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Rufus, 9:41 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
Tagoe didn’t receive a call from Death-Cast today because he’s not dying, but he’ll never forget the look on Rufus’s face when Rufus received the alert. In their holding cell, he and Malcolm are surprised that the cell smells like vomit but not urine. Tagoe takes off his glasses. Malcolm got mad once when Tagoe did this during a game of Cards Against Humanity, but Tagoe did it because the card making fun of suicide made him think of his father. Tagoe’s neck aches—he has a tic that makes his neck jerk, which he suppresses to make others comfortable. Tagoe puts his glasses back on, and the boys discuss what they’d do if they got the Death-Cast call. Malcolm starts to ask a question, but Tagoe answers: he wouldn’t look for his parents. He only wants people around who want to be in his life, like Rufus. Tagoe’s neck jerks.
Like Malcolm, Tagoe isn’t focused on the consequences to his own future of being in jail—for him, everything is about Rufus right now. Taking off his glasses is a way for him to disconnect from the world. Though the novel overwhelmingly insists that connection is positive, there are times when people need a moment to themselves to process. And even though Tagoe does this, he also suppresses his tic to make others comfortable—clear proof that he’s willing to make himself uncomfortable so that he has a better chance of connecting with others.
Themes
