Turtles All the Way Down

by

John Green

The Sky, Stars, and Astronomy Symbol Analysis

The Sky, Stars, and Astronomy Symbol Icon

The ways the different characters see the sky highlights the differences between them, mostly their financial differences. Aza and her dad see the sky as fractured, as represented most often by Aza's dad's photographs of the sky through tree branches. Though Aza thinks it's beautiful, the branches are obstacles to her seeing the entire sky. Davis, on the other hand, views the sky most often from his treeless estate or through his telescope. For him, the sky is clear, endless, and vast. His ability to move through life is similar to how he sees the sky clearly. He can afford to look far away to school in Colorado or a prestigious college. Aza can only look far away in her dreams about college; in reality, she knows she'll likely stay close to home and go to school in Indiana.

The Sky, Stars, and Astronomy Quotes in Turtles All the Way Down

The Turtles All the Way Down quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Sky, Stars, and Astronomy. 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
).
Chapter 6 Quotes

And he was obviously a person. Like, what even makes you a person? He had a body and a soul and feelings, and he spoke a language, and he was an adult, and if he and Rey were in hot, hairy, communicative love, then let's just thank God that two consenting, sentient adults found each other in a dark and broken galaxy.

Related Characters: Daisy (speaker), Aza Holmes
Related Symbols: The Sky, Stars, and Astronomy
Page Number: 66
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

... I realized something Davis must have already known: Spirals grow infinitely small the farther you follow them inward, but they also grow infinitely large the farther you follow them out.

Related Characters: Aza Holmes (speaker), Davis Pickett Jr.
Related Symbols: The Sky, Stars, and Astronomy
Page Number: 280
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Sky, Stars, and Astronomy Symbol Timeline in Turtles All the Way Down

The timeline below shows where the symbol The Sky, Stars, and Astronomy appears in Turtles All the Way Down. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Identity, Selfhood, and Mental Illness Theme Icon
Language and Meaning Theme Icon
...camp with Davis. The two of them didn't talk much, but they looked at the sky together. (full context)
Chapter 3
Identity, Selfhood, and Mental Illness Theme Icon
Chaos vs. Order and Control Theme Icon
...Daisy float down the river, Aza looks up through dead tree branches that fracture the sky. She tells the reader that her dad used to take pictures of the sky through... (full context)
Chapter 4
Identity, Selfhood, and Mental Illness Theme Icon
Privilege, Power, and Wealth Theme Icon
...go with him. When they enter the house, Davis’s little brother, Noah, is playing a space video game in the living room and casually greets Aza without turning around. Davis goes... (full context)
Chapter 7
Identity, Selfhood, and Mental Illness Theme Icon
Language and Meaning Theme Icon
Privilege, Power, and Wealth Theme Icon
...finally replies with "hi," and they text about how to define "I." They talk about stargazing, and Davis says that he and Noah are all alone. Aza asks if sharing the... (full context)
Chapter 9
Chaos vs. Order and Control Theme Icon
Language and Meaning Theme Icon
...sees from earth is actually the Jupiter from 45 minutes ago. Davis points to other stars and says that they're hundreds of light years away, which means that the actual star... (full context)
Identity, Selfhood, and Mental Illness Theme Icon
Chaos vs. Order and Control Theme Icon
Language and Meaning Theme Icon
...wants to kiss him, but is scared to turn towards him. Davis resumes talking about stars and finally remarks that Aza doesn't talk much. Davis suggests she say what she's thinking.... (full context)
Chapter 11
Chaos vs. Order and Control Theme Icon
...regular medication as well as medication to use when feeling panicky. When the second pill starts to kick in, Aza feels heavy and sits in front of the TV. Mom comes... (full context)
Chapter 12
Privilege, Power, and Wealth Theme Icon
...her car. Aza texts Davis and asks what time she needs to arrive for the meteor shower . He replies that it's going to be overcast, but Aza insists they see each... (full context)
Chaos vs. Order and Control Theme Icon
Language and Meaning Theme Icon
...She hasn't, and neither has he. He says they should go outside to see the meteor shower . (full context)
Chaos vs. Order and Control Theme Icon
Language and Meaning Theme Icon
...Aza to two pool loungers set up on the golf course. He deems the cloudy sky disappointing, but Aza asks him to describe what they'd be seeing if it weren't cloudy.... (full context)
Identity, Selfhood, and Mental Illness Theme Icon
Language and Meaning Theme Icon
...and asks if she'd prefer Star Trek or Star Wars. Aza says she doesn't like space movies, but they decide on a Star Trek movie anyway. Her thoughts continue to run... (full context)
Chaos vs. Order and Control Theme Icon
Language and Meaning Theme Icon
In the theater, Davis asks how Aza can be friends with Daisy and not like space operas. Aza worries that they're both trying to act normal, when they both know that... (full context)
Chapter 17
Identity, Selfhood, and Mental Illness Theme Icon
Chaos vs. Order and Control Theme Icon
...was deathly afraid of being poisoned. He only ate food prepared by his wife and starved to death when his wife was hospitalized and couldn't cook for him. (full context)
Chaos vs. Order and Control Theme Icon
Davis shows Aza his telescope. He focuses it on his favorite star, Tau Ceti, and explains that it's twelve light years away. He likes it because if... (full context)
Chapter 21
Identity, Selfhood, and Mental Illness Theme Icon
Language and Meaning Theme Icon
...girls lie down and look up through the branches of the oak tree at the sky. (full context)
Chapter 24
Identity, Selfhood, and Mental Illness Theme Icon
Privilege, Power, and Wealth Theme Icon
...him to her backyard. They lie down in the grass and Aza shows him the stars from her backyard, with the branches overhead. Davis says that he and Noah are moving... (full context)
Chaos vs. Order and Control Theme Icon
Privilege, Power, and Wealth Theme Icon
Aza asks what they're seeing in the sky. Davis points out Jupiter and some stars, and Aza asks why they told the police.... (full context)
Identity, Selfhood, and Mental Illness Theme Icon
Aza looks at the sky and realizes how big it is. She thinks that Davis must know that spirals do... (full context)
Identity, Selfhood, and Mental Illness Theme Icon
Chaos vs. Order and Control Theme Icon
Language and Meaning Theme Icon
However, she says, that night holding hands with Davis under the stars, she doesn't know any of that yet. In the box on her table is the... (full context)