The word "nemesis" is defined as "the inescapable agent of someone's or something's downfall." Although there is not one character that unilaterally signifies a nemesis, the reader is prompted to analyze how the iterations of nemeses appear as a motif throughout the novel.
In one example, polio can be interpreted as a nemesis for both Bucky and the entire Weequahic community. In Nemesis, the disease is personified as a vindictive and unruly character that wreaks havoc on innocent lives. Due to his ineligibility to fight in World War II, Bucky likens his role as playground director to a soldier on the battlefield. During the pandemic, Bucky uses his physical and emotional strength to figuratively "wage a war" on the disease that causes his neighborhood's downfall.
In the novel, the invisibility of polio causes heightened senses of paranoia and distrust among the community. As a result, many people in Weequahic begin blaming random forces for both the cause and the spread of the disease. Following the death of Alan Michaels, Yushy's hotdog stand represents a kind of "nemesis" since people believe Alan contracted polio there. For Kenny Blumenfield, a panic-stricken student on the playground, Horace becomes a scapegoat for the pandemic and an identifiable "nemesis." In these examples, people in the community are quick to place blame on others in order to rationalize the destruction caused by the disease.
When Arnie reunites with Bucky at the end of the novel, we learn what has happened in the decades after Bucky contracted polio. Bucky is certain that he caused the disease to spread in both Weequahic and Indian Hill, and his feelings of guilt invariably alter his life's trajectory. By the end of the novel, it is clear that Bucky is his own nemesis. His self-loathing, compounded by his inability to accept help or love, send him on an irreversibly depressive spiral. Ultimately, Bucky is the inescapable agent of his own downfall.
