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Rufus, 3:31 a.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
Malcolm knows he isn’t dying today because he didn’t receive a call from Death-Cast, but his future is still at risk. Malcolm and Tagoe informed the police that Rufus is a Decker and not worth chasing, but the police insisted they had to find him. To save Rufus, Malcolm decided to get himself arrested. Tagoe, however, took things too far—and now, both boys are in the car on the way to the police station. Malcolm feels good about making the police work to find Rufus and about giving Rufus extra time. He also knows that he’s not innocent—he was complicit in beating up Peck—but now, Malcolm will be marked as a delinquent. He’ll be alive, though. Malcolm cries. He thinks the biggest crime was not being able to hug Rufus goodbye.
Here, the novel introduces the idea that death and loss aren’t the only ways in which a person’s life can change for the worse. A person’s choices—such as Malcom’s choice to get himself arrested—matter a lot, whether they’re slated for death soon or not. Despite understanding that he may have ruined his life, the most important thing for Malcolm right now is still Rufus. Their friendship, however, can’t help them now; Rufus’s choice to beat up Peck made sure of that.
Themes
