By moving among Carlos’s intimate understanding of Jorge, Avery’s observations from outside the program, and Walter’s firsthand narration, Brown reveals how familiarity and sustained attention shape the way people with disabilities are perceived. Carlos’s relationship with Jorge, described as a “Vulcan mind meld” (140), has developed through years of patient observation that enable him to understand Jorge’s needs, preferences, and emotional states. Avery, by comparison, initially views the Upward Bound group from a distance as a “clump of people” (156), without fully distinguishing the individuals within it. This structural juxtaposition highlights the difference between observing someone and developing an informed understanding of their experiences. Carlos’s perspective reflects knowledge built through sustained care, while Avery’s remains shaped by limited contact and initial assumptions. Her view begins to change when she sees the young female aide sharing in a client’s enjoyment as they move quickly through the store, an interaction that challenges her earlier judgment and prompts her to reconsider both the clients and the work of those who support them.

Carlos’s relationship with Jorge illustrates the themes of Empathy Beyond Spoken Communication and Unfulfilled Potential Due to Systemic Neglect by showing how individualized understanding develops through sustained observation, while institutional routines often fail to accommodate individual needs. Initially intimidated by Jorge, Carlos gradually revised his understanding of him, describing his transformation from seeing Jorge as a “powder keg” to a “pillow” (134). A defining moment occurred when Carlos found Jorge staring at a discarded Mr. Potato Head arm and realized that his apparent inaction reflected the difficulty of retrieving the object rather than a lack of interest. This experience shaped Carlos’s approach to caregiving, allowing him to recognize Jorge’s emotional needs through familiarity with his behavior and routines. Carlos’s own attachment to a small ceramic thimble helps him understand why the Mr. Potato Head is such an important source of comfort for Jorge, although the thimble remains a personal point of reference rather than an equivalent object. Dave’s policy of keeping the toys locked away until a designated free-time period demonstrates how standardized procedures can overlook individual support needs. Carlos’s decision to retrieve the toy for Jorge despite the rule reflects his belief that responding to Jorge’s immediate distress is more appropriate than rigidly following institutional routine, highlighting the tension between individualized care and standardized policies throughout the novel.

Walter’s account of Carlos’s death marks the novel’s emotional climax and brings together many of its concerns about communication, institutional responses, and vulnerability. When police officers confronted Jorge during a moment of acute distress, the situation rapidly escalated, culminating in Carlos’s death. Brown uses the shooting as the novel’s most consequential example of the dangers that arise when communication breaks down during a crisis. Although Jorge was holding the Mr. Potato Head, a symbol of comfort and security throughout the novel, the officers didn’t recognize its significance to him or the role it played in helping him regulate distress. By recounting the shooting through Carlos’s and Walter’s perspectives, Brown limits the reader’s understanding of the event to what they experienced and observed. The narrative doesn’t attempt to explain the officers’ action. Instead, it emphasizes the immediate loss of Carlos and the disruption that his death causes for Walter and the Upward Bound community. 

Walter’s decision to write after his mother has withdrawn him from Upward Bound reinforces the theme of Speech as a False Measure of Intelligence, as his writing extends the role that written communication has played throughout the novel. Their new routine of reading classic literature together and setting aside time for Walter to write with his letter board provides him with another means of expressing the thoughts and observations that have shaped the narrative from the beginning. Mariana’s comment at Carlos’s memorial that Carlos “was curious about [Walter’s] typing” suggests that he recognized Walter’s intellectual potential and wanted to understand his method of communication better (180). Walter began by recording memories of his father and Carlos before turning to fictional stories inspired by his experiences at Upward Bound. By ending the novel with Walter writing about these experiences, Brown transforms him from a participant in the events at Upward Bound into the person who records and reflects on them, reinforcing the novel’s argument that speech is not a prerequisite for intelligence, insight, or meaningful self-expression.