Summary
Boris starts dating Kotku, an older girl who sells them weed. Most of Theo's classmates don't approve of Kotku, and Theo sees Boris much less frequently because of his new relationship. Even when she isn't around, Boris constantly talks about her, and Theo always thinks of her in a mean-spirited way. A big part of his animosity is that Theo doesn't know how to describe his relationship with Boris. They're constantly together and he feels like they're almost brothers, but Boris can sometimes be very affectionate—snuggling up in bed with Theo or drunkenly stumbling with him while they're both naked.
Theo also misses Boris because he is stuck with Xandra, who is depressed about changes in staff at her job, and his father, who is constantly watching football and gambling. Theo spends most of his time looking at art books, smoking weed, and listening to music. He keeps the painting in a clean cotton pillowcase, taped to the back of his headboard, and often thinks about how interconnected his life is with the painting. Everything converges on the painting when he looks at it, and he can briefly forget his life in Las Vegas when he sees it, only occasionally noticing the chain around the bird's ankle.
Though Theo's father says that he is doing well financially, and wants to open a savings account for him, Boris learns that Theo's father is losing significant amounts of money from gambling. Boris often has explosive fights with Kotku, and her late-night phone calls with her ex-boyfriend make him extremely jealous. He calls Theo, exasperated about one of the guys in their class, but someone rings the doorbell and Theo steps away from the phone.
At the door, Theo meets Naaman Silver, to whom his father owes a significant amount of money. Naaman has sought them out, and says his dad has five points, a phrase Theo doesn't understand. He eventually leaves, but insists Theo tell his father that Mr. Silver paid him a visit.
When Theo tries to tell Boris about the visit, Boris ignores him, focusing on his suspicion that Kotku cheated on him. Boris threatens to strangle Kotku, and Theo tries to ignore him, as he's more preoccupied with the men seeking his father out, something Theo's father reacts to nonchalantly, telling Theo not to worry about it. Theo brings the painting to school, and stores it in his locker after taping it up and wrapping it in several layers of newspaper.
At school, Theo notices that Boris has hit Kotku, leaving her with a swollen lip. Boris tries to justify his actions, but Theo pushes back, and Boris and Kotku seem to return to normal. Boris and Theo decide to take acid together, and make plans to spend time outside while they're high.
When Theo comes home from school, his father corners him, telling him that he needs to call Mr. Bracegirdle, his mother's lawyer, and ask to withdraw $65,000 from an account his mother opened for him, so that his father can pay for a restaurant. After Theo pushes back, his father punches him, threatening to break his arm and beat him if he doesn't call the lawyer. Theo phones Bracegirdle, and the lawyer tells him that he cannot receive a wire, and that the account was opened directly for his education, mostly to prevent his father from taking any of the money. Theo also finds out that someone previously tried to withdraw money from the account, and that a line of credit had been taken out with Theo's social security number, but Bracegirdle shut that down, knowing that Theo was not applying for such a large amount.
While Boris and Theo are tripping, Boris shares that his father is being transferred to a new town, and asks Theo to run away with him. Naaman Silver visits the house again, bringing a giant man with a baseball bat with him. Theo agrees to tell his father that Naaman came by again. Xandra comes home early, and tells Theo that his father got into a drunken car accident and died while attempting to leave Las Vegas.
Xandra's friends come over to grieve with her, and Theo notices his mother's diamond earrings among her possessions. Theo decides to board a bus to New York, taking the painting, some clothing, and Xandra's dog Popper. Boris tries to tell him something as he's leaving, begging him to wait, but Theo has already decided to leave Vegas. Theo calls a cab, and Boris kisses him right before he sets off, not sharing what he wanted to. Theo wishes he'd told Boris he loved him, but he has already set out for New York.
When he arrives in New York, he sees Mr. Barbour having a manic episode, and realizes he cannot return to the Barbours. After being pursued by a man in the park, he decides to go to Hobie, and is greeted by Pippa. Hobie takes him in, and Xandra gives him a call, telling him that his father will be cremated. Xandra asks for Theo's address, and Theo tells her to phone Bracegirdle. Right before Theo hangs up, Xandra tells him he is just like his father, and this final thought sticks in Theo's mind.
Analysis
Theo and Boris's relationship, which occasionally drifts into romantic territory, is largely upended when Boris starts dating Kotku. Their previously codependent relationship is shattered by Boris's attraction to Kotku, and he starts to assert a form of ownership over her, as he spends most of his time with her, goes into jealous fits of rage, and succeeds at changing her name, as everyone in their school, including the teachers, starts calling her Kotku instead of her real name. This ownership bears some similarities to Theo's relationship with Pippa, as he obsesses over her and his image of her, even though he barely knows her and can only vaguely remember what she actually looks like.
When Boris starts to beat Kotku, Theo confronts him about it but mostly accepts his violent behavior. This acceptance is part of a pattern of Theo's complacency and apathy, and this continues throughout the book as Theo notices atrocities or participates in them, but does little to stop them. Boris perpetuates his father's violence, and Theo also perpetuates his own father's violence.
As Theo grows more distant from Boris, and the solace that Boris's friendship provides him, he grows more attached to the painting. As he marvels at the painting, examining it in the sunlight, he starts to "notice the chain on the finch's ankle" (378). This chain is a symbol of Theo's confinement, and the ways in which his trauma and his past experiences keep him chained. Even though his life has the opportunity to be beautiful, he is ultimately restricted and confined by his past.
The increasingly violent episodes between Theo and his father escalate as Theo's father is hunted down by debt collectors. The wrongdoings of his father are catching up to Theo, both internally and externally, as Theo mimics his father's drug and alcohol use and is forced to confront his father's creditors. Theo also realizes that his father's primary reason for taking him in was to steal his money. Theo doesn't have much time to contend with this fact, as his father soon dies in a car crash, forcing Theo to take action and leave Vegas.
When his father dies, Theo is catapulted back into the numbness and fog he felt over his mother's death, and he returns to New York carrying the loss of his father and reentering the city that holds the memory of his mother. Though Boris begs Theo not to go, Theo knows he has to leave. When he arrives in New York he find a very different city, as he discovers Mr. Barbour having a manic episode, and eventually makes his way back to Hobie and the comfort of the shop. But, when Xandra calls Theo, she lashes out at him and says that he is just like his father. Though this hurts Theo, he also knows that this is partially true, as this thought stays with him throughout the novel.
