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Chapter 40
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 and Noelle meet again at 7:00 p.m. Noelle is wearing a shirt that says I HATE BOYS. She explains it’s not about Craig, just boys in general, because she thinks they’re arrogant. Noelle asks about Nia and says she saw Craig and Nia making out earlier. Craig explains his history with Nia but says he likes Noelle more.
Noelle talks about her problems. She says she feels like girls have to choose to be either a “prude” or a “slut” and people hate them either way. She thinks she’ll never get a job because she’ll have scars on her face for the rest of her life. Craig tries to reassure her that everyone has problems. He shows her a new map he’s drawn inside the brains of two figures, one male, one female. He offers to give it to her, then asks for her number so they can stay in contact outside the hospital.
Similar to the older patients like Humble or Bobby, Noelle helps Craig learn that for all his struggles with mental health, he still has some advantages compared to the other patients in the hospital. For Noelle, the contradictory expectations that people have for girls, particularly when it comes to personal appearance, put pressure on her that Craig doesn’t have to face in the same way.
Themes
