How to Be a Black Hole

Contains spoilers

Summary

  • Nora is in a deep state of depression and feels like she has no purpose or direction in life.
  • She reaches out to her former best friend Izzy, who now lives more than ten thousand miles away in Australia.
  • Although Izzy sees Nora's message quickly, she doesn't immediately respond, which disappoints Nora.
  • Nora has a fantasy about having deep philosophical conversations with actor Ryan Bailey, who she admires.
  • She reflects on a quote by philosopher Henry David Thoreau: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined”. However, she doesn't feel like this advice is practical for her current situation.
  • Nora laments how she struggles with modern life and questions if life was simpler in Thoreau's era, two centuries ago in Concord, Massachusetts.
  • She takes no actions, feeling entirely directionless. Even her usual errands, like picking up medication for Mr Banerjee, have already been completed.
  • After trying and failing to give money to a homeless man (as she has no money herself), a stranger tells her to cheer up, but she feels that "nothing ever did happen," which is her main issue.
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