the eye patch  noticed that the only radio station he was able to get on his portable radio, had gone silent.  He listened attentively, waiting for the announcers voice to come back, only it never came back.  The old man with the eye patch new instinctively that the announcer and everyone else at that studio had gone blind.  The old man with the eye patch then dropped the radio and covered his head, and wept in silence.

In this book the author shows how in times of great distress and pandemonium, some people will surely lose their humanity and compassion.  We can see this with the thugs from the third ward. We don't know if they were already hoodlums, so it's safe to assume that they swayed that way given the horrific situation they were in.  I have a feeling things will get much worse before they get better.  I hope I'm wrong.