Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in It’s Kind of a Funny Story, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Mental Health
Art and Self-Discovery
Peer Pressure vs. Self-Empowerment
Friendship and Romance
Summary
Analysis
Craig finds the rest of eighth grade easy. He and Aaron keep hanging out, often with Ronny (who becomes their dealer) and Nia (who becomes Aaron’s girlfriend). When Craig starts at his new high school, however, homework begins to take over his life, and this is when he comes up with the concept of Tentacles. He feels that other students like Aaron get better grades while studying less and soon reaches the conclusion that they must just be “better” people. By December, Craig starts to stress vomit for the first time. Soon after, he finally admits to his parents that he’s depressed.
Craig’s period of depression seems to line up with him starting out at his new school. Once again, one of the sources of his depression is how he fails to live up to people like Aaron, who seem to be doing more with less effort. Craig’s feelings in this scene further point to his low self-esteem, but they also suggest how the high pressure that teenagers face to fit in and excel, particularly in educational settings, can contribute to mental health struggles.
Themes
