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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in That Was Then, This Is Now, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Humility, Responsibility, and Coming of Age
Brotherhood, Loyalty, and Betrayal
Rules and Consequences
Violence and Revenge
Love and Selflessness
Summary
Analysis
The next morning, Bryon is very hungover when he goes to work; he’s amazed that he doesn’t lose his job. Later that day, when Bryon is feeling better, Mark takes him to search for M&M. As they drive, Bryon tells Mark never to let him drink so much again. Mark says that he had to get Bryon drunk because Bryon couldn’t handle cutting off Angela’s hair. Bryon fires back with a nasty comment to Mark, and he can feel the gap widening between them again. They start to argue, and Mark makes a hurtful remark about Cathy. Bryon asks if they want to get out of the car and have it out. Instead, Mark apologizes.
When Bryon is with Mark, he reverts to some of his more immature ways. But it is clear now that he no longer wants to go on the same drunken and violent escapades—he wants to be responsible and keep his job. Pulling away from these traditions, however, makes his and Mark’s relationship even more tense. So much of their bond had been based on thinking alike and their having each other’s backs—but now, there is so much conflict between them that they are fighting against, rather than alongside, each other.
Themes
Mark and Bryon arrive at a hippie house. Bryon realizes that Mark has been there many times before, as people greet him like they know him. The boys walk through the house, and Bryon sees more people smoking pot. Mark asks a group whether they’ve seen “Baby Freak”—meaning M&M. They say that he hasn’t been around and that he’s been high. When Bryon asks if they let M&M take hard drugs, they say that they’re free to do whatever they want. Bryon and Mark leave.
The fact that Mark knows the people in the hippie house foreshadows his own involvement with drugs. Like Mark, the people in the hippie house maintain a self-assured and irresponsible attitude. What they’re doing is illegal and potentially dangerous, yet they care more about disobeying authority and living freely than being careful.
Themes
As Bryon and Mark drive home, Mark says that alcohol gets a person just as high as pot does. Bryon points out that pot could get a person five years in jail, but Mark responds that the law isn’t necessarily right. Bryon wonders why Mark is defending pot. Mark tells him he doesn’t smoke pot, particularly because he knows people like to beat up hippies like he and Bryon once did.
Bryon’s argument illustrates his newfound appreciation for the law. While Bryon understands that breaking the law can have harmful consequences on both the criminal and the victims of crimes, Mark continues to be ignorant of potential consequences that drugs can have on others.
Themes
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Later that evening, Bryon takes Cathy out. He doesn’t tell her about the hippie house so as not to worry her, but they still drive up and down the Ribbon to look for M&M. Bryon thinks that he is getting more and more serious about Cathy, but he can’t bring himself to say that he loves her. Instead, he asks her if she would wear a ring if he got one for her, and she says yes—so they start going steady.
Even though Bryon isn’t yet able to be fully vulnerable and admit that he loves Cathy, he’s still showing his selflessness through his actions, if not his words. He prioritizes her feelings by not telling her about M&M, continues to help her look for him, and gives her a ring as a gesture of his love.
Themes
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After Bryon drops Cathy off that night, he heads to Terry Jones’s house to pick up Mark. No one is home, though, so Bryon sits on his front steps to wait. It is almost spring. Bryon thinks how strange the year had been. Last fall, he and Mark were completely alike—now, they can’t even have a conversation. Months ago, Charlie was alive, Bryon was a hustler, and M&M was a babysitter. Everything is different now.
Bryon’s catalogue of the changes in his life illustrates how much he has matured, and how the different branches of his life have changed as a result. Whereas before he was irresponsible, he now appreciates the harm hustling can cause and takes responsibility for Charlie’s death. As a result, he and Mark have started to grow distant—Mark views Bryon’s new demeanor as a betrayal of their friendship and former lifestyle.
Themes
As Bryon is pondering, a car pulls up, and four guys get out—including Tim and Curly Shephard. Bryon grows nervous, as Tim is really tough. Bryon hopes that he can keep them talking long enough for Mark to return. They tell Bryon that Angela said he got her drunk and cut off her hair. Bryon admits that he did and apologizes, deciding to tell the truth. The guys rush Bryon, taking turns punching him until he passes out.
Here, Mark’s revenge comes full circle. After Mark cut off Angela’s hair for the beating he received, here the Shepards are now getting revenge for that retaliation. This illustrates how “getting even” never really puts a stop to violence. Instead, it only prompts the injured party to want revenge in turn, breeding more violence in a never-ending cycle.
Themes
When Bryon wakes up, Mark is wiping Bryon’s face with a wet cloth. Bryon explains the Shepards beat him up. His face and side are throbbing, and he can taste blood in his mouth. He is inside Terry’s house, lying on a bed. Mark asks if he wants to go to the hospital, but Bryon says that he’d rather stay where he is. Bryon then tells Mark that he doesn’t want anyone to fight the Shepards—he’s sick of trying to get even. Mark is confused, but he agrees not to go after the Shepards. Mark goes to call Bryon’s mother, and then he spends the night next to Bryon’s bed, guarding him.
Bryon finally appreciates the fact that getting even is an infinite circle; therefore, the only way to stop it is to not seek out revenge. Mark’s reaction shows how unusual this impulse is, because the violence that plagues Tulsa is founded on this eye-for-an-eye mentality. Additionally, Mark sees it as a part of his brotherly duty to get back at the Shepards, because his and Bryon’s bond has been partially built on physically protecting each other.
Themes
