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Delilah Gray, 5:37 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
Rufus wants to hold Mateo’s hand, but he knows he has to hug his friends. Rufus hugs Aimee, Tagoe, and Malcolm in a group hug and says he loves them. They pull back, but Rufus hugs Aimee again and apologizes for shutting her out. She says that she’s also sorry for playing both sides and tells Rufus he’s more important. Rufus thinks that Mateo helped him get his life back together. Now, he’ll be remembered as the friend he is. He introduces Mateo and Lidia to the Plutos and gives his friends an account of what he and Mateo have done. A song ends, and Aimee suggests they dance. Mateo is the first one to agree.
There was never a guarantee that Rufus was going to get this opportunity to hug and speak to his friends again, so he knows he has to take it and say everything he possibly can. Apologizing and saying that he loves them is a way for Rufus to admit that he’s human and has made a mistake—but he wants his friends to remember that he was able to turn himself around in his final day because of friendship, connection, and love.
Themes
