More Than This

Throughout More Than This, Seth constantly questions the nature of the world around him. He is unsure whether it is real and his memories were created in a simulation, whether he is in the afterlife, or if he is perhaps experiencing vivid hallucinations. When he starts to remember Owen’s death, Seth “both knows it’s true and knows it must be a lie” (291). This contradictory statement epitomizes the ambivalent status of reality in the novel.

Seth’s doubts lead the narrative to an Open Ending which does not provide the reader with a clear answer. The ending leaves many narrative arcs and subplots unfinished but uses the ambivalent ending to explore its philosophical concerns about reality and trauma. The story uses Speculative Fiction and Subverted Narrative Tropes to explore the nature of reality. The motif of Storytelling, for instance, allows Seth (and by extension the reader) to make predictions about upcoming narrative events. When those predictions are confirmed, Seth interprets it as proof that he is making up the story in a kind of elaborate dream. When they are subverted, Seth’s lack of control in the narrative is revealed.