“The truth hurts”, a wise man once said, but Ben, the main character of Deadline, never expected to lose all of his close friends. The book Deadline, by Chris Crutcher, is about an eighteen year old Ben Wolf, the protagonist, who discovers he has one year to live due to a terminal blood disease. In the beginning of the novel, he decides that it is best to not tell anyone, but this decision comes back to haunt him. Throughout the novel, Ben becomes close with some people in Trout, the city in which Ben lives, and learns all of their ugly truths. He also accomplishes nearly impossible feats like catching the winning pass of the Homecoming game, and standing up to his closed minded Government teacher, Mr. Lambeer, where he actually succeeds. In
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This is when Ben sees the initial reaction of Dallas when he tells her about his illness. Crutcher states, “She stares and I know all our conversations are running through her head; I can see the betrayal”(Crutcher 253). At this moment, as Ben is witnessing Dallas’s reaction, and he can sense the betrayal in her face. The theme becomes apparent when Ben sees the betrayal in Dallas’s face because Dallas told Ben her truth about her uncle raping her and being Joe Henry’s mother, but he did not do the same and tell her about his illness. Along with this, Ben finally comes to the realization that he has to eventually tell people, but he does not know when. Crutcher states, “...but no matter what, I’m not telling until football season is over because they'd snatch me out of my pads so fast the pads would still be standing, so I have either one or two weeks to think about it, depending on what happens with Timberline” (Crutcher 172). Ben knows that if he tells the team before the game, it could mean that he could never play again. The theme emerges when Ben finally decides that he has to tell the team because he knows that his secret could hurt them, especially Cody and Coach. They depend on him and Ben does not want them to feel sorry for …show more content…
When Rudy dies, Ben decides to keep the suicide note to protect him. Crutcher explains, “I’ll keep the letter to read a few times to see if I missed anything, then make sure I throw it away so nothing comes out after I’m gone” (Crutcher 271). Ben knows that if people find out about Rudy’s past, it could be detrimental because Rudy was a former child molester who drank heavily so he would never harm another boy again. The theme can be shown by Ben double checking to make sure that Rudy will remain safe. Ben feels that he has to protect Rudy’s reputation because Ben became very close with him throughout the novel. Also, when Coach comes over for Thanksgiving and Ben’s family did not have any food prepared but Coach brought some to them. According to Crutcher, “Within minutes we’re sitting around the table like a regular family with two dads…I think my dad is embarrassed for someone on the outside to see this part of our family secret, but he knows coach has seen it before and it’s safe with him”(Crutcher 189). Ben knows that Coach will not tell anyone about his family’s issues. The theme can be expressed because Coach knows that this truth can damage his relationship with Ben’s family. And since this is a town where everyone knows everyone, Coach is protecting the family’s secret from the town’s possibly poor reaction, such as the spreading of
This is when Ben sees the initial reaction of Dallas when he tells her about his illness. Crutcher states, “She stares and I know all our conversations are running through her head; I can see the betrayal”(Crutcher 253). At this moment, as Ben is witnessing Dallas’s reaction, and he can sense the betrayal in her face. The theme becomes apparent when Ben sees the betrayal in Dallas’s face because Dallas told Ben her truth about her uncle raping her and being Joe Henry’s mother, but he did not do the same and tell her about his illness. Along with this, Ben finally comes to the realization that he has to eventually tell people, but he does not know when. Crutcher states, “...but no matter what, I’m not telling until football season is over because they'd snatch me out of my pads so fast the pads would still be standing, so I have either one or two weeks to think about it, depending on what happens with Timberline” (Crutcher 172). Ben knows that if he tells the team before the game, it could mean that he could never play again. The theme emerges when Ben finally decides that he has to tell the team because he knows that his secret could hurt them, especially Cody and Coach. They depend on him and Ben does not want them to feel sorry for …show more content…
When Rudy dies, Ben decides to keep the suicide note to protect him. Crutcher explains, “I’ll keep the letter to read a few times to see if I missed anything, then make sure I throw it away so nothing comes out after I’m gone” (Crutcher 271). Ben knows that if people find out about Rudy’s past, it could be detrimental because Rudy was a former child molester who drank heavily so he would never harm another boy again. The theme can be shown by Ben double checking to make sure that Rudy will remain safe. Ben feels that he has to protect Rudy’s reputation because Ben became very close with him throughout the novel. Also, when Coach comes over for Thanksgiving and Ben’s family did not have any food prepared but Coach brought some to them. According to Crutcher, “Within minutes we’re sitting around the table like a regular family with two dads…I think my dad is embarrassed for someone on the outside to see this part of our family secret, but he knows coach has seen it before and it’s safe with him”(Crutcher 189). Ben knows that Coach will not tell anyone about his family’s issues. The theme can be expressed because Coach knows that this truth can damage his relationship with Ben’s family. And since this is a town where everyone knows everyone, Coach is protecting the family’s secret from the town’s possibly poor reaction, such as the spreading of