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Chapter 25
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
Having dug himself into yet another hole with a prospective love interest, Will is nervous about asking Marcus to pose as his son for an evening. Marcus, who takes everything literally, doesn’t see why Will lied to Rachel in the first place, failing to understand that adults often skew the truth for seemingly no reason at all. When Will begins to beg, explaining that he’s genuinely interested in Rachel and desperately wants to get to know her better, Marcus perks up. He asks Will how he “knows” that his feelings for Rachel are real after knowing her for such a short time, and Will says that he “[feels] it in [his] guts.”
Will’s request for Marcus to pose as his son highlights Will’s ongoing struggle with honesty and his reliance on deception to navigate social interactions. The dialogue between them reveals Marcus’s burgeoning interest in understanding romantic feelings, reflecting his developmental stage and need for guidance. Will’s attempt to explain adult emotions using simple terms demonstrates his own limited emotional intelligence and the complexities of translating adult experiences to a child’s understanding. Still, this interaction deepens their bond.
Themes
Suddenly, Marcus reveals, “I didn’t know when I met Ellie the first time that I wanted her to be my girlfriend,” and Will realizes that Marcus had wanted to talk about Ellie all along. Marcus asks Will how to tell the difference between liking someone as a friend versus romantically, and Will tells him that if he wants to “touch” Ellie, it probably means he likes her as more than a friend. By the end of their conversation, Marcus agrees to help Will by playing his son for a day, and Will agrees to help Marcus with the Ellie situation.
Marcus seeks Will’s specific advice on how to distinguish between friendship and romantic feelings, as he understands Will to be something of a playboy. This is another area where Will is a more desirable mentor than Fiona.
Themes
To prepare for their lunch with Rachel and her son, Marcus tries to get on the same page as Will regarding their “backstory” by establishing birthdays, favorite foods, and Will’s history with his “ex,” Fiona, just in case they’re caught off guard. Will thinks Marcus is being a bit daft but entertains the idea anyway. When they arrive at Rachel’s house and she accidentally refers to Marcus as “Mark,” Will is devastated. Since New Year’s Eve, he has thought of little else but Rachel and all the details she shared about her life; he remembers everything she says, but she can’t even remember his “son’s” name. He begins to believe that he was right to avoid love his whole life, as it seems to be just as painful as he’d imagined.
Marcus’s meticulous approach to their fabricated backstory reflects his need for structure and his understanding of the importance of detail, especially when juxtaposed with Will’s more relaxed attitude toward the ruse. The small moment when Rachel forgets Marcus’s name feels like such a big deal to Will because it shatters his romantic idealization of her perfection, thus forcing him to confront the reality of his sudden, intense feelings. His disappointment reaffirms his fear of vulnerability and reinforces his belief that love is inherently painful.
Themes
Will, Marcus, and Rachel go upstairs to meet Rachel’s son, Ali. As they enter Ali’s bedroom, Will takes in the Michael Jordan and Pamela Anderson wall posters and Super Mario stickers, concluding that this is decidedly a modern teenage boy’s room. Almost immediately, Will can tell by his style that Ali is “cool,” and he watches as Ali silently judges Marcus’s unconventional clothes. The boys agree to hang out upstairs while Will and Rachel are downstairs, but Will notices Ali doesn’t seem excited. No more than 10 minutes later, they hear a door slam and learn that Marcus has gone.
Meeting Rachel’s son, Ali, further complicates Will’s plan, as it introduces a new group dynamic to his efforts to woo Rachel. The stylistic differences between Ali and Marcus initially point to the challenges of integrating different social worlds. Will’s quick assessment of Ali’s “coolness” and his concern for Marcus’s acceptance reveal Will’s protective instincts and growing empathy.
Themes
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