They Both Die at the End

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay. 

Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the play over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Mateo and Rufus both change over the course of a day.

• How does each boy grow over the course of their End Day? (topic sentence)
• What events, activities, and conversations prompt change in Mateo and Rufus’s lives? Give at least three examples and use details from the text to support your ideas.
• Finally, in your concluding sentence or sentences, discuss how these developments connect to the theme of Inescapable Mortality and Living Without Regret.

2. Several minor characters make appearances and encounter Mateo and Rufus throughout their End Day.

• What effect does their inclusion have on the story? (topic sentence)
• What are three ways that these minor characters’ stories illustrate the theme of Connection and Isolation in a Changing Society?
• Finally, in your concluding sentence or sentences, discuss why it is important that these stories are interwoven with those of Mateo and Rufus.

3. Elements relating to Death-Cast, like the terms “Decker” and “End Day” and the Last Friend app, permeate society in this novel.

• How do these elements and others permeate the culture within the novel? (topic sentence)
• How is the Decker experience commodified through products, services, and discounts? Give three examples from the text.
• Finally, in your concluding sentence or sentences, discuss how these elements contribute to the motif of dystopia within the novel.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. What is the relationship between living and dying in They Both Die at the End? Is it one of strict opposites? How do Mateo and Rufus consider the ways that they are “living” throughout their End Day? How do other minor characters view living and dying? What message is conveyed about Inescapable Mortality and Living Without Regret in this novel? As you write your essay, include examples from the novel to support your argument.  

2. Both Mateo and Rufus use social media. What role does social media play in the novel? How about other elements of “Decker culture,” like the Last Friend app and CountDowners? Is there a lesson to be gained from the portrayal of these elements, and if so, what is it and how does it connect to the theme of Connection and Isolation in a Changing Society? In your essay, include a strong central thesis and examples from the text to support your argument.

3. Mateo and Rufus are both people of color; Mateo is Puerto Rican, while Rufus is Cuban. Additionally, both seemingly identify as other than straight. Do these and other identities affect the two boys’ experience of their End Day? Make an argument about the role of these Intersectional, Marginalized Identities and use examples from the text to support it. Draw both from the sections told from Mateo and Rufus’s point of view and those told from the perspective of other characters.