I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2016

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-7

Chapters 8-10

Chapters 11-13

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Character Analysis

The Protagonist, Young Jake’s Girlfriend

As a character in Jake’s writing and thus a figment of his identity, the protagonist is the main narrator in the novel. However, she is unreliable since all her thoughts and actions are determined by Jake’s writing. Her decision on whether to end things is presented as the last step Jake must take before taking his own life. The protagonist’s decision whether to end things with young Jake is a metaphorical decision for whether Jake should end his own life.

The protagonist is characterized as intelligent and solitary. She is described as shorter than Jake, but whenever she recognizes herself in a photo, young Jake also recognizes himself. Therefore, her physical appearance is intertwined with his and not individual. She was once a student, but what she currently does for work is not mentioned. She shares many characteristics with Jake, including lactose intolerance.

The protagonist is obsessed with the direction her relationship with young Jake is going as she considers whether to end things and return to a solitary life. Even though she believes her connection with Jake is rare (20), the protagonist struggles to find a reason for the relationship to last. She believes being alone allows one to truly develop one’s identity without outside influences (71) and considers marriage a sacrifice of the self. The protagonist’s need for solitude and reflection contrasts with young Jake’s need for connection, and writing their dialogue allows Jake to decide with which set of values he identifies more strongly.

Jake and Young Jake

Young Jake is a character of Jake’s writing and represents who Jake could have been if he had retained his university position and been more capable with relationships. Young Jake is described as tall and lean, and he wears glasses (8). He works as a postdoctoral student studying ice crystals and proteins. Young Jake desires connection and serves as the foil to the protagonist, who values solitude. Young Jake is insecure about his family appearing normal and is eager to show the protagonist the aspects of his childhood Jake never had the opportunity to share with another person.

Jake works as a janitor in a large high school after quitting his university position due to social anxiety, isolation, and the need to separate himself from a position where he had to maintain a social persona. Jake distrusts social personas and doesn’t believe that each action a person performs is honest. Rather, Jake values the truthfulness of thought. The Speakers describe Jake as a solitary, standoffish, and strange man who failed to make any interpersonal connections during his career as a janitor.

The Speakers

After most of the novel’s chapters, Reid includes a dialogue between two unidentified Speakers who discuss the nature of Jake’s suicide. They are first in shock over the crime and struggle to comprehend its context in a quiet and relatively calm rural community. The Speakers both knew Jake and worked with him at the school. One Speaker is privy to Jake’s writing earlier than the other Speaker and expresses doubt about their decision to hire Jake in the first place because of his strange behavior (89). This characterizes one Speaker as being in a position of power at the high school, likely the principal.

The Speakers analyze Jake’s death from their perspective and condemn him for committing such an act in the high school. They refuse to take any responsibility for Jake’s decision: “We can’t let the actions of one man make us feel guilty” (89). In this way, the Speakers represent the voice of Jake’s community. They continue to isolate him even after his death by showing interest in his writing but discussing his strangeness and isolation rather than showing compassion for his struggle. The Speakers as representative of Jake’s community and colleagues are Jake’s antagonists, as they are unable to accept him either in life or in death.