Mychal Character Analysis in Turtles All the Way Down

Mychal is a classmate and friend of Aza and Daisy, and for a short time he's Daisy's boyfriend. He's a talented art student, though he's often very uncertain of himself. His photographic work Prisoner 101 is accepted to a pop-up gallery in an unfinished section of the Indianapolis sewer system, where it's positively received by critics and other artists.

Mychal Quotes in Turtles All the Way Down

The Turtles All the Way Down quotes below are all either spoken by Mychal or refer to Mychal. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Identity, Selfhood, and Mental Illness Theme Icon

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Dutton Books edition of Turtles All the Way Down published in 2017.

... and meanwhile I was thinking that if half the cells inside of you are not you, doesn't that challenge the whole notion of me as a singular pronoun, let alone the author of my fate?

Related Characters: (speaker), ,

Related Symbols: ,

Page Number and Citation: 5

Explanation and Analysis:

You're the narrator, the protagonist, and the sidekick. You're the storyteller and the story told. You are somebody's something, but you are also your own.

Related Characters: (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 257

Explanation and Analysis:

Mychal Character Timeline in Turtles All the Way Down

The timeline below shows where the character Mychal appears in Turtles All the Way Down. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...that she finds eating disgusting. She tries not to think about it. She's sitting with Mychal, an artistic friend, and Daisy, her best friend since elementary school. Aza shivers as she... (full context)

Mychal explains that Davis’s dad, Mr. Pickett, disappeared mysteriously the night before a police raid was... (full context)

Aza only partially hears Daisy make some suggestions to Mychal about his art project. Aza wonders if "me" should still be considered a singular pronoun... (full context)

Daisy turns back to Mychal and Aza fears she's going to vomit. Daisy asks Aza if she's okay and Aza... (full context)

...the reporter that Daisy phished and sees that he appears to still have his job. Mychal jogs up to Aza. Aza is thinking about how her self seems to be in... (full context)

...Daisy announces she has a crisis. She explains that she agreed to a date with Mychal, but told him it would be a picnic double date with Aza and Davis. Aza... (full context)

...her disappointment at Aza's decision to wear makeup. Aza explains she's having dinner with Daisy, Mychal, and Davis, and deflects when Mom asks if she's dating Davis. Mom says that Aza... (full context)

Aza is the last to arrive at Applebee's and takes a seat next to Mychal. Daisy begins a conversation of whether Wookiees are people, and Davis eagerly joins in. Mychal... (full context)

...a movie. Davis suggests they go to his house, since they "get all the movies." Mychal is confused as Davis tries to explain that they actually get the movies at his... (full context)

Aza and Mychal drive their cars behind Davis to the Pickett estate. When they get there, Mychal excitedly... (full context)

...outside and uses his phone, connected to the house's sound system, to tell Daisy and Mychal that they're going outside. (full context)

...upstairs, hears Daisy talking behind a closed door, and opens it to find Daisy and Mychal kissing. Daisy asks for privacy, and Aza heads back downstairs. She sits down next to... (full context)

...her when she can. Daisy calls immediately and begins rambling about her fantastic date with Mychal and how much she actually likes him. She finally asks Aza about Davis, and Aza... (full context)

...again about "the jogger's mouth." Daisy says that the mystery is over and runs to Mychal. (full context)

...as time goes on. Daisy assures her she'll be fine and runs off to kiss Mychal. (full context)

...Ayala always says no. She agrees to the hangout and Daisy explains that she and Mychal are reading A Midsummer Night's Dream to each other for English after Daisy and Aza... (full context)

...is taking Daisy's money away and points out that Daisy spends all her time with Mychal now. They go back to watching the movie, and Daisy says "I love you" when... (full context)

...invite disasters, and that being a witness to that anxiety is exhausting. Daisy says that Mychal says that Aza is like mustard: fine in small quantities, but not so great in... (full context)

...and asks Aza if she should keep talking. Aza nods. Daisy explains that she and Mychal broke up, she sold her car, and Elena put gum in her hair, which necessitated... (full context)

Daisy says that the breakup with Mychal made the lunch table awkward, so they're going to picnic outside today. She tells Aza... (full context)

Mychal catches Aza on her way to History and asks her to talk to Daisy about... (full context)

...and asks if she wants to go to a guerilla art show. She explains that Mychal submitted his photography project to an arts collective and it was accepted into a show... (full context)

When Daisy and Mychal stop to pick up Aza that night, Aza feels underdressed. In Mychal's minivan, Daisy and... (full context)

Mychal parks in a business parking lot. He, Daisy, and Aza get out into a crowd... (full context)

...them and leads Daisy to the gallery, which is lit only by the viewers' headlamps. Mychal's piece is Aza's favorite. Someone sets up a stereo and begins passing around cups of... (full context)

...should bring closure, but they really just raise more questions. When she and Daisy find Mychal, they pull him away from the women he's talking to and head out of the... (full context)