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Howie Maldonado, 5:23 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
Death-Cast didn’t call Peck, Kendrick, and Damien today, so they’re living like their lives can’t end. The boys run through the streets as though the law can’t touch them and like speeding cars don’t exist. Two of the boys laugh when a car spins out of control, hits another car, and then crashes into a wall. Peck focuses on reaching Rufus and pulling out his gun.
Once again, the novel makes it clear that a person doesn’t have to die for their life to be over—the gang will suffer major changes to their lives if they follow through with attempting to kill Rufus. For that matter, they may have already done enough damage to their own lives by causing a car crash, which the novel implies is the same one that likely kills Howie.
Themes
