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
When they reach the Travel Arena, Mateo keeps Rufus from slipping on his way off the bus. They get in the line for Deckers; the line on their left is for terminally ill people, and on the one on the right is for bored people who aren’t dying. Mateo says he’d love the chance to barter with Death to live another day, or at least to choose how he dies. Mateo thinks he’d die in his sleep after living bravely and becoming the kind of person worthy of a romantic relationship. Rufus is incredulous. Lidia gets out of an Uber, and Mateo runs to her. They hug, Lidia slaps Mateo, and then they hug again. Lidia cries that Mateo is supposed to be with her forever and vote for Penny when she runs for president. Mateo apologizes.
Though Mateo never indicates that Lidia influenced what he chose to put on his headstone (“He Lived for Everyone”), it’s likely that she did have an impact on this choice—the way she talks about Penny suggests that she lives for Penny in much the same way that Mateo lives for others. In this way, the novel shows that it’s essential to live for others to some degree. Lidia must live for Penny in order to successfully parent, and both Rufus and Mateo must partially live for each other in order to help the other have the best End Day they can.
Themes
Lidia assures Mateo that it’s not his fault, but Mateo says it might be—if he didn’t hide so much, he might have street smarts, and his death could still be his own fault. Lidia tells him to shut up; the world is unsafe anyway. She wishes she’d shown him that some risks are worth it, but Mateo thinks she already has: she showed him that sometimes, people unexpectedly have children they love more than anything. Mateo says that he’s taking risks today, and since they’re never going to be able to road trip with Penny in the future, they’re going to travel together now. He introduces Lidia and Rufus. At the front of the line, the teller offers condolences for all three of them. When he learns that Lidia isn’t dying, he says that her ticket is $100, so Mateo pays for Lidia’s ticket and leaves a large donation.
Lidia is right: the world is unsafe no matter what a person does or doesn’t do. By pointing this out, the novel implicitly prompts readers to recognize that while they might not get an alert about their impending death like individuals in the novel, they should still live life understanding that they’re mortal. On another note, the Travel Arena’s business model is arguably more ethical than Make-A-Moment’s, since they don’t charge Decker. However, it’s questionable that they charge friends and family for the privilege of making memories with loved ones. Either way, both organizations are focused on profit, even if they’re exploiting a different group of people.
Themes
Rufus suggests they take one of the tours. Mateo suggests Around the World in 80 Minutes, so they climb onto the trolley. The other Deckers on board have incurable illnesses. The driver, Leslie, offers her condolences and begins the tour. The replicas of different places are fantastic. Rufus cheers for his roots in Cuba, and Lidia talks about Colombia when they get there. When the trolley stops in Puerto Rico, Rufus drags Mateo and Lidia off to check out the Rainforest Jump. They walk through a rainforest room and listen to tree frogs. Mateo thinks of Dad’s stories of catching frogs to sell as pets when he was a kid. They reach a room with lifeguards around a 20-foot cliff. Mateo watches a girl fall backwards into the pool and come up, laughing. The lifeguards scold her, but she doesn’t care.
Thinking about Dad in the Puerto Rico section makes Dad feel more present for Mateo. Even though Dad can’t be awake and present for Mateo’s last day, he’s still not forgotten—and remembering Dad helps Mateo decide that the Rainforest Jump is something he wants to do. Even though the Rainforest Jump is still contrived, like the virtual reality experiences at Make-A-Moment, there’s much greater room for error—which makes it feel like more of a risk. To Mateo, this is a perfect stepping-stone: he’s still safe, but he has to be willing to actually experience something.
Themes
