Emma and Josh are in high school, which is kind of a mini-society insofar as each person fits into a role and plays a different part. And because everyone is trying to figure out who they are, there are lots of different stereotypes in high school: the band kids, the jocks, the popular kids, and so forth (for more on this, be sure to check out the "Character Clues" section). But while this theme definitely overlaps a bit with identity in The Future of Us, here we're focused on social categories and how they can be limiting. Nobody completely fits into a mold, after all.
Questions About Society and Class
- What "group" would you say that you belong to? Has this changed, or always been the same?
- Are Emma and Josh in compatible social groups? Why or why not? How does this affect their friendship? How about their prospects for a relationship?
- Which character is most concerned with fitting neatly into a social group? Which character seems to care the least?
Chew on This
Josh and Emma are able to be best friends because they knew each other as neighbors before becoming schoolmates, and as such, social groups don't influence their friendship.
Every character in this book fails to completely fit the social mold they're cast in.