"This is the first duty in life is to assume a pose. What the second is, no one has yet discovered." Because Wolf uses his imagination to assume poses and to escape from the childhood circumstances that was presented to him he uses this quote at the beginning to introduce the reader into the story of what was soon to become. However, throughout the book Wolff never surrendered his belief in himself, he had hopes and admiration.
             As a coping mechanism to escape the domestic violence, alcohol abuse, criminal activity, and emotional neglect; Wolff chooses to reinvent himself, a theme posed through out the book. Jack became overcome by his fantasies and stories so much that even he began to believe them. Jack was desperate for self recreation throughout the book. Since Jack was doing poorly in school, he convinced himself that he was part of the elite; he forged letters of recommendation to get into The Hill School that exaggerated praise about him. He then studies a book called The Status Seekers, to teach him how to mimic the upper class.
             Wolff changed his name to Jack when the moved to Utah, as a representation to the famous author Jack London. This name became significant because it represented a quest for his identity. His roads to reinvention proved to be a tough one, once he moved to Chinook. "Toby moves from Seattle to Chinook, again looking for change, becoming the kid he always envisioned. p.89" However, once he got into the car with Dwight to move to Chinook, running over the beaver became a symbol of a painful future that he was about to await. Just like the beaver, Jack was going to become helpless at Dwight's mercy. Through it all Jack possesses a strong sense of self and refuses to allow anyone else, especially Dwight, to redefine him.
             Dwight's character also posed a theme of assuming to be someone that your not. He did not want to reinvent himself, but he had the ideas in hi...