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Chapter 17
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 calls home, and Mom picks up. She’s worried because he wasn’t in bed when she woke up. He explains everything. When she hears that Craig is safe and hasn’t hurt himself, she says she’s proud of him. Craig waits for Mom to arrive. He asks Chris to go to the bathroom. For once, Craig uses the bathroom quickly.
Just as Dr. Mahmoud comes to see Craig, his mom arrives. She brought one of the dogs with her since the dog was making a fuss. A nurse says the dog will have to go, since they’re against policy. Dr. Mahmoud allows the dog to stay for a moment. He explains to Craig and his mom that they have to decide if Craig would like to be admitted. He recommends putting Craig into adult psychiatric, and Craig and his mom agree that’s fine. It’s only after Craig arrives in the psychiatric floor that it hits him that he’s in a mental hospital.
The fact that the people at the psychiatric hospital allow Craig’s mom to bring the dog suggests that they are not dogmatic about enforcing the rules at the hospital. This contrasts with Craig’s behavior earlier, when he broke the more serious rule of stopping his medication before it was time. As this scene shows, managing mental health is a balance that requires both discipline and flexibility.
Themes
