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Chapter 20
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’s roommate is a man with a big gray beard named Muqtada. Craig sees his own bed and is surprised how sparse it is—just a pillow and a top sheet. Smitty tells them lunch is in five minutes. Muqtada isn’t very talkative but eventually mentions that he’s from Egypt. When it’s almost time to eat, Craig worries about vomiting. A small man named Armelio starts shouting for everyone to come to lunch and introduces himself to Craig. Bobby explains that Armelio, a patient, is like the president of the floor.
Muqtada comes from a very different background from Craig, and yet the two of them seem to share a similar health condition. This reflects how depression is a universal concept and how people of different ages and nationalities are all susceptible to it—meaning that having depression is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a common illness that can affect anyone.
Themes
