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The phone represents David’s anxiety and his lack of control over Nic. After Nic goes to college, David keeps in touch with him mostly by phone. But as Nic relapses again and again, David is constantly worried whenever the phone rings, describing how his stomach “constricts” every time he hears it. He worries when Nic doesn’t call him (fearing that Nic has relapsed); he worries when Nic calls him (fearing that Nic will call him high); and he also worries when others call him (fearing that Nic has wound up in jail or the hospital). Thus, the phone is a constant and random reminder of the fact that he doesn’t always know what Nic is doing, and that Nic might be in trouble. This is further reinforced when David ends up in the hospital following a brain hemorrhage: even though he can’t remember his name, he desperately wants to call Nic to make sure that Nic is okay.
David only finds the remedy to this problem with the help of a therapist, who suggests that David make plans for Nic to call at specific times so that he doesn’t worry when he hasn’t heard from him, and for David to turn his cell phone off for periods of time so he isn’t constantly reminded of his anxiety. In setting up these boundaries, David is able to control what he can, and he alleviates his worry over the things that he cannot.
The Phone Quotes in Beautiful Boy
The Beautiful Boy quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Phone. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 25
Quotes
The phone, when it rings, brings on the same state of panic. I am always worried that there is news of another crisis. Or it’s Nic, and I don’t know if he will be sane or high. Or it won’t be him, and I’ll be disappointed. My body tenses up. Oftentimes during meals or when we’re hanging around in the evening, I let the phone ring until the answering service picks it up, because I don’t want to deal with whatever might be coming. I think that everyone feels tension.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Beautiful Boy LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Phone Symbol Timeline in Beautiful Boy
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Phone appears in Beautiful Boy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8
...later, Nic seems engaged by his courses, but he complains about his classes in subsequent phone calls. Gradually, he stops returning David’s calls. David suggests that Nic meet with the school...
(full context)
...calling Nic’s friends and his therapist, but no one has seen him. Every time the phone rings, David gets anxious with grisly thoughts. He starts calling jails and hospitals. When Jasper...
(full context)
Chapter 16
Every time the phone rings, David grows anxious, wondering if it is Nic calling. David wonders where he could...
(full context)
...20th birthday. The next morning, David hears from Julia, Nic’s girlfriend. She cries on the phone, saying that Nic stole hypodermic needles and morphine from her mother’s house when they visited...
(full context)
...now hopes simply that Nic will live to 21. Summer ends, and each time the phone rings, David’s stomach lurches. He does not sleep.
(full context)
Chapter 17
...where neighbors—most of whom now know about Nic—ask about him with trepidation. Then, David’s cell phone rings. He answers the phone, but no one is there. There’s a message from Nic,...
(full context)
Chapter 18
...than 15 years; the two of them go on long bike rides together. On the phone, Nic seems like “the old Nic.” David is glad that Nic seems to have found...
(full context)
David continues to try to reach Nic’s cell phone, and he calls the customer assistance for Nic’s cell phone company to see if there...
(full context)
Chapter 19
Four days after Nic has disappeared, someone finally answers his phone—but it’s not Nic. The man explains that he doesn’t know Nic; Nic gave the man...
(full context)
Chapter 20
...anxious, and his thoughts are only of Nic. He panics that he cannot remember Nic’s phone number. When he wakes, a nurse explains that he is bleeding inside his brain, which...
(full context)
Chapter 21
Nic shows up high at work and loses his job. His phone is disconnected, and he deserts his friends, including Randy. He says in an email that...
(full context)
Chapter 22
Randy continues to call Nic and leave messages on his cell phone. Using Z.’s phone, Nic leaves messages saying that they’re going to meetings and getting sober....
(full context)
...is working in the library, and when he sees Z.’s number calling, he turns his phone off. Later, he listens to the message: Nic saying that he’s driving back from Joshua...
(full context)
Chapter 25
...like the newspapers they found. David nods, saying that he thinks this happens when the phone rings. He says that he is always worried there will be news of another crisis....
(full context)
...Even now, David still feels guilty over their divorce. Though they have talked on the phone and grown closer in the last few years, they have not been in the same...
(full context)
David returns home, feeling completely raw and exposed. He watches Jasper play lacrosse, his phone off in his pocket. He reminds himself that his addiction to Nic’s addiction did not...
(full context)
