What are the motifs in Fat Kid Rules the World by K. L. Going?

Music is a recurring idea in the book. Troy had a brief introduction to drums in junior high school, but he never took it much further than that before this story began. Curt lives for and through music. His parents introduced him to classic rock groups when he was young, and he has happy memories of feeling the music. Now he is heavily into the punk rock scene. It appeals to him because it is so raw and because it is so true. To him, it defines the human element.