The Dead and the Gone

“Alex began to wonder if he was still asleep. None of this seemed real, except for the reports of Aunt Lorraine’s hysteria.”

Reality starts to sink in for Alex. While he hopes for a quick recovery after the asteroid hits the moon, he slowly realizes that the situation might be more serious than he first suspected. Conflict and tension are also starting to build. Alex doesn’t know where Mami and Papi are or what is going to happen to him and his sisters, but he realizes that he is now the head of the family and that it is up to him to ensure their safety and survival. It is ironic that Alex laughs about Aunt Lorraine’s hysteria, yet she is the one who first realizes the seriousness of the situation.

“The words and pictures assaulted him anyway. Horrific loss of life. Lower Manhattan decimated. Staten Island, Long Island devastated. Blackouts, looting, riots. Curfew between 8 PM and 6 AM. Tides twenty feet tall, sweeping away people, trees, even buildings. Mandatory evacuations. Plane crashes. Countless numbers of people dead in subways and in cars from tunnel flooding.”

Alex finally understands how horrific the collision was and what the consequences have been for Earth. This imagery shows the reader the devastation of New York, implying similar destruction has occurred around the world. The reference to the flooding of the subways also provides a clue to Mami’s likely fate.

“Somehow it had felt like the problems belonged to West Eighty-eighth Street. But it wasn’t just Papi stuck in Milagro del Mar; people all over the world were affected by the airports being closed. And Mami wasn’t the only person stuck at her job with no way of reassuring her family that she was alright.”

Up to this point, Alex has only considered what’s going on in his own neighborhood, but now he begins to realize that what he’s seeing and experiencing is universal. He knows that his parents are missing, but he now understands that many people are missing family members, making the situation that much more difficult and devastating. Alex’s realization that the crisis does not only impact him and those closest to him illustrates his maturity, as he can put his own struggles in context.

“He walked over to the bulletin boards, but there was nothing new, just more names on the listings of the missing and the dead. He tried to pray for their souls, but the words had lost all meaning.”

The bulletin boards at St. Margaret’s play an important role in the novel as a center of information and faith. This is the second time that Alex has looked at the bulletin boards since Father Franco announced their use to the congregation. This passage also illustrates a hitch in Alex’s faith. Within a few days of the collision, the destruction makes it difficult for Alex to pray.

“Alex felt a familiar wave of resentment, which he ordinarily fought to keep under control, but this morning welcomed as an old, reassuring presence. Rich babies, he thought. What did they know of missing parents, needy sisters, thirty-dollar flashlights.”

Although Alex attends a prestigious private high school in New York, he isn’t wealthy. He lives in an average apartment, not a penthouse, and he has an after-school job to help his family financially. Most of the students at the academy don’t live this way—something very apparent to Alex. Despite his frustration in these extraordinary circumstances, Alex is typically grateful for the opportunities he enjoys, while some of his classmates show snobbery and disrespect because they have had everything in life handed to them. This illustrates the type of mature and hardworking person Alex is.

“It is the belief of the archdiocese that the occurrences of the past few days are but a taste of what is to come,’ Father Mulrooney continued. ‘Unpleasant though it is to contemplate, we must assume deprivation and death lie in wait.”

Father Mulrooney makes this statement as the new headmaster at St. Vincent de Paul Academy. He is addressing the student body about changes happening at the school because of the moon’s collision. Father Mulrooney is the first character to blatantly explain the dire circumstances everyone is facing and the likelihood that there is worse to come.

“It was a scene unlike any Alex could have imagined. If he looked up, it was Yankee Stadium, filled with empty seats. But if he looked at eye level, it was hell.”

Because Mami has not contacted her children since the hospital called her into work, Alex decides to go to Yankee Stadium to see if her body is there. He is unprepared for the scene that awaits him there, as he must face death in a grotesque and personal way. This statement also illustrates the ironic dichotomy Alex faces every day. Most of what he sees is normal and just as it should be, yet there is a constant undercurrent of death and destruction.

“When Carlos calls next, we’ll tell him,’ he said. ‘Maybe the Marines will let him come home. But until then, it’s just the three of us. So we have to pull together. We have to act the way Mami and Papi would expect us to. We have to go to school and keep the place neat and attend Mass.”

