ThemesCreed

Themes Categorizing People/Class Distinction Class distinction or the way people categorize other people is a major source of the confusion in this novel. Torey has hung out with the same group of kids since they were all in diapers; therefore, Torey has the same belief system as all these other kids. When his friends say that the boons are smelly, dangerous and bad, Torey believes it. When his friends say that Ali is a girl who has a lot of sex, Torey believes that too. It never occurs to Torey to believe anything other than the popular opinion. However, when Christopher Creed disappears and Torey reads a copy of his runaway/suicide note, Torey begins to wonder why they were all mean to Christopher and why the automatic assumption is that one of the boons killed him. Through the course of the novel, Torey's whole belief system is put to the test. First, Torey realizes that there are reasons for Ali's behaviors, including abuse and neglect in her home life that none of Torey's other friends would ever have understood, even if he had tried to explain it to them. Then, Torey gets to know Bo Richardson and discovers that Bo has a kind streak that is a mile wide. Also, while reading Christopher Creed's diary, Torey realizes that Christopher had such a restrictive home life that he made himself believe things that were not true just to get through the day. It is through these experiences that Torey finally comes to see that the popular opinion of people is not always the reality of those people. Class distinction in this novel places Torey in the popular caste, Bo Richardson in the juvenile delinquent caste and Christopher Creed in the lowest of the unpopular castes. It is because of this class distinction that Torey is unable to be friends with either of these other boys until he breaks through the molds and learns about the true people behind the public fazade. It is also because of this categorizing of people that Christopher Creed finds himself isolated without friends or anyone he can turn to in a time of emotional need. If Christopher Creed had one friend, he might have at least been able to tell someone what was going on in his life instead of disappearing and throwing suspicion on Bo Richardson for his suspected murder. Finally, it is class distinction that places Bo in a situation where it is easy for the town to believe him capable of murder, despite his young age. Bo is poor, the child of an alcoholic mother who is rarely around and a confused young man who at one time committed several crimes that gave him the reputation of being a bad kid. However, Bo is also the only parent his younger siblings have ever known and the only person in town who truly understands Ali and her problems at home. If not for class distinction or the categorizing of people, many events in this novel may not have happened or may have had less of an impact on the people of Steepleton. Perceptions versus Reality Another cause of confusion and of tension in this novel is perception versus reality. From the moment Creed's disappearance becomes public knowledge, many fingers begin pointing in the direction of the boondocks and the kids who live there, most notably Bo Richardson. There is no reason to really blame Bo for Creed's disappearance except for the fact that he pushed Creed off the bleachers the year before and broke Creed's ankle. The main reason people point the finger of accusation at Bo is simply because of where he lives and his reputation for being a troubled kid. Bo is in fact a good kid who takes care of his younger brothers and sisters and who puts his girlfriend's needs in front of his own. Bo goes so far as confessing to a crime in order to protect Torey from going to juvenile detention. The reality of Bo's character is much different from the person the public sees. The idea of perception versus reality also comes up regarding Ali's reputation. From the beginning of the story, Ali is painted as a girl who prefers to have sex with as many partners as possible rather than participate in expected social responsibilities such as cheerleading practice. In reality, Ali is struggling with an alcoholic mother with a sex addiction and the disappearance of her own father from her life. Ali is a confused and misunderstood teenager, though no one sees this because they prefer to come to their own conclusions regarding her behavior rather than ask her. Ali also hides her relationship with Bo because of how she feels it will be perceived by the other students in their high school. Ali knows Bo is a kind and gentle person, but to the kids at school, he is a bully and a troublemaker. Ali is afraid that if their relationship becomes public, school life for her will become unbearable. Due to the way people at school perceive Bo, her assumption is probably correct. Finally, perception versus reality plays a major role in the way people treated Christopher Creed and the way he looked at the world. People believed Creed to be a nerd because of the way he talked and felt that his pushiness in attempting to make friends was annoying. However, no one stopped to see how desperately Creed wanted to make friends and how his mother's own childhood and her personal demons affected Creed's social skills. Torey also realizes late in the novel how the creepy smile Creed always wore might have in fact been the result of Creed fooling himself into believing he was popular and loved, rather than ridiculed and disliked. Creed's perception of the world around him was different from reality, though no one ever knew it except Creed himself. Death Death plays a major role in this novel, since many people believe that Creed walked into the woods and committed suicide or was murdered by Bo Richardson. Although there is never any proof of either assumption, the town becomes focused on Creed's death as though there is no other explanation of why the boy would disappear. Even Torey becomes convinced that Creed committed suicide after he visits the psychic and she tells him that he will find the body and that Creed shot himself in the head. Later, while Torey is searching for Creed's body, he falls from a rock and opens a limestone grave hidden behind three carefully placed rocks. Inside this grave are the bodies of three Indians wrapped carefully in blankets and a fourth body that is wearing modern clothing. Torey becomes convinced that this fourth body is Creed until his mother later informs him that it was actually the body of Bob Haines, the father of another boy who disappeared many years before. This death, which has been hanging over the town since Bob Haines disappeared, is a parallel to Creed's disappearance, in that Bob's son also disappeared much in the same way Creed did. Bob himself had always been suspected of killing himself, like Creed. While Torey is in the Indian burial ground the night he accidentally discovers Bob Haines's body, he becomes convinced that Creed is not dead. Until this moment, Creed's death has hung over Torey as though he himself had committed the crime. Torey is guilty about Creed because he knows that he and his friends always treated Creed badly and that this is one of the reasons Creed chose to disappear. In this way, death is a major theme of the novel because the possibility of Creed's death hangs over Torey's head for a large part of the novel and provides the motivation for many of Torey's actions.