Broken Logic or Deceit?

In A Mother's Reckoning, Sue talks about the plans Dylan had been making for his future, particularly concerning college.

She explained people who are contemplating suicide may do this to either throw people off and make them think everything is fine, or because they are unable to use logic and reasoning due to their failing mental health.

Both Dylan and Eric were making plans for school or the marines, doing homework, and planning to do things after 4/20/99. Which do you think is more likely for each of them? Broken logic or putting up a façade?

I'm gonna go with a façade. I think their minds were working pretty clearly.

Littlelo wrote:

In A Mother's Reckoning, Sue talks about the plans Dylan had been making for his future, particularly concerning college.

She explained people who are contemplating suicide may do this to either throw people off and make them think everything is fine, or because they are unable to use logic and reasoning due to their failing mental health.

Both Dylan and Eric were making plans for school or the marines, doing homework, and planning to do things after 4/20/99. Which do you think is more likely for each of them? Broken logic or putting up a façade?

I think for Eric it was a facade but for Dylan it was both. I think for a while he imagined two different futures for himself but NBK won out.

I still think of him going out of his way to tell his mom about the flask. Why was it also important for Sue to trust Robyn? Was it because she bought them the guns?

I could be wrong but I always thought Eric had no intention of joining the marines, he knew he wouldn't qualify and never seemed to write or talk about it anywhere. It was just something to make his dad proud. Dylan was in the final stage of his depression, which is certain suicide, like Robin Williams, during that stage you are in a lot happier mood because you know death is coming soon, your perception has completely changed by that point and you work extra hard to prevent people from stopping you from reaching that goal as depression has manifested itself into physical pain and the only release is death. It is basically impossible to detect during that final stage.

OR it could literally just be a fantasy to them and they had lost the balance between reality and fiction and didn't realize it was actually real until the day itself, so in the back of their mind they were probably thinking of their futures, not just to throw people off. I mean possibly, Eric's poem and dream he wrote about in psychology class could have really been a cry for help and because back then the system was so broken and information didn't get shared by authority figures that the days were getting closer and closer and he was doing everything he could to cause some kind of concerning attention to him, and it just wasn't happening and the next thing he knew it was the day of the assault.

I agree with you [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] about Dylan. I think it was a combination. For him, the idea of going to college could have been just as likely as him committing suicide. Maybe he knew he would die, but just wasn't certain when. I think Randy Stair shared a similar sentiment in his goodbye video. He was surprised he had made it to 2017.

I think you're right [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] about Eric. I don't think he was 100% serious about the marines. He liked deceiving people and lying to them.

I don't think it was a particularly intentional ruse on their part. They were hellbent on doing their vile deed and everything up to that point which wasn't preparations was just passing time.

Obviously, deceit.

We'll never know.

We do know because we see what they did.

They knew what they were going to do on 4/20 & they never planned to live past it.

It was deceit all the way... HAHA!

Yes, they made plans for 4/20 but Dylan was picking out his dorm room with his dad the weekend before. He was simultaneously making plans to die and to live past NBK. I think he wanted to go through with the shooting and was fairly certain it was going to happen, but at the same time his logic was flawed and he decided to also plan for life after 4/20.

Although I do think most of it was just deceit and trying to "act natural". It is strange that he was turning in papers talking about killing people a month before the shooting. Not exactly tactful.