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 chooses not to speculate on what it means that the line for Clint’s Graveyard is much shorter than it was last night. His phone goes off: it’s the Plutos. Mateo explains to Lidia what this means as Rufus answers the FaceTime. Malcolm and Tagoe are surprised and overjoyed that Rufus is still alive. Mateo asks them to bring Aimee and come to Clint’s, but to leave Peck at home. Tagoe says they’ll be there soon and they hang up. Rufus takes a photo of the Clint’s Graveyard sign and uploads it to Instagram. Peck sees the post, puts his gun in his backpack, and leads his friends out of the house.
Even as Rufus and Mateo go to Clint’s Graveyard to spend their final hours living, it’s impossible for them to ignore that they and so many others will spend their final hours here. Though Rufus is posting about his day with the intention of giving his friends something to remember him by, this doesn’t mean that he can fully control how people interact with his Instagram. Any social media, the novel shows, can be abused.
Themes
