payment page
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Rufus’s Bike
As a prized possession, Rufus’s bike serves as a symbol for both escape and release. In the beginning, Rufus flees the police on his bike and uses it as an emotional escape as well. After the bombing at the bookstore, Rufus begs Mateo to just get over his fears and ride with him because he just wants to ride and get away from the experience. When Mateo agrees, the bike becomes freeing for both boys. Even though Mateo doesn’t work up the nerve to put his arms around Rufus the way he wants to, riding the bike inspires him to continue to try to take risks. At Althea Park, the bike represents a release when Rufus gives it away to a random boy. Rufus knows that the bike is a part of his past and has no real place in his End Day experience with Mateo. Giving the bike away symbolizes Rufus accepting his impending death and embracing the life he has left with Mateo.
Legos
The building blocks symbolize Mateo’s innocence. Rufus buys Mateo a small set of Legos in acknowledgment of Mateo’s former ambition of being an architect, linking the blocks to Mateo’s old life and his hopes for a future. When the power goes off while they’re on the train, Mateo builds what he thinks of as a sanctuary, the same word he used to refer to his bedroom where he hid from the world. In his nightmare on the train, however, the sanctuary fails to save him, and he wakes up to the realization that there is no safe place for him anymore. When Mateo sees his own grave being dug at the cemetery, the idea of his mortality is made unavoidably clear. When Mateo leaves the Lego building leaning against his own headstone, he is symbolically putting his innocence to rest. From that point on, Mateo moves through his End Day with no more illusions about ever getting to live the future he envisioned for himself as an architect or about being safe from his own death.
Mateo’s Bed
In the beginning of the novel, Mateo’s bed and the room it’s in represent a refuge and a place for him to hide. Instead of engaging with the world outside of his apartment, Mateo stays in his bed and experiences the world through social media and video games. When he leaves that virtual life to spend his End Day with Rufus, Mateo gradually moves away from not only the idea of safety but also the need for it. Mateo embraces risks and learns to live his life fully. When they return to Mateo’s bed, Rufus refers to it as an island, a safe place for them to rest. Mateo, however, understands that there is no guarantee of safety, and when he leaves the bed to do something nice for Rufus, that action leads to his death. Leaving the bed indicates that Mateo has learned that there is no escaping danger or death and that focusing on safety limits opportunities for living. Additionally, he understands that safety is an illusion that cannot stop death.
