It's Kind of a Funny Story {Social Action Inquiry Question #1}

In the young adult novel It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini, the main character is a teenage boy named Craig faced with depression. Craig explains that it started after he got into his dream high school he had spent years studying for, when he is introduced to drugs and his crush starts going out with his best friend. It escalates, and Craig stops eating and sleeping and convinces himself he’s failing school and therefore, failing in life. Craig’s smart move is checking himself into the hospital instead of jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, which was scheduled for that very night. There, in the hospital, Craig is severed from his “tentacles”, or “evil tasks that invade [his] life." Instead, he has “anchors”, which, Craig says, are "things that occupy my mind and make me feel good temporarily." In this book, there are many complex and difficult issues.

One complex issue is teen suicide. I think It's Kind of a Funny Story is a realistic portrayal of teen depression, even though many teens probably wouldn't check themselves into the hospital the same night they scheduled for their suicide. Even so, Craig is a role model for getting help and is repeatedly told so during his stay at the hospital. This would suggest to any person with depression reading this book that suicide is not the answer--Craig was pretty much cured after only 4 days. At the end of the book, he even says "Jeez, why was I even trying to kill myself?", showing that his whole attitude changed throughout the book. Suicide is a difficult issue because you realize how many people suffer from depression, and the steps they to to end their own life but how you can get better. 

Another issue in this book that is not as noticeable is being able to do what you love versus what you've worked so hard for and will get you somewhere in life. When Craig gets into the school of his dreams, he is happy at first but then he falls into his depression and every task is another "tentacle" threatening to pull him under. But at the hospital, he is reconnected to his passion for art and begins drawing everyday and realizes that this is what he wants to do with his life. When Craig's father visits, he is taken aback by Craig's seemingly outrageous idea to transfer to an art centered school and is a little skeptical. All of Craig's family know how hard he worked to get into the school he is at now, so they are surprised that he wants to switch. At the beginning of the book, Craig explains that the school was "set up to create the leaders of tomorrow" and "you can come out of Executive Pre-Professional High School and go right to Wall Street." He says that someone could be President after going to EPP, and he secretly dreams of being exactly that. This shows how amazing and important this school is/was to him. Now, Craig wants to switch schools to become something much less ambitious, like a therapy artist to help people in hospitals. This is why the choice he has to make between Executive Pre-Professional and an art school is an issue. 

Like many other books, It's Kind of a Funny Story has many complex issues and teen suicide and important life choices are only two examples. Craig learns and grows throughout the story and so does the reader. Everybody must make choices that will affect their lives everyday, and Craig's decision to do what he loves influences the reader and leaves them feeling satisfied with his choices.

Argument Essