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Art and Self-Discovery
Themes and Colors
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.
Over the course of It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Craig learns that many of his mental health struggles come from his new high school and the pressure to fit in, whether it’s from his teachers and the work they assign or even from his own friends. Craig begins the novel with low self-esteem. He’s constantly comparing himself to people like his friend Aaron. Aaron seems to be more successful than Craig in every aspect, getting into a prestigious high school with little studying, winning over Nia as a girlfriend, and always partying and smoking pot. Craig feels pressured to live the same kind of life as people like Aaron, but he realizes that even if he tries his hardest, he might never be like Aaron.
Even after Craig begins to improve his mental health at the adult psychiatric hospital, school remains his one “Tentacle” that threatens to drag him back down into a dark mental place. Craig dreads having to answer voicemails or emails about school, and when the principal of his high school calls, Craig hangs up out of fear that the principal has called to expel him. As Dr. Minerva helps Craig to understand, Craig’s fears of school are in some ways exaggerated and more a reflection of Craig’s perceived anxieties than of anything that poses a genuine threat or conflict to him in reality (the principal, for instance, only called to wish Craig well). But Dr. Minerva also shows Craig that he has the power to recognize and do something about many of his fears. For instance, if school continues to be a source of fear and anxiety for him, he might consider transferring to a different school. By the end of his stay at the hospital, Craig has learned that he doesn’t have to mold himself to fit into the environment around him. Instead, he can play an active role in determining where in life he wants to go. It’s Kind of a Funny Story shows the heavy toll that school and the pressure to fit in can take on a teenager’s mental health, but it also offers hope that sometimes people can change the things they’re unhappy about rather than always conforming to peer pressure because they feel as though their problems are beyond their control.
Related Themes from Other Texts
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Peer Pressure vs. Self-Empowerment ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Peer Pressure vs. Self-Empowerment appears in each chapter of It’s Kind of a Funny Story. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
How often theme appears:
chapter length:
Chapter
Chapter 1
1
Chapter 2
2
Chapter 3
3
Chapter 4
4
Chapter 5
5
Chapter 6
6
Chapter 7
7
Chapter 8
8
Chapter 9
9
Chapter 10
10
Chapter 11
11
Chapter 12
12
Chapter 13
13
Chapter 14
14
Chapter 15
15
Chapter 16
16
Chapter 17
17
Chapter 18
18
Chapter 19
19
Chapter 20
20
Chapter 21
21
Chapter 22
22
Chapter 23
23
Chapter 24
24
Chapter 25
25
Chapter 26
26
Chapter 27
27
Chapter 28
28
Chapter 29
29
Chapter 30
30
Chapter 31
31
Chapter 32
32
Chapter 33
33
Chapter 34
34
Chapter 35
35
Chapter 36
36
Chapter 37
37
Chapter 38
38
Chapter 39
39
Chapter 40
40
Chapter 41
41
Chapter 42
42
Chapter 43
43
Chapter 44
44
Chapter 45
45
Chapter 46
46
Chapter 47
47
Chapter 48
48
Chapter 49
49
Chapter 50
50
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Peer Pressure vs. Self-Empowerment Quotes in It’s Kind of a Funny Story
Below you will find the important quotes in It’s Kind of a Funny Story related to the theme of Peer Pressure vs. Self-Empowerment .
Chapter 10 Quotes
I had a sudden urge to walk out over the trussing and lean over the water, to declare myself to the world. Once it came into my head, I couldn’t push it away.
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This quote describes the first time that Craig thought seriously about suicide. Notably, the idea sneaks up on him and he doesn’t realize at first what he’s doing. Craig initially thinks that he is just out having fun with his friends Aaron and Ronny while Nia is asleep back at Aaron’s place. The idea of walking to a dangerous part of the Brooklyn Bridge just seems like a sudden and exciting whim to Craig at first. But once Craig follows this whim, he realizes that it has put his life in danger and that the sense of freedom and exhilaration Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti
Chapter 14 Quotes
“He’s always talking about himself and his problems. Like you. You’re both self-centered. Only, you have a low opinion of yourself, so it’s tolerable. He has a really high opinion of himself. It’s a pain.”
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In this quote, Nia draws an important distinction between Craig and his friend Aaron. Both boys, in Nia’s mind, are highly self-absorbed. But while Craig has low self-esteem, Aaron has high self-esteem. Craig thinks of himself as inadequate compared to others, and this is often a source of shame for him. But as Nia points out, Craig’s lack of self-confidence can in some ways be a good thing, making him less boastful than someone like Aaron, who has a high opinion of himself. Nia, who herself has a complicated relationship with both Craig and Aaron and is not an impartial Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi neces
Chapter 28 Quotes
“You want my girl, dude. You’ve wanted her for like two years. You’re mad that you didn’t get her, and now you’ve decided to turn being mad into being depressed, and now you’re off somewhere, probably getting turned into somebody’s bitch, trying to play the pity card to get her to end up with you … And I call you as a friend to try and lighten your mood and you hit me with all of this crap? Who do you think you are?”
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In this quote, Aaron calls Craig at the psychiatric hospital and, after an increasingly heated exchange, reveals some of the negative things that he thinks about Craig. Although Aaron has been Craig’s best friend for a while, this phone call brings up some of the resentment that has been building in each of them over their course of their friendship. Although this passage is full of conflict, it is also the beginning of Craig and Aaron’s journey toward being more open with each other. Craig’s feelings of inadequacy compared to Aaron were initially one of the factors driving his depression. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta ita
Chapter 31 Quotes
“I have to have surgery to clear them up. You think I should?”
“No. Why hide what you’ve been through?”
“I don’t know if that’s really a question. It’s too obvious. Wouldn’t I be happier without scars?”
“I don’t know. It’s tough to tell what would make you happy. I thought I’d be happier in a really tough high school, and I ended up here.”
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This quote is part of a long game of asking and answering questions that Noelle invites Craig to play during their first private meeting together. Initially, the questions begin on a surface level, but as the question game goes on, the questions become more personal, and Craig and Noelle start to become more vulnerable with each other. Craig’s advice to Noelle—that she shouldn’t hide her scars because she shouldn’t have to hide what she’s been through—is a little bit ironic, given how much Craig used to try to hide the symptoms of his depression from his family and friends. In Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi at
Chapter 33 Quotes
“Holy crap!” I say, and I hang up.
The phone starts ringing again. I stand by it and ignore it, explaining to Armelio and everyone else who passes that it’s for me but that I can’t answer.
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Although Craig makes a lot of progress during his early days in the psychiatric hospital, when he receives a phone call from his school principal, he suddenly falls back into his old pattern of avoiding his problems. Craig doesn’t know what to say to his principal, and rather than facing the problem or admitting his ignorance, he instead just stands there as the phone rings. The fact that Armelio and the others seem to understand Craig’s unusual behavior helps to demonstrate how universal this type of avoidance is for people with mental health struggles similar to Craig’s. For now, this Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore
Chapter 44 Quotes
“I’m going to throw a wild notion at you.” Dr. Minerva leans back, then forward. “Have you ever thought about going to a different school?”
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This quote is something that Dr. Minerva says to Craig during their last appointment before Craig leaves the hospital. Although Craig has learned from his time in the hospital that there’s no such thing as a miracle cure, this quote causes a sudden breakthrough for Craig that causes him to reconsider his whole future. School has been one of the most consistent sources of pressure and stress for Craig—earlier, he was so afraid to even answer a phone call from his principal that he hung up the phone immediately. School has been such an all-encompassing concern that Craig didn’t even Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consecte
Chapter 50 Quotes
I’m not better, you know. The weight hasn’t left my head. I feel how easily I could fall back into it, lie down and not eat, waste my time and curse wasting my time, look at my homework and freak out and go and chill at Aaron’s, look at Nia and be jealous again, take the subway home and hope that it has an accident, go and get my bike and head to the Brooklyn Bridge. All of that is still there. The only thing is, it’s not an option now. It’s just… a possibility, like it’s a possibility that I could turn to dust in the next instant and be disseminated throughout the universe as an omniscient consciousness. It’s not a very likely possibility.
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In this quote, Craig dismisses the idea that just because he has managed to get discharged from the psychiatric hospital, he has also overcome all his mental health issues. Craig’s story does end happily, but in this passage, Craig adds a more somber note of realism to the story, acknowledging that there’s no guarantee that his current period of happiness will last. Craig realizes that he could fall back into the same old patterns of caving to peer pressure and school-related stress, but at the current moment, he feels like that possibility is as remote as being turned into “an Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium e
So now live for real, Craig. Live. Live. Live. Live.
Live.
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After Craig briefly acknowledges the challenges he still faces going forward, the final lines of the book are a joyful celebration of life. Craig talks to himself, telling himself to “live for real,” suggesting that there was something false and empty about his previous life, in which his anxiety and depression consumed him and left him feeling disempowered and hopeless. Craig was so obsessed with trying to achieve success through external sources (like through academic success or relationships, for instance) that he didn’t think about what he wanted for himself. His command of “Live” to himself suggests that he is Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ip
