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Eric Ettensohn

Mrs. Haley

Literature 8B-2-9

December 8, 2004

I am the Cheese, Eric's Book Report
This story is taken from two perspectives: that of Adam Farmer as he rides his bike through New England, and the tapes of him being interviewed at a different time that come between Adam's narration of his bike trip.

There are several settings in the story, but all seem to be around present day. The first setting is in the town of Monument, Massachusetts, the other from Adam's perspective is the roads of New England as he travels to Rutterberg, Vermont. The third is the interview room where Adam is being questioned.

The main character is Adam Farmer. He is paranoid and fearful, with good reason. Adam grows close to his parents when he is told the truth about their family. Unlike most teens, Adam is not unsure about his identity because of his simply being a teen; he has two identities, the other being Paul Delmonte. Adam, as the last line of the book says, is alone.

The story begins as Adam rides his bicycle away from Monument heading for Rutterburg carrying a package for his father. He is riding an old bike, but he says that he wanted to ride it rather than take the bus that he had enough money for.

In this tape, Adam has his first interview with a man named Brint. Brint is unkind and is always prying for answers from Adam. He asks Adam about his first memory. Adam describes a night in which his parents had a hushed discussion about him, and then leaving his house in a bus for a new home. Adam becomes nervous and Brint allows him to return to his room.

Adam reaches a gas station and stops for directions. An old man at the pump tells him that the trip will be about 70 miles. Adam plans to stay at a motel in Belton Falls. After saying good-bye to the old man, Adam sets out again.

He sings the Farmer in the Dell as he pedals along. His dad would sing him the song, telling him it was written just for them. As he pushes up a hill, a German Shepard stands in the road, barking at him. It bites his tire, and the bike threatens to lose balance, but the dog is distracted by an oncoming car. Adam arrives in the town of Fairfield.

In the next tape, Adam talks about his girlfriend, Amy. He recalls a day when one of Amy's Parent's friends had visited her house. He had said he was from Rawlings, Adam's old town. When Amy mentioned the Farmers, the man said he didn't remember a farmer family. Adam lied and said that the family had only lived there a few months. Adam didn't know why he had to lie, and it bothers him.

Brint pushes for Adam to tell him more, and Adam recalls another day. He had wanted to find his birth certificate, and the only place it could be was in the locked dooor of his father's desk. He had unlocked it and found his birth certificate, but he also found another certificate. It was a duplicate, except that it had the wrong birthday.

This pushes Adam to press further for answers. He overhears a phone conversation in which the woman his mother is talking to refers to Adam as her nephew. Now he know his parents are hiding something.

Adam arrives in Fairfield and stops at a diner to eat. A boy named Whipper and his lackeys attempts to provoke Adam, but Adam quickly leaves. He places a phone call to Amy, but a man answers, saying Adam has the wrong number. Adam sees Whipper and friends approaching, and pedals away.

Adam and Brint discuss someone Adam calls the gray man. He says that the man would make frequent stops to the Farmer home.

While pedaling along, a car approaches Adam from behind. It is Whipper and his friends. The car zips past Adam, making the bike wobble. The car returns, this time knocking Adam into a ditch alongside the road. When Adam comes to, he is greeted by a kind old man. The man gives Adam a lift to Belton Falls.

Adam remembers who the gray man was. This helps him to recall a conversation he had with his father revealing what they had been hiding.

His father's real name was Anthony Delmonte, he was a small town reporter in New York. While doing a story in the state capital, he had uncovered some documents that told of a conspiracy in the government. He testified in the senate, and was given protection by the government.

While Adam's father was hiding in different places he had two murder attempts. He knew that he was not safe. The man Adam's father called Grey was a leader in a witness re-identification program. Adam's father joined the program, and everything changed. The family was reported killed in a car crash. They were given new names, the Farmers, and moved to a new town in the Northeast.

Adam leaves the elderly man who dropped him off and heads for a drugstore. He buys some aspirin and returns to find that his bike is gone. He panics and runs down an allyway in hopes of finding it there. All he finds is an overweight man. The man plays with Adam until he tells him that Junior Varney, a boy that lives across the street, stole the bike. Adam confronts the boy. Varney says that he had bought the bike that day, but Adam quickly dismisses that and grabs the bike. The pull on it until Adam falls. Varney tries to run, but Adam trips him and grabs the bike. He pedals away.

Adam reaches a deserted motel. He thinks that he had stayed there previously. He calls Amy again, but is connected to the same man. The man says he had that number for three years. Adam asks a pump attendant at a gas station across the street how long the motel had been closed, and he says that it had been that way for a few years.

The climax comes when Adam discusses with Brint a road trip his family took. Mr. Grey had reports that the family's identification may have been discovered. He recommends that they take a trip. While driving, the family notices a car following them. They stop and see that it is only Grey's men following them.

As they drive along, they encounter a beautiful view, and stop to admire it. Suddenly, a car drives straight into them. Adam's mother is killed instantly, and adam is knocked to the ground. As he slips out of consciousness, Adam hears three men pursue his father into the woods, while a tall man in gray pants orders some men to take Adam, as he might be useful. Brint says something to Adam, but he is silent.

The resolution comes Adam finally reaches his destination. He suddenly becomes forgetful and child-like. He meets a doctor and walks with him to the hospital. He says he didn't take his pills, but the doctor isn't worried. Adam looks at the gates to the hospital, hoping he may leave one day. As they walk, Adam sees many people reminiscent of those he met on his pretend bike ride to Rutterburg. Adam asks the doctor if his father is dead, and the doctor gives him a sad face. He says something to Adam as he unwraps the package he had, containing Adam's stuffed toy, Pokey the Pig. The doctor calls Adam Paul, and he wonders who that is. Adam wonders who he is, and then remembers his song. He recalls the last line??

The Cheese stands alone,

The Cheese stands alone,

High-ho a Merry-o,

The Cheese stands alone.

Adam knows who he is. He thinks, 'I am the Cheese' (210).

I believe the author's purpose of writing this book was to show the corruptness of the government. The book shows that when Adam's father divulges information, he is immediately attempted to be killed. When he confides in the government to take care of his family, they ultimately kill him, his wife, and capture his son in an attempt to find more information or silence him.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed some of the content, but the government conspiracy thing was kind of over the top. Another thing I disliked was that the book ended with all the main characters being killed or mentally insane. I usually like books to end on a high note.