Albert Camus' famous line, "There is but one truly philosophical problem and that is suicide" was referenced in part one. The group of intellectually curious teenage boys viewed Robson's suicide as a grand let-down. Several times, Tony mentioned that they all feared life would not live up to the complexities of Literature. Therefore, they regarded Robson's suicide as a lame, utterly anti-climactic example of literary drama.
When Adrian decides to take his own life, the dynamics are different. Tony admires Adrian greatly, and seeks meaning in his last letter. He cannot bear to think that Adrian's suicide was a meaningless waste; Adrian was always sure and logical with every decision he made. Why then, would Adrian kill himself? Was it a way for him to escape the dreadful existence of being a 'piano key'? Was he doing it to realize his 'absolute advantage' and simply because he could?
Tony's mother states that it was most likely because he was too intelligent. She, like Dostoyevsky, recognizes that "consciousness is a disease".
Adrian wrote in his letter that life is a gift nobody asks for, and therefore anyone has the choice to refuse it. Was his suicide an attempt to convey a message to others, or was it a means of proving something to himself?
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