Abuse Theme Analysis

The town of Opportunity, Alabama, seems to be a quaint and wholesome place, but flashbacks throughout the novel show moments of violence and abuse perpetrated or endured by nearly all the characters. Most notable is Tyler’s history of abusing others, namely Autumn and Sylvia, prior to becoming a mass shooter; however, Tyler himself has also been abused, and his experiences certainly shape his nefarious character. In all these cases, instances of abuse are either hidden or dismissed as the routine unpleasantness of adolescent life; by showing how these supposedly minor events of abuse culminate in a mass shooting, the novel argues that they are in fact major problems and encourages the reader to reexamine accepted but problematic social behaviors.

Prior to the shooting, most abuse in the novel is perpetrated by Tyler. Tyler is frequently involved in fights with other kids at school, notably Tomás. He picks on a queer classmate, Kevin Rolland, and his ex-girlfriend Claire says that he “wasn’t just angry…he was vindictive.” Tyler specifically targets Sylvia because she’s the sister of his nemesis, Tomás, and because as Autumn’s girlfriend she takes his sister’s attention away from him. During a school dance, Tyler corners Sylvia and threatens to “teach her” to leave his sister alone. When the two girls continue their clandestine relationship, he eventually rapes Sylvia as a form of “punishment.”

In her own narrative, Autumn characterizes Tyler as a source of protection and support, but her flashbacks reveal that he has knowingly revealed her plans to leave town to their abusive Dad, who subsequently hits her; on another occasion, Tyler even hits her himself. Just as insidiously, he intimidates and threatens his sister while simultaneously trying to convince her that he has her best interests at heart, a form of mental abuse that keeps Autumn trapped in an unhealthy relationship.

At the same time, Tyler is himself a victim of abuse. In response to his angry and vindictive nature, his classmates at school unite to shun him. Although this is an understandable reaction to his bullying, it’s also a form of social abuse and a less productive response than, for example, trying to address the sources of his anger. Tyler also lives with a largely neglectful and often abusive father. While most of his father’s explicit rage seems to be directed at Autumn, it’s clear that Tyler’s home situation is frightening and disturbing as well. Even though he’s not being physically hit, he’s being deprived of any peace of mind and learning that it’s acceptable to express one’s feelings through violence against others.

Prior to the shooting, characters dismiss these abusive situations or regard them as natural; this allows Tyler’s behavior to escalate into mass violence. Both Autumn and Sylvia hide, even from each other, Tyler’s abuse. Autumn’s refusal even to acknowledge the meaning of her brother’s behavior suggests that she thinks it’s natural or deserved, while Sylvia seems to think there’s no way to stop his actions.

Although the novel’s description of Opportunity High is rife with incidents of bullying and fistfights, teachers never seem to step in and address this problem. Rather, they appear to think that the students’ tendency to inflict pain on each other is acceptable and unlikely to lead to serious consequences—a belief which, as Tyler’s actions show, is deeply misguided.

The novel shows that Tyler’s character has been shaped by and expressed itself through social behaviors which the people around him see as unpleasant but unavoidable, but are actually highly insidious. By showing how comparatively small instances of abuse lead to much bigger problems, the novel argues that society should seek to address these behaviors on a smaller, containable level before they spiral out of control.