OCDaniel

In Chapter 25, John is starting the journey of redemption in his relationship with Sara. As John says, “I wanted to change. I was trying […] I thought maybe I could be like a dad for you eventually” (274). John’s change involves being honest for the first time with Sara and escaping from the bonds of his past. The reader learns that John had problems with his father, made bad choices, and got involved with suspect people when he was younger. As a result, he ended up with the conviction for assault, as discovered by Sara and Daniel. However, his efforts to protect Sara from the truth demonstrated the possibility of overcoming that past. His desire now to be truthful with her, and to be a meaningful part of her life, also shows an ability to learn from past mistakes and a willingness to rectify them.

Sara likewise begins a redemptive journey in these chapters. Her mother concealed the truth about her father’s death from her because, as John explains, “[S]he didn’t want you to think you were destined for the same fate” (275). In repressing this past, Michelle hoped it would prevent it from being repeated. King suggests that the opposite is true. Denying Sara the truth about her father alienated her from John and her mother, to the extent where she did not talk to them, and made a repeat of her father’s destiny in fact more likely. Conversely, acknowledging the past allows for healing. This is symbolized by Sara visiting her father’s grave for the first time. In “say[ing] good-bye” (276) to her father, she begins a new chapter in her life. She no longer has to define herself by a father who is absent. Instead, she can begin to create new relationships with the people around her, like John and Daniel.

Despite finding Sara, and beginning to understand his OCD, Daniel still has a long way to go on his path to redemption. By the end of the novel, he still cannot discuss his condition with his family, but he is taking other important steps: He is willing to go to therapy, and with Sara’s help, he is starting the process of mastering his nighttime routine. As the epigraph of OCDaniel says, “For OCD sufferers, hope is rarely found alone.” With Sara’s support, and through writing his book, Daniel can start to heal. Indeed, the ending of The Last Kid on Earth is a metaphor for this. Fictional Sara and Daniel save the world by flicking the switch together, which represents that they are overcoming the isolation often imposed upon people living with OCD and similar conditions.

Daniel’s story ends with the decision to bring back the normal world. This is after fictional Daniel suggests that he and Sara should remain, “Us against the world” (282), in the alternate world, with no one else. This is a metaphor for the importance of a broader social milieu in combatting OCD. As much as there is an appeal to escaping the “normal” world with a unique other, and to shutting out those associated with it, King suggests that this is not the best path to healing. Daniel realizes this when he describes fictional Daniel: “He lived in his own world, and it was empty” (290). True healing will come through participation in, and reconciliation with, the ordinary world of friends, family, and school. As Sara discovers, one does not have to choose between being unique and being “normal.”