Competition

The primary theme of the novel is competition. Middletown High School, and even in the town of Middletown, places a great emphasis on the athletes in town. This is especially true of the football players and the wrestlers. The emphasis on athletes perpetuates the competition that causes the separation of the athletes from the other students in the school. While school is about education, the competitive theme in this novel makes the success of the athletics department in the school compete with the academic program.

The dividing line puts the athletes at the school on a pedestal. The status that the athletes hold makes them untouchable when it comes to getting in trouble at school. The dividing line is something that all of the students, teachers and administrators notice and acknowledge, yet nobody does anything to bring together the students, rather than divide them. Since the athletes are...