36 pages • 1-hour read
The Last Kids on Earth and the Nightmare King
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Themes
The Fear of Being Alone
In a novel without supernatural elements, a character experiencing loneliness may not have friends, fear being in crowds, or lack a romantic life. In The Last Kids on Earth and the Nightmare King, supernatural elements up the stakes. Loneliness is not just a matter of not being able to make friends, but of lacking the people to make them with because of an apocalyptic dystopia.
Jack and his friends are on their own. Until the radio transmission, they were living with the possibility that they might be the only humans left alive on earth. Jack was able to adapt to this reality, perhaps because he grew up in foster care without a family. However, his friends remain attached to the idea of finding others and having a larger community to rely upon. Jack sees life now as perfect and ideal: He and his friends get along, care about each other, and keep each other alive. He fears that he will be tossed aside if or when his friends find their families again. Jack’s desire to keep life as it is stems from a deep fear of being alone.
Jack has no meaningful attachments to the pre-apocalyptic world or its people, with the exception of his friends. He believes that he is acting selflessly by giving his friends all sorts of fun experiences and trying to make life enjoyable for them, but ultimately his reasons for doing so are selfish. Jack is aware of his fear of losing his friends, a scarier prospect than anything else he might encounter in this new world: “For a kid who spent his whole life wanting friends and then finally got them—monsters aren’t nearly as scary as the idea of your friends going away” (127).
Ŗeżżőcħ takes advantage of Jack’s fear and puts visions into his head that play on Jack’s deepest vulnerabilities and desires. In the first vision, Jack’s greatest wish comes true: He sees himself as protector of his friends, who are all happy to be with him. In the final vision, Jack experiences his worst fear: He is totally alone, an experience that feels physical and visceral: “I’m feeling that pain—the brutal agony of being alone. It’s a choking feeling. Like a hand twisting my heart, pulling at the parts of me that are most vulnerable” (216).
As the days go on and Jack’s friends don’t give up on the radio, Jack starts to come to the realization that he won’t be able to fight off their desire to find other people. This is painful and scary, as Jack has to accept the possibility of losing his friends. He panics and thinks about destroying the radio, but his friends’ disappointment stops him. Jack starts to see how selfish he is being and it weighs on his conscience: “The silence among my friends is deafening. And the worst part? It’s MY fault!” (191).
Jack grows as a character by putting his friends’ needs first. He changes his attitude and sacrifices himself multiple times to protect the radio, in spite of his fear of losing his friends. He demonstrates an awareness of his past errors and tries to make up for them. Hearing from his friends that they would never abandon him helps Jack feel more secure. He finds a happy middle ground in which he realizes that things may change, but that doesn’t mean he will lose his friends.
Surviving and Thriving in a Dying World
The Last Kids on Earth and the Nightmare King takes place in a dystopian world, post-apocalypse. The world is bleak and the four central characters are young and inexperienced. However, the characters manage to work together to not only survive, but to enjoy life and take advantage of the unique opportunities before them. The narrative shows how friendship can help one to find joy, even in the most despairing of circumstances.
Each of the characters has their own unique strengths and vulnerabilities. They also balance one another out and come away from battle alive and relatively unharmed. Jack is the hero of the group, and is most concerned with losing this new life. He doesn’t want to forgo what he has found, and works desperately to instill as much fun and enjoyment into each day as possible.
After the apocalypse, Jack’s friends were left without their families, but Jack was already used to being alone. For this reason, he embraces the new way of life most of all. Jack’s major strength is his bravery, which allows him to fight for his friends. There are aspects of the old world that Jack misses, like comic books and movies. They become his inspiration to survive, stand up for what is right, and overcome each deadly challenge he is faced with: “Growing up an orphan, I was raised by these heroes, in a way. They showed me how to act, how to be” (218). Brallier suggests that art and pop culture are not just entertainment, but can serve as lifelines and inspiration.
Brallier also suggests that one can find community and connection with those who are different. Jack and his friends become allies with the friendly monsters, which makes life easier and gives them a wider team to rely on. Jack sets up the games event to bring these two groups together, celebrate their unity, and emphasize the importance of joy in a dark setting.
The narrative suggests the importance of having goals. Jack and his friends always have a mission, like fixing the radio or defeating the King Wretch. While Jack is busy trying to distract everyone with fun, the other three kids put their focus into finding other humans. They believe that doing so will make surviving not only easier, but more fulfilling. June is especially desperate to find other people and her family. Goals give the friends a reason to keep going. When it comes living in a post-apocalyptic world, motivation becomes essential to basic survival. While Jack and his friends could give up or allow themselves to fall into despair, they instead work to keep busy, accomplish things, and rebuild meaning where it was lost.
Putting Friends First
The narrative emphasizes the importance of connection. Jack and his three friends rely on one another to stay alive. Beyond that, they have a habit of working hard to make one another happy, to help each other, and to put others above themselves. The friendship between the four is strong and formed around shared experiences of trauma and survival. Jack considers it “something secure, something vital” (74).
Because they are young, they occasionally confuse selfishness with helping others. This is especially true for Jack. Jack always wants to cheer up his friends and compares their downtrodden moods to a zombie-like state. At first, Jack’s actions stem from the selfish desire to keep his friends where they are, rather than a genuine desire to make them happy. Jack doesn’t initially see the bigger picture or realize that his friends will be happier if there are more people around.
Though Jack wants to keep his friends isolated, he is also willing to sacrifice himself and put his life on the line time after time. He dreams of being a king and becoming the “Protector of Friends, Defender of the Realm, and Master, Creator, and Keeper of All Things Radically Fun!” (53). In the opening action sequence, Jack and his pet Rover gallantly ride out to meet the King Wretch. Jack continues facing the beast on his own. While his friends are always there to back him up, he often prefers to let them take shelter. When Jack confronts the King Wretch for the final time, he knows that it is his responsibility to do so alone. Jack also retrieves the antenna, again risking his life. His growth is emphasized by the fact that he saves the antenna in spite of not wanting the radio to work.
Jack recognizes how his friends are understanding, which helps him learn to offer empathy in return. Quint knows Jack without needing to ask questions: “Quint looks at me and sees the thing that, sometimes, only a best friend can see: the supreme significance of something to that friend” (173). Once Jack begins applying this same principle toward others, he overcomes his fear and does whatever is necessary to help his friends find other people. He decides that he would rather his friends be happy, even if their version of happiness differs from his own.
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