This Is Where It Ends

by

Marieke Nijkamp

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Social Media Symbol Analysis

Social Media Symbol Icon

Even though the student body of Opportunity High School is trapped in the auditorium during the shooting, they communicate with the outside world using cell phones and social media. Some, like Steve, call loved ones with desperate pleas for help; others, such as CJ, tweet updates and feelings throughout the day. Having stayed home from school, Jay tweets in solidarity with his endangered friends, and Mr. Jameson’s daughter Mei updates her blog regularly, trying to stay hopeful even as it becomes clear that her father is dead.

In the midst of crisis, all these people use social media to stay connected to each other, and their actions illuminate the ties that bind Opportunity residents together. CJ’s feed is flooded with comments, sometimes with strangers, sending prayers and reporting on the actions of the police; the anguish that Jay expresses on Twitter shows his deep sense of connection to other students. Mei uses her blog to report on the parents outside the school, who support and comfort each other despite their previous differences. At the same time, CJ, Jay and Mei receive many comments, often by anonymous users, mocking their grief or questioning the veracity of their accounts of the shooting. Social media isn’t just a tool of connection but a means by which community members tear each other down and sow division. Nijkamp presents Opportunity’s insular, tight-knit spirit as both positive and negative, a source of security and an entrapping force. This duality is further represented in the novel’s omnipresent social media.

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Social Media Symbol Timeline in This Is Where It Ends

The timeline below shows where the symbol Social Media appears in This Is Where It Ends. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: 10:01-10:02 A.M.
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
In an exchange of tweets, CJ, a student inside the assembly, complains about being sleepy, while another student, Jay, hints... (full context)
Chapter 2: 10:02-10:04 A.M.
Family and Sibling Relationships Theme Icon
In a text message , Matt tells Claire not to worry about him, and jokes that the speech was... (full context)
Chapter 3: 10:04-10:05 A.M.
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
Change, Uncertainty, and Growing Up Theme Icon
In a blog, a girl named Mei muses that while “Opportunity always looks the same,” she enjoys the... (full context)
Chapter 4: 10:05-10:07 A.M.
Gun Violence Theme Icon
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
In a series of tweets, CJ posts that an active shooter is inside Opportunity High. A variety of other users... (full context)
Chapter 5: 10:07-10:10 A.M.
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
On Twitter, Jay, the student who skipped school, begs for more information and messages his friend Kevin,... (full context)
Chapter 6: 10:10-10:12 A.M.
Change, Uncertainty, and Growing Up Theme Icon
Matt texts Claire for help, telling her that he is scared and trapped in the auditorium. (full context)
Chapter 7: 10:12-10:15 A.M.
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
In an increasingly frantic tone, Jay tweets about the shooting at Opportunity High and asks for more information. An anonymous user tells... (full context)
Chapter 8: 10:15-10:18 A.M.
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
CJ tweets that she’s trying to be brave but is so afraid. Her cousins and friends outside... (full context)
Chapter 9: 10:18-10:20 A.M.
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
On her blog, Mei Jameson posts that her father (Mr. Jameson) isn’t returning any of her texts, and... (full context)
Chapter 10: 10:20-10:22 A.M.
Gun Violence Theme Icon
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
CJ tweets that people all around her are dying and she can’t find her brother. A reporter... (full context)
Chapter 11: 10:22-10:25 A.M.
Gun Violence Theme Icon
Family and Sibling Relationships Theme Icon
Matt sends another text message to Claire, begging her to come save him. (full context)
Chapter 13: 10:27-10:28
Gun Violence Theme Icon
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
Abuse Theme Icon
On Twitter, Jay responds in frustration to reporters, saying that he skipped school and has no idea... (full context)
Chapter 14: 10:28-10:30 A.M.
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
On Twitter, Jay demands that reporters stop asking him questions and “GTFO of my feed.” (full context)
Chapter 15: 10:30-10:32 A.M.
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
Family and Sibling Relationships Theme Icon
Change, Uncertainty, and Growing Up Theme Icon
Matt texts Claire again, telling her that he “hurts” and wondering why she hasn’t called him. (full context)
Chapter 16: 10:32-10:35 A.M.
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
In fury, CJ tweets that she would kill Tyler if she had a gun. Other people respond that help... (full context)
Chapter 18: 10:37-10:39 A.M.
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
Family and Sibling Relationships Theme Icon
Change, Uncertainty, and Growing Up Theme Icon
Claire is relieved and terrified to hear her brother’s voice on the phone, which she’s borrowed from a kind stranger. Matt tells her softly that he hid under... (full context)
Gun Violence Theme Icon
On Twitter, Jay privately messages Kevin and confesses that he was planning to ask him to this... (full context)
Chapter 19: 10:39-10:42 A.M.
Gun Violence Theme Icon
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
Writing on her blog from outside the school, Mei says that she’s never seen so many community members in... (full context)
Chapter 20: 10:42-10:44 A.M.
Gun Violence Theme Icon
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
CJ reports via Twitter that the auditorium is almost empty. It seems like everything that happened was a dream—or... (full context)
Chapter 21: 10:44-10:46 A.M.
Gun Violence Theme Icon
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
Jay tweets that he has “no words for today,” and lots of other Twitter users reply that... (full context)
Chapter 22: 10:46-10:47 A.M.
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
In her blog, Mei writes about the hope that each emerging survivor inspires in the bystanders, and the... (full context)
Chapter 24: 10:48-10:50 A.M.
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
CJ tweets that daylight feels “too bright.” She’s disillusioned with the entire world, but she knows she’s... (full context)
Chapter 25: 10:50-10:53 A.M.
Gun Violence Theme Icon
Sending a private message to the murdered Kevin Rolland, Jay mourns the fact that he’ll never be able to... (full context)
Chapter 26: 10:53-10:55 A.M.
Gun Violence Theme Icon
Mei posts on her blog that despite all the information coming out the school, she can’t bring herself to believe... (full context)
Epilogue: 11:59 P.M.
Gun Violence Theme Icon
Community and Tragedy Theme Icon
...police finally leave Opportunity High, Fareed breaks in through the roof and spreads word through social media to the students, who gather their siblings and friends and descend on the school. It’s... (full context)