Peer Pressure vs. Self-Empowerment Theme Analysis

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.