Content Warning: This guide’s source text discusses abuse of prescription substances and alcohol, suicide, physical and sexual abuse of children, violence, and sexual assault. The source text relies on anti-Black stereotypes and contains some anti-Black epithets.

Straub uses shame and pride throughout the novel to cause tension between the real and imagined, the good and evil, and the brave and courageous. Each of the protagonists faces their darkest secret and reckons with their sins. Their courage sets them on either the path of good or the path of ruin. Straub’s central thematic argument shows that one must confront one’s past to survive the present and thrive in the future.

The driving questions of the narrative are asked at the Chowder Society meeting and again throughout the text, “What is the worst thing you’ve ever done?” and “What is the worst thing that ever happened to you?” (12). The distinction from the outset is that of antagonist and protagonist. Straub sets up a dichotomy between what one does and what one endures. The Chowder Society focuses on the second question, telling the ghost stories of their past.