Depression In Black Box

One of the worst things a reader can do is to not make an effort to find deeper meanings behind stories. Many people draw the incorrect conclusion that Black Box is about depression and the struggles that come with it, that idea is just scratching the surface. After digging deep, it is clear to the reader that the message Black Box delivers is that it’s not a smart idea to undergo too much stress because one will eventually crack. Black Box is a book telling the story of a girl, Elena, who’s sister, Dora is suffering from depression. The depression becomes very hard on her, and she eventually gets sent away to help fix this problem. Dora and Elena have a very close relationship and Dora being sent away takes it’s toll on Elena’s well being.

As a result of this, all of the emotions build up and eventually explode out with much more force than one predicted. This way of coping emotion relates to Elena very strongly. One of the reasons Elena is stressed is because she refuses to share all her feelings inside. This is shown multiple times in the text. Schumacher writes “I imagined that my entire body was covered with little invisible doors and it was my job to make sure they didn’t open” (113). The invisible doors are symbolizing her feelings. Because she wants to keep the doors closed, it is clear that she is not a fan of sharing her feelings. If she were not to have kept all her feelings inside, it would be a good riddance of stress. But, as shown in the quote, she doesn’t share her feelings. A bottle filled past it’s capacity is destined to explode. In this case, keeping her feelings in is just fuel to the raging fire of stress. It may seem like Elena is at her breaking point already, but there is

There is no doubt she is stressing about her sister a lot because of how she feels when she finds out her sister is skipping class. Elena discovers that Dora is skipping out on class a lot. In the text is says “What do you mean, she isn’t in class?’ I felt as if my my entire body had been dipped in a vat of cold water.” (Schumacher 93). This quote shows that Elena is worrying about Dora a lot. This constant worrying causes many different strong emotions for Elena: feelings of embarrassment and disappointment are expressed in Elena’s thoughts. In the text it says “Look. Look what’s happened to my family. Look.” (Schumacher 65). Elena is telling the reader that she is so embarrassed and ashamed of her family that she just wants people to watch her and her family suffer and struggle. The feelings of embarrassment and shame and worrying about her sister are causing a lot of stress for her. Elena's mental state is growing worse and worse. It’s a well known fact that nothing good comes from too much