Entropy

Meatball’s party and Callisto’s apartment are starkly different environments. What are some commonalities between them?

The story ends with Meatball deciding to put his party in order, after having first entertained the idea of hiding away in his closet. It also ends with Aubade, his upstairs neighbor, putting her hand through a window. How do these two different endings highlight the story’s theme of entropy? 

How is Aubade’s character different from Callisto’s? How is her way of responding to entropy different from his? Which response makes more sense to you, and why? 

“Entropy” is a term from thermodynamics—the study of the conversion of heat into energy—and refers to those parts of a system that do not do any work. Callisto is obsessed with how entropy plays out in all areas of life. What are some examples in the story of systems and disorder in systems? 

This story takes place mostly inside two apartments, Meatball’s and Callisto’s. Why is there this closeness of focus in the story, and how does it help to illustrate the story’s theme? What is the significance of Washington, DC, as a background setting?