Death

Death plays a very strong defining role in the plot of this novel as well as being a central theme around which much of the thought of Anthony Webster, the narrator, is centered. There are four specific deaths that each have an impact on the novel, the deaths of Robson and Adrian Finn center around the sub-theme of suicide and the value of human life, while the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Ford have large effects on the plot, especially regarding the will of Mrs. Sarah Ford.

The theme of death is first introduced when Tony and his friends are in high school, with their classmate Robson's suicide, presumably as a reaction to his girlfriend becoming pregnant. The first clash regarding this theme is whether or not this death was tragic simply because it was the loss of a young human life, full of potential, or...