“Simon Glass was easy to hate. I never knew exactly why, there was just too much to pick from. I guess, really, we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn't realize it until the day we killed him.”
Young was reliving the events that led to Simon’s death. He was pointing out how easy it was to hate Simon starting with his weird fashion sense and social behaviors. Simon had been picked on by Lance most of his school days and therefore was always guarded towards others. Hating a person who does not look friendly is easy because they have never shown any sign of friendliness. When a person is guarded and defensive all the time, people develop resentment towards that person naturally. It is only easy to love someone who is smiling, talkative, and always joking. Simon never smiled and never made any jokes. He was always alone even during meal times. He did not take anything as a sign of goodwill without asking what the person wanted in return. It, therefore, was very easy to hate him for his gloomy self rather than love him. Nobody has the time to figure out what it is that makes one sad all the time. If one is always gloomy, people will be quick to hate that person instead of understanding what is making that person sad all the time.
“Dead’s better than pumping gas.”
Coop’s father had failed in life as he puts it and was projecting his failures onto him. He warned Coop that he would be pumping gas like him if he did not work hard in school. Coop afraid of being a loser in life preferred death instead of pumping gas in his conversation with Young. Pumping gas in this context represents all the jobs that are demeaning in society. Some people are afraid of failing in life to the point of preferring suicide. They would rather kill themselves than be regarded as failures in society. There are some jobs like trash collecting jobs and sewage workers that are considered low class and nobody wants to be associated with people like those. There is a level of respect accorded to people with white-collar jobs considered to the former. This kind of treatment is what make people work hard to avoid failing or being treated with no respect in society. Nobody wants to be treated with little respect because of the kind of job they are doing.
“But for Rob that wasn’t enough. He is one of those guys that wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. He wasn’t happy to have it all, he had to make sure I didn’t have anything.”
Lance was feeling bitter about Rob having taken over the influence he had on his schoolmates. Rob was working closely with Simon to make him popular as a way of getting back at Lance. The quote sheds light on people who do not have limits in their actions. They do not know when it is time to stop. Even after doing so much damage, they would keep on destroying one completely. They are people who are vengeful and bear a lot of hatred and would go to any length to ensure one is ruined. They would be very merciless in executing their revenge. Their satisfaction comes from seeing their target finished and at their mercy.
“We were random stars, and he made us a constellation.”
The narrator talked about how Rob made them part of his group. He effortlessly made them do things that they never thought they would do. They had different roles but towards one goal. The quote talks about the natural charm that some people possess that makes them influence the decisions of people around them. It can be either a positive or a negative influence to do things they want to be done. They have a way of bringing different people with different abilities together to achieve a particular goal.
