It's Kind of a Funny Story Theme Essay

...

“There are a lot of tentacles, but I should be able to handle them. The problem is that I’m so lazy” (15). Tentacles are evil tasks that invade Craig’s life. The tentacles can be seen as the things that directly impact the development of Craig’s illness and they all eventually lead him to the point of Craig committing suicide.

A positive symbol that helps Craig with his depression are anchors. In the book anchors are things that symbolize Craig recovering from his illness. The most noticeable anchors in the book is Craig going to a mental hospital to get help, and Craig dropping out of Pre- Professional to go to an art school. “The opposite of tentacles are anchors. The anchors are things that occupy my and make me feel good temporarily” (15).

Over the course of the novel, Vizzini describes in first person how Craig’s illnesses start from Craig having anxiety about school, and how his worries get worse over time and develop into something Craig is willing to kill himself over. He also shows the thoughts and emotions going through Craig’s head when he has to put school and friends aside in order to get the help he needs. Vizzini’s descriptive writing style is the best of example of how he expressed the theme in the book.

“I’m waiting for her to say ‘Craig, what you need to do it X’ and for the Shift to occur. I want there to be a shift so bad. I want to feel my brain slide back into the slot it was meant to be in, rest there the way it did before the fall of last year, back when I was young and witty and my teachers said I had incredible promise, and I had incredible promise, and I spoke up in class because I was excited and smart about the world. I want the Shift so bad” (17).

The author allows the audience to see how mental illnesses can develop and be overcome in many different ways, because he wrote a story about an ordinary kid who develops and eventually over comes his own mental illnesses. While also showing how several other characters developed and fixed their own problems. The author displays this massage using conflict, setting, character, and symbols and writing style throughout the book.