Crash Theme of Family

In Crash, the one thing that Penn and Crash have in common is their dedication to their families. These guys love their parents but, for each of them, their primary support person is someone from their extended family. For Penn, it's his great-grandfather Henry. For Crash, it's Scooter.

Penn seems to get a lot more quality time with his parents than Crash does since his parents work all the time. It's an open question whether or not that's what makes Penn the better adjusted of the two boys. What's your take?

Questions About Family

  1. Penn seems to share a lot of values with his parents. Do you think Crash's values come from Mr. and Mrs. Coogan? Why or why not?
  2. Why is Scooter so important to Crash?
  3. Which character seems to value his or her family the most? Explain your answer.

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

Crash is a novel about traditional family values.

Crash is a novel about modern family values.