This is the moment that the three youngest Morales children truly understand that they are on their own and must carry on without the help and support of their parents or older brother. They realize that, though drastically different, life must continue, and they must do their part to help the family survive this crisis. Alex outlines their priorities, believing that keeping these elements in place will help them make it through the situation successfully. Among other things, the passage underscores the importance of faith in keeping the children going.

“He grabbed his books and walked out of the cafeteria, aware that the eyes of the other students were on him. Alex Morales, who had never missed a day of school, who had never talked back to a teacher, let alone a priest, had just defied the headmaster.”

Up to this point, Alex has been a very level-headed and obedient teenager who does what adults ask with little resistance. When he leaves school against Father Mulrooney’s wishes to talk to Father Franco, however, it marks a significant shift in Alex’s character. He is starting to question the rules and authority of others, doing what is best for him and his family as opposed to what others want him to do.

“He didn’t want to tell Bri what he just realized, that if he left without seeing her get on the van, she’d be one of the gone and he couldn’t bear that.”

This statement’s significance rests in its relation to the title of the novel. When Alex uses the phrase “the gone,” he is referring not to those who are dead but to those who have simply disappeared without explanation. At this point, both Mami and Papi are part of the gone, as is Carlos after his deployment. In the mass chaos of the disaster, no one can confirm them dead, yet no one can confirm them alive either. Now, Alex faces the idea that Bri could be part of the gone. If he doesn’t wait for her to get into the van, he won’t know for sure that she is headed to the convent. The episode highlights the tendency to cling to certainty in overwhelming circumstances.

“He knew Julie missed Bri as much as he did, but whatever pain Julie was feeling she kept to herself, for which Alex was very grateful. He had no words to comfort her, not having any to comfort himself.”

This statement marks a significant change in Julie’s character. She misses Bri greatly, but she does not show it, nor does she burden Alex with it. Instead, she keeps it to herself and continues to press forward despite her difficult circumstances. This shows that 12-year-old Julie is starting to mature and change as a character, learning to stand on her own and not allow fear and sadness control her.

“In a week, the hospital would be closed. In a week, Queens would no longer exist. Did Puerto Rico still exist? Did the Morales family? Did hope?”

When Alex learns that the city is evacuating Queens, he loses all hope that Mami is alive and simply can’t contact her children. Because this one remaining hope for Mami falls, he now questions everything else that he’s hoping for. He questions whether Puerto Rico exists and even questions the existence of the family unit without his parents or definite knowledge of where Carlos is and how Carlos and Bri are doing.

“‘These are the worst of times,’ Father Mulrooney replied. ‘Rules are needed even more now. Without them there is anarchy.’

Alex thought about the riot, about the baby, about the man he had trampled on. ‘Sometimes the rules don’t work,’ he said. ‘Sometimes the rules cause the anarchy.’”

Up to this point, Alex relied upon the structure that lists and rules provided, as they gave his world logic and order. Now Alex can no longer rely on rules because the situation in which he’s living does not abide by any. The weather changes without notice, people’s characters shift in a flash, and Alex must acknowledge that all he once knew and relied upon can no longer help him. He must make sense of what’s in front of him based on his family’s survival, and this realization shows a significant shift in his character.

“He’d stopped calling Nana’s number even before his phone service had stopped—a couple of weeks before. Papi was gone, the same as Mami, the same as Carlos, the same as the sun.”

This moment illustrates that Alex has finally let go of his hope that Papi, Mami, and even Carlos will ever return. This frees him to keep moving forward and taking care of his sisters as best he can without burdening himself with wondering if his family will reunite.

““Don’t ever talk to me like that again,’ he said. ‘Never.’ ‘Or what?’ Julie asked.

‘Or you won’t eat,’ Alex said. Julie stared at him in horror. ‘You don’t mean that, do you?’ she asked. ‘You’d keep all the food for yourself?’”

The stress of survival takes its toll on all the characters, and this passage shows that even Alex, who lives solely to protect and help his sisters, can lash out irrationally. Threatening to take food away from his starving sister illustrates the stress that Alex is under. Julie, who is oppositional and would argue with him under normal circumstances, takes his threat seriously. Both characters are struggling to survive not only physically but also mentally, as this passage illustrates.

“Alex thought about all the prayers he had said in the past four months and how few had been granted. But why should God or even the Blessed Virgin listen to his prayers, he asked himself, when a can of tuna fish was more important to him than the suffering of Christ.”

Alex’s crisis of faith stems from the fact that he has been faithful and prayed diligently for help, yet he feels that God answers none of those prayers. This leads him to believe that only food is what will see him through this tragedy, causing his faith to falter. Alex’s struggle with religion also illustrates the stress that Alex is under as he fights to keep his sisters alive.

“He wondered how many pairs of shoes it had cost Kevin to get the cake mix and icing, and he appreciated how his friend had set things up so no one would think of the loss of life that simple, underbaked cake had cost.”

While Alex appreciates Kevin’s contribution to Julie’s birthday party, he knows that it is a great sacrifice. He knows that by using his finds from body shopping to obtain cake and icing, Kevin denies himself life-saving food. Alex knows the importance of food firsthand, so he is easily able to see the great significance of the cake and icing and appreciates his friend’s sacrifice for his sister and her happiness.

“Alex wanted to say no, he wasn’t okay, he would never be okay again. He felt rage and resentment, and for a moment, he included Kevin in his list of things he hated, because Kevin had food and a home and parents.”

Stress and fear often cause people to feel, think, and say things they don’t mean. Alex illustrates this in this passage. Under the strain of keeping not only himself but also his sisters alive, he has moments like this, where that pressure builds to the point that he is angry and resentful. It is especially difficult when Alex sees Kevin with things—such as parents—that Alex desperately wants for himself.

“He felt like screaming. Every single thing he’d done had been wrong, and his sisters’ lives were at risk because of him. He got on his knees, not caring that the icy wetness seeped through his pants legs, and begged for God’s mercy for his sisters.”

From the very beginning of the novel, Alex makes decisions based on what he thinks is best for his sisters and what will keep them safe and fed. As time passes and survival becomes harder and harder, Alex begins to feel that he has caused all his sisters’ suffering and that he is to blame for the situation they are in. This is untrue, but his internal conflict illustrates his deep desire to be a good brother and to do all he can to help his sisters survive.

“Kevin’s eyes stared at the sky. His mouth was half twisted, almost smiling—the red of the blood that had dripped out of his nose and mouth the only color left in New York.”

This passage, which describes Kevin’s death after an icy tree branch falls on him, shows a painful irony about conditions in New York. With the volcanic ash polluting the air, the city becomes a dismal setting of suffering and death. When Alex sees his friend is dead and notices the blood on his face, the color stands out starkly. Even the mood of the novel feels muted and devoid of brightness, so this small instance of red against a gray background is startling.

“‘Dios te salve, Maria. Llena eres de gracia,’ Julie began. Hearing the familiar words of the Hail Mary in Spanish, as Mami always said it, helped calm Bri down. When she was able, she recited it along with Julie, while Alex stood there and told himself never to underestimate his little sister again.”

While faith is central to the lives of all the Morales children, Bri is clearly the most devout, leaning on her faith to get her through all that happens to her and her siblings. Julie doesn’t turn to prayer as reflexively as Bri does, so when she begins reciting the Hail Mary to help Bri, Julie’s maturity and love impress Alex. Julie has her faults, but she adores her sister and does what she can to help her.

“‘She’ll be all right,’ Alex said. ‘Mami and Papi will look out for her.’”

This passage marks the pivotal moment when Alex finally vocalizes that he knows his parents are dead. He blames himself for Bri’s death because she wouldn’t admit to herself that her parents were dead, and Alex acknowledges that he has done the same. Now that Bri is gone, he finally sees that he’s been holding on too tightly, likely to his detriment, and he accepts that his parents are dead and that God will reunite them with their daughter. This combination of acceptance and faith allows Alex to move forward and help himself and Julie get out of New York.

“‘She kept you alive,’ Sister Rita replied. ‘Julie couldn’t have done that alone. Your life is Bri’s gift to you.’ She took Alex’s hand and held it between her own. ‘She was lucky to have you for a brother,’ she said. ‘She knew it and you should, too.’”

When Alex talks with Father Mulrooney and Sister Rita, he tells them Bri is dead and that he is to blame. This is Sister Rita’s response, showing her great compassion and understanding. Her words comfort Alex and allow him to realize that despite what he views as mistakes, he has devoted everything he is and has to his sisters and that they survived as long as they have because of him.