Describe an important idea in the text.
Explain whether or not you think this idea is relevant to teenagers today.
In the book They both die at the end, written by Adam Silvera a event for Mateo was when he receives the dreading phone call from Death-Cast calling him that he was going to die today, another event was when Mateo finally realised what he had finally done in his life after hanging out with Rufus. The event where Mateo received the phone call helped me understand how precious life is and how you should live every day like it’s your last while the event where Mateo realised what life actually is showed me how we should let our fears of death go and live our lives to the fullest. Through these events, Silvera showed the readers that life shouldn’t be taken for granted and that no one should fear death.
The fear of dying shouldn’t stop you from doing the things you really want to do. In the beginning of the book, Mateo got a phone call from Death-Cast informing him he is going to die today. He regrets it immediately “The number one person I’ll miss the most is Future Mateo, who maybe loosened up and lived” Mateo is already looking back at his life thinking about all the opportunities he missed out on. “Loosened up and lived” these words from Mateo particularly stood out to me as even he realised that there is so much to live to explore but his sadness and anxiety stopped him from doing all that. Mateo later on goes on to think about what his headst one should say. “What a waste of a life” “I have to do better, I have to honour this” Mateo realises he has still got time and wants to spend the rest of the day living in another version of himself. The repetition of “I have to” highlighted that Mateo is very eager to change the way he is living and enjoy himself on his last day which he couldn’t do all his life, Silvera has used the repetition to put an idea into the reader’s mind that when it comes to your death you get all the regrets so it’s better you live your life with a purpose from the start and not being afraid of death as having a fear could really set you back from doing the things you want to do such as exploring the world a thing Mateo couldn’t do as he just wanted the safety of his own bed. **Silvera’s purpose is to show that we can live our lives with a meaning and not think about regrets. This idea is really important to teenagers in today’s society because we are not sure what to do with our lives and could fall into bad habits. This book makes me think beyond its pages as Mateo’s character can be related to the real world as how people are scared of trying new things eg Sky diving. This is why Silvera has set up Mateo’s character personality from the start because he wants us to take away that we shouldn’t fear death and just live life without any regrets. As that’s what many teenagers in today’s world are not doing, they are not living life to the fullest and are falling into bad habits. Silvera has used Mateo’s character in this event to show us how we should live life to the fullest and not to be worried about death.
Throughout They Both Die at the End, Silvera encourages us to let go of our fears of death and live our lives without worry. This idea is important because shows us how much fear can lead to regret and despair and how much your life could improve if you live without the fear of death, responsibly yet joyfully. This idea is especially important to a teen to a young adult audience that has the time and the capacity to change our views and be able to live our lives based on this novel to the fullest.
**Silvera displays this idea through several events, one of which is Mateo finally being at terms with himself: In which this event he talks to himself about his change in mindset and how that’s allowed him to, after living in fear and now regret, finally let go of the fear of death and lived his life truly, honestly, and freely. “the most important goodbye is the one I said to Past Mateo, who I left behind at home …” “…Twelve hours ago I received a phone call telling me I’m going to die today, and I’m more alive now than I was then.” (p.227). This event lets the readers realise the growth and quality of life Mateo has gained from this experience. By him just deciding to live, Mateo has let go of his fear and regret, deciding to look forward, now finally happy with himself. The quote “Twelve hours ago I received a phone call telling me I’m going to die today, and I’m more alive now than I was then.” (p.227). Really puts the readers into perspective how much quality of life the readers would also gain if they would choose to actually live instead of fear. Even the fact that Mateo dies, in the end, gives the readers a sense of urgency of achieving this goal before they reach their end too because no one wants to live their lives in regret and this is what is happening in today’s society because people are so afraid of taking risks and when they lie in their death bed they are constantly regretting the things they didn’t do.
Overall the event of Mateo receiving the phone call and the event of Mateo realising what life has shown me that there is so much to life and that we should enjoy it to the fullest rather than dwelling on our fears of dying. Silvera skillfully illustrated this concept through Mateo’s growth as a character. Mateo went from beginning the book being terrified and apprehensive and not experiencing life to the fullest to realising what life is and being able to live it fully for a single time. Silvera’s purpose was to show that we can live our lives to the fullest and get the fear of death out of our minds.
