Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in This Is Where It Ends, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Gun Violence
Community and Tragedy
Family and Sibling Relationships
Change, Uncertainty, and Growing Up
Abuse
Summary
Analysis
Tomás stays low to the ground as he makes his way through the auditorium. He can see Tyler leaning over Autumn onstage. He wishes that he’d done something about Tyler’s behavior earlier; he thinks that, after all, the other boy was “never one of us.” He feels protective of Autumn, since she’s his sister’s girlfriend. Reaching a football player he knows, Tomás taps him on the shoulder and urgently whispers for him to run. This situation is nightmarish, but soon everyone will be safe and Tyler’s power over them will be ended for good.
Tomás acknowledges that the community failed by neglecting to address Tyler’s behavior before it spun out of control. Yet with his thought about Tyler being an outsider, he also sees community as an exclusionary force, which can and should cast out undesirable members rather than trying to create a society in which everyone can thrive. Tomás’s reflections here encapsulate the complex role that the school community plays in the novel.
Themes
Tyler “seethes” at Autumn that he hates her, especially because all she cares about is dance. He tells her that if she wants to dance so much, she should use the stage she has now; hoping to distract her brother from further shooting, Autumn takes up fifth position and prepares to dance, disregarding the confused and angry looks of the students around her. She has lots of solos prepared for her Julliard audition, but instead she starts dancing one of her own impromptu compositions, inspired by her love for Tyler and all the good times they’ve shared. However, she can’t concentrate on these memories anymore; she can’t stop thinking about his cold smile as he watched their Dad hit her, or his brutal shooting of Nyah.
For the first time, Autumn understands that loving her brother and trying to redeem him could earn make her the enemy of other students, who understandably see him as an unmitigated criminal. In fact, Autumn’s inability to think of anything other than the ways he’s abused her shows that she’s changing her conception of her brother as an authority figure, which until now has guided their relationship and prevented her from acting against him.
Themes
When Autumn catches sight of Sylvia, she’s able to dance again with joy and hope. But then her ankle twists, and it gets harder to move. She thinks about Sylvia’s Mamá, who’s getting sicker every day, and the possibility that Sylvia will stay in Opportunity to care for her rather than going to college. They never talked about these things, and Autumn never admitted her fear of losing Sylvia; she wonders if by not speaking up, she’s pushed her girlfriend away for good. Suddenly, Tyler kicks her legs out from under her and she lands on her back.
Autumn’s emotional dependence on Sylvia as she dances shows that their relationship is replacing family ties as the central bond of her life. While Autumn doesn’t want to give up her father and brother, she’s beginning to understand that in order to respect herself and move towards a fulfilling life as an adult, she has to let go of the abusive relationships that have defined her life.
Themes
Sylvia taps a particularly dazed and terrified sophomore to tell him that the doors are open, but he can barely focus on what she’s saying. She instructs him to find as many people as he can and get out, but he still doesn’t move. Trying another tactic, she points to Asha and tells the boy, whose name is Steve, that she just lost her sister and needs someone to care for her. She’s learned from Mamá’s illnesses that giving people specific tasks works better than vague instructions. As Steve moves off, Sylvia starts to believe that she really can save everyone.
Tomás has always seen Sylvia’s gentleness with their mother as evidence of her vulnerability and need for protection. But now, these skills allow her to take charge in a desperate situation—ultimately showing that fulfilling feminine norms isn’t a sign of weakness.
Themes
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In a rare display of affection, Coach Lindt hugs Claire and Chris, but he doesn’t have any more information on the situation than they do. The police officer leads the two students to a quiet corner of the parking lot to debrief them; they can see the cars of concerned parents speeding down the road toward the school. Claire is unsurprised to see that the Opportunity gossip mill has sprung into action so quickly; here, “even the staunchest enemies come together to share the latest news.”
Claire’s comment mirrors Sylvia’s earlier depiction of the town and creates an image of a community determined to overcome its differences. However, the online conversations that are periodically dominated by malicious or divisive commenters present a more divided, cynical view of the community that complicates the unity shown here.
Themes
Before the officer can ask any questions, Claire desperately asks if they can help the rescue operations in some way. The officer ignores her and asks her to repeat everything she saw and heard before running from the school. Chris quickly explains the situation, their reasons for skipping the assembly, and the shots that they heard. When the officer asks if they’ve had contact with anyone inside, Claire realizes that although her phone is in the locker room, she could borrow someone else’s to call Matt. But then the officer mentions Tyler’s name, and she feels sick.
Claire has felt completely cut off from her brother; the possibility of calling him alleviates that anxiety, but it doesn’t actually get her any closer to saving him. This moment hints at how technology and social media represent both the community’s desire for connection and its inability to protect itself from violence.
Themes
On Twitter, Jay demands that reporters stop asking him questions and “GTFO of my feed.”
Jay sees the reporters as deeply unscrupulous, rather than people doing a job and trying to bring information to the wider world. Their role here again emphasizes how different forces within a community can cause harm and good at the same time.
Themes
