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Chapter 11
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in About a Boy, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Chosen Family
Coming of Age and Maturity
Alienation and Mental Illness
Identity, Pop Culture, and Fitting In
Summary
Analysis
Because everyone in his inner circle has a job and works during the day, Will is forced to get creative with how he spends his time. He structures his days into 30-minute “units” and sporadically applies for media jobs he finds in the newspaper, with no real expectation of being hired. Much like his inventing Ned and posing as a single father, Will often indulges in these meaningless, fleeting fantasies “that didn’t touch his real life.” Despite this, Will maintains that he is content with his life; he doesn’t need a job or family to feel fulfilled.
Will’s structuring of his days into 30-minute “units” reveals his struggle with finding meaningful engagement in his day-to-day life. His sporadic and half-hearted job applications, like his other lies, underscore his tendency to indulge in fleeting, insubstantial fantasies that provide temporary distraction without actually changing anything. Will’s superficial contentment thinly masks his fear of vulnerability and meaningful connection, revealing a paradox of self-imposed isolation and a fundamental fear of ever being truly seen.
Themes
Unable to get Marcus and Fiona off his mind, Will calls Suzie to ask how they are faring. Wanting to do more than merely inquire about their wellbeing, he also offers to take Marcus out one-on-one sometime (maybe, he thinks, he’ll even eventually take Fiona to the theater). Will believes that the pair could benefit from spending time with someone like him, as he could imbue their lives with his trademark “gaiety.” If there’s one thing Will knows how to do, it’s how to make “having a good time” a permanent state of existence.
That Will calls Suzie to check on Marcus and Fiona signifies a notable shift in his character. His offer to spend time with Marcus and his consideration of taking Fiona to the theater indicate a growing sense of responsibility for both of the Brewers and a genuine concern for their wellbeing, marking a departure from his typical self-centeredness and gesturing to his emerging capacity for empathy. Will’s belief that he can enhance their lives with his “gaiety” ultimately reflects his limited understanding of the complexities of their struggles. Nonetheless, this gesture is significant, as it demonstrates his willingness to engage more deeply with others and to potentially serve as a positive influence in their lives.
Themes
Before his outing with Marcus, Will buys a copy of Time Out to brainstorm ideas for activities a 12-year-old might enjoy. While conducting his research, Marcus phones, bluntly informing Will that he will only join him if his mum can come along too—and if Will foots the bill, as he and his mum are “broke.” When it dawns on Will that Marcus wants to include his mum because he’s worried about leaving her alone again, he sympathetically agrees, and they set a date and time. Marcus tells Will he can bring his son along too, but Will lies, saying that Ned’s “mum” will have him that day.
Will’s preparation for his outing with Marcus by researching activities demonstrates both his unfamiliarity with children and his genuine desire to show Marcus a good time. After Marcus bluntly requests for Will to invite Fiona and cover their expenses, Will slowly realizes Marcus’s true motivation, that he’s scared to leave his mum by herself. The moment when Marcus offers to include Ned and Will subsequently lies to maintain his façade illustrates Will’s internal conflict and the complexity of maintaining his deceit while beginning to form real connections.
Themes
Since Will plans to drive Marcus and Fiona on the day of their outing, he chooses to maintain the illusion that he is the father of a two-year-old child—in his own words, to “make concession to Ned’s reality”—by purchasing a car seat. Though he initially asks the salesperson for the “cheapest” seat available, he ends up buying the most expensive model in the store. When the cashier comments on how quickly car seats tend to get dirty, Will realizes he needs to level up the authenticity of his ruse, so he buys a bunch of crumbly, crispy foodstuffs to sprinkle all over the brand-new seat.
Will’s decision to buy a car seat to maintain the illusion of being a father further illustrates the lengths he goes in order to preserve his fabrications, and his choice to purchase the most expensive model signifies his increasing investment in the lie. This scene effectively underscores Will’s duality. On the one hand, he’s extremely superficial. But on the other, he weaves these lies because he does want to connect authentically with others.
Themes
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