96 pages • 3 hours read
Matthew QuickBoy21
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Themes
Identity
Throughout the novel, identity emerges as an integral aspect of Finley’s character development. As a coming-of-age novel, the book struggles with the differentiation between self-identity and external identity: that is, Finley constantly grapples with the idea that the person he shows to the rest of the world does not represent his true self. Russ also struggles with this concept, often feeling like two different people: “you’re not the person on the outside that you are on the inside” (216). A large portion of Russ and Finley’s friendship is built upon this belief in the chimerical nature of their identities.
However, the theme of identity most frequently manifests itself in the novel’s emphasis on names. In Bellmont, characters use names as a method of exerting control, usually over external forces, such as other people’s perceptions. In the beginning of the novel, Finley thinks that it is important for his audience to understand that people call him “White Rabbit,” a nickname that he despises. Similarly, it is important to Finley that Coach refuses to call him by this nickname, always referring to him with titular respect, although the reader is later led to believe that Coach might have used this alleged respect to manipulate Finley into helping Russ. In this way, Finley’s multiple names—which correspond to his multiple identities—are all used as methods to control his behavior.
A turning point in his character development comes when Finley reprimands Terrell for calling Erin by her despised nickname, “White Rabbit’s lil baby,” demanding that Terrell “[s]how some respect” (191). After sticking up for Erin—and, by extension, for himself—Finley notices that Terrell finally calls him by his given name, instead of by his hated nickname, “which seems important” (191). Finley thus takes control over his name and identity, demonstrating personal agency that he previously lacked.
In contrast, Russ takes the name Boy21to guard himself against external forces as well as from the traumatic experiences of his past, cementing Russ’s position as Finley’s literary foil. Although Coach refuses to refer to Russ as Boy21, Russ appropriates this identity to protect himself, controlling how much of his past he exposes to other people. Russ uses Boy21, as well as the outfit that Boy21 wears and constant conversations about outer space, as defense mechanisms to forget about the death of his parents. Russ becomes so obsessed with this alter-ego that Finley worries he will lose himself to it, but Russ is jerked back into reality when he realizes there are things outside of his control, such as Erin’s accident and Finley’s subsequent depression.
Body
As a comingofage story, Boy21 places much attention on the body. Finley’s mind is constantly distracted by thoughts of Erin, whose body seems to be the sole female body in the Bellmont community. The book begins with Finley staring at Erin’s “black sports bra,” imaging “the shape of her small breast perfectly” (7). Much like the physicality of basketball, Erin’s body serves as a distraction for Finley from the trauma of his past and from the violence of Bellmont. In contrast, the old, handicapped body of Finley’s grandfather—or rather, the absence of his legs—serves as a reminder of this past trauma, dredging up memories that Finley would prefer to keep hidden.
As such, a hierarchy exists among the bodies within Finley’s world. Although Erin’s body serves as a distraction, it is the bodies of other males that Finley is most drawn to, via basketball. In this way, Erin’s body is rendered secondary to Finley’s own, or rather, to his wishes for his own physical appearance. Finley first describes Russ’s “perfect basketball body” as “[t]all, lean, strong—it looks exactly like Kobe Bryant’s” (37). Finley’s identity is tied to his body, or rather to his insecurities concerning his implicitly imperfect body.
Similarly, when the audience first meets Rod, Erin’s brother, via Finley’s memory, Finley’s description of Rod is almost entirely based upon Rod’s body: “He had been lifting weights and looked like a professional bodybuilder” (18). Rod’s well-formed body impresses Finley, who wishes for the power resulting from such musculature. However, within this powerful body—as well as the other powerful bodies that Finley encounters—lies the threat of violence. Implicit within Finley’s obsession with physicality is the prevalence of violence within his community, as exemplified by his intrusive memory of Don Little being found unconscious on the basketball court: “His entire body was swollen and bruised” (19). In this way, the possibility of violence being enacted against bodies is conflated with basketball, the very method Finley uses to extricate himself from thatviolence.
The Importance of Friendship
At its core, this book is about the importance of friendship. At the beginning of the novel, Finley is constructed as an outsider; he does not have any friends besides Erin, who also happens to be his girlfriend. Even in his childhood, Erin was his only friend: “I didn’t want to make friends with anyone” (2–3). Due to past trauma, Finley believes that it is easier not to have friends; in some way, being silent and alone ensures his emotional protection. If Finley does not have people he cares about, he cannot be hurt by their actions or disappearance. Finley does not try to maintain interpersonal relationships in Bellmont, as his sole goal remains escaping from its violence.
Coachknows that Finley is a bit of a loner but doesn’t believe that being alone is healthy for young people: “People need friends. Real friends….I think you’re going to learn a lot this year” (25). Coach pushes two loners—Russ and Finley—together because he believes that friendship will aid them both, especially concerning healing their respective traumas. As a basketball coach, Coach values the camaraderie and teamwork that being part of a group can bring; he believes that interpersonal relationships are the only way to achieve a goal. For these reasons, he forces the friendship between two lonely students.
But even after Finley and Russ hang out for a while, Finley still does not understand the true meaning of friendship: the willingness to sacrifice some aspect of yourself for another person. At first, Finley finds Russ only an amusement, another way for him to escape the darkness of his past, and even occasionally a burden, due to Russ’s strange behavior. It is only when Russ volunteers not to play basketball so that Finley can have a starting position his senior year that Finley begins to understand what friendship really means: “I’m not sure anyone has ever offered to make such a sacrifice for me” (113). Russ exposes Finley to the importance of sacrifice in interpersonal relationships, forever altering Finley’s character. Without Russ’s involvement and continued friendship, Finley would not have given up basketball to ensure Erin’s health; he might have viewed her accident as an uninvited distraction from his senior year and potentially lost her as a friend. Finley’s newfound understanding of friendship colors the way in which he views all other interpersonal relationships, as he goes from being self-centered to understanding the depth to which other people, including members of his family, have sacrificed on his behalf. In this way, Finley’s recognition of the importance of friendships represents the impetus behind his psychological maturation.
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