Dad Character Analysis in Turtles All the Way Down

Dad is Aza's father, who died of (presumably) a heart attack while mowing the lawn about eight years prior to the start of the novel. Mom describes her husband as "a worrier" like Aza, and thinks that he would've understood Aza's anxiety better than she does. He enjoyed taking cell phone photos of the sky through tree branches, and Aza keeps his phone in working order so she can revisit the photographs on the phone. Aza's car, Harold, also belonged to Dad.

Dad Character Timeline in Turtles All the Way Down

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

...and found it with Harold, a teal Toyota Corolla that used to belong to Aza’s dad. When she turned 16, Aza spent all of her saved money to get his clunky... (full context)

...up through dead tree branches that fracture the sky. She tells the reader that her dad used to take pictures of the sky through branches like that, and she still has... (full context)

...that she wanted to check on him, but most people don't seem to like their dads. Mom wonders out loud if Aza would've clashed or gotten along well with her father,... (full context)

...shows up early to Applebee's. She fumbles around in Harold's trunk until she finds her dad's phone and charger. She explains that Mom backed up Dad's photos years ago, but she... (full context)

...and Davis thinks that Noah is realizing that a caregiver isn't a superhero and his dad might even be a villain. Aza asks Davis about "the jogger's mouth," but Davis explains... (full context)

Davis says that his dad doesn't owe him anything, but he wishes he'd do the "dad stuff" like take Noah... (full context)

...her on the lips on her doorstep. Aza goes into the garage to get her dad's phone and sneaks past Mom, asleep on the couch. She plugs in the phone in... (full context)

...Lyle and they drive to the onsite lab for a tour. Aza tells Lyle her dad is dead as they drive. Lyle lets Aza into the lab, where Malik is looking... (full context)

...Aza comes out of the bathroom, Noah tells Aza that nobody wants to find his dad. Noah wonders why his dad isn't trying to contact them, or if he is trying... (full context)

...his mother by. She thinks it's much the same reason why she looks at her dad's pictures. Aza leaves and Davis asks if they can hang out at her house next... (full context)

...Aza's phone to call 911, Aza tries to get out of Harold to get her dad's phone out of the trunk. A woman tries to tell Aza to stay in the... (full context)

...tells her to not move. Aza tries to tell him that the phone is her dad's, and the firefighter assures Aza that her dad won't be mad that she got in... (full context)

...then again in the hospital. Mom is next to her, crying. Aza tells her that Dad's phone is broken. Mom assures Aza that it's okay and collapses, crying, into Daisy. Daisy... (full context)

...about the accident and thinks that the worst part of the accident was losing her dad's phone. She gets to Applebee's and hugs Davis. Aza thinks that Davis is going to... (full context)

...spends much of her morning procrastinating about texting Davis. She remembers that right after her dad died, she could still think of him as though he were real. Gradually, it became... (full context)

...out at Applebee's most nights. Davis never gets back in contact. Aza misses him, her dad, and Harold. (full context)

...not knowing was eating up Noah. Davis realized that Noah needed to know where his dad was more than he needed money. Aza notices that Davis is crying a bit, and... (full context)