Part 2/7:
The stark contrast between the lives of Joe and Stan introduces the themes of isolation and desperation. Stan wakes up to a chaotic home, with remnants of a once happy family now shadowed by his parents' deaths. Living with his grandfather, Ellis—a strict and militaristic figure—Stan faces daily threats couched in discipline and anger. As he navigates through bullying at school and his own feelings of inadequacy, Stan's life becomes a stark reflection of the tumult around him.