The Last One at the Wedding

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses violence and death.

Frank Szatowski is a UPS driver and has been so for the entirety of his career. Frank is proud of his working-class identity and strongly feels that, even though he did not attend college, he has been afforded the opportunity to attain financial stability through work that he enjoys. Many mentions are made of Frank’s position at UPS and his work history with the company, and UPS becomes one of the novel’s key motifs: It represents Taking Pride in a Working-Class Identity, one of the text’s most important themes. 

Frank is nearing retirement and looks forward to reaping the benefits of his many years of work for UPS. He has put away a sizeable amount in savings and will have a solid pension and continued health care as a retiree. Looking back, he takes pride in his ability to put food on the table, put Maggie through school without her having to incur debt, and set her up in her first apartment when she finished college. He also takes pride in his ability to perform a physically demanding job, even as he enters middle age.