It's Kind Of A Funny Story Analysis

It’s Kind of a Funny Story is a coming of age novel about a teen with suicidal depression, who checks himself into a psychiatric hospital. While still being a very serious story, Vizzini found a way to mix it with humor to make it approachable to young adults, and results in, as the title suggests, kind of a funny story. One of the most important themes in the novel is now to deal with and overcome depression. The story is based on the author’s own brief stay in a psychiatric hospital for his own depression. Although Vizzini lost his battle with mental illness a few years ago, it is important for readers who struggle with similar issues to Craig’s to know that the author wrote from personal experience, and through reading the novel can realize

Over the course of the novel, he realizes that the stress which led to his depression came from his anxiety to do well at prestigious high school. While most people do not or have not attended a selective school for gifted students, Craig’s situation reflects the sometimes overwhelming pressure on today’s youth to do well in school, go off to college, and finally obtain a high paying job. Oh, and it has to be something you enjoy. And you have to find time to socialize with your friends. And find a girlfriend along the way. The novel shows how monumental a challenge that can be for some teens, and what that kind of stress is capable of doing. So the question is, with these pretty heavy things in mind, how can this novel also manage to pull off humor? All of the characters in the adult psychiatric ward are weird and wonderful characters, and while Craig does not make fun of them for their mental illnesses, recognizes the humor in the situation they put him into when they interact. Some of the humor also comes from quirks in Craig’s life. An example is that he really likes peeing. Going to the bathroom to urinate is sometimes the highlight of his day and he sometimes chooses to wait on the toilet until he has to pee