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Rufus, 1:46 p.m.
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in They Both Die at the End, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Mortality, Life, and Meaning
Human Connection and Social Media
Choices and Consequences
Friendship and Chosen Family
Business, Ethics, and Dehumanization
Summary
Analysis
Deirdre didn’t receive a call from Death-Cast today telling her she’s going to die, but she wants to prove them wrong. She’s on the ledge of her building’s roof, eight stories in the air, and there are two deliverymen down below watching. This isn’t the first time Deirdre has thought about this—in high school, months after Death-Cast started, bullies who thought of Deirdre as a weird lesbian challenged her to a fight. Instead of fighting, Deirdre went to the roof. Back then, she had her best friend to talk her down but today, she’s alone. Her job doesn’t help. She works at Make-A-Moment, where she charges Deckers for fake memories. She doesn’t understand why they don’t spend time with loved ones at home, and the two underwhelmed teen boys who came in earlier did her in.
As far as Deirdre is concerned, Make-A-Moment and other businesses like it are cheating Deckers. They’re taking their money and giving them ways to waste their final hours—hours that, in Deirdre’s opinion, would be better spent with loved ones in a more meaningful way. The teen boys she refers to are likely Mateo and Rufus; again, this indicates that within the world of the novel, everyone is connected to everyone else. And further, Mateo and Rufus could never predict that their words would push Deirdre this far; to them, she was just a stranger.
Themes
The boys remind Deirdre of a short story she finished this morning. In it, there’s an organization called Life-Cast, which tells people when Deckers will be reincarnated. It follows twin sisters, one of whom dies. Deirdre thought she’d take her story further, but now, she knows that Life-Cast doesn’t exist and it’s useless to wait for Death-Cast. She wants no part in this world. Deirdre is ready to jump when she sees two boys on a bike down below—they remind her of the boys from earlier. The two boys make her feel less dead inside, so Deirdre decides to live.
Just as Rufus and Mateo unknowingly had the power to push Deirdre to suicide, they also have the power to show her that life is actually worth living. They aren’t even aware of this, but Mateo’s choice to get on Rufus’s bike with him actually saved someone. Connections like this, even if they’re not entirely visible, can help give people reasons to value their lives.
Themes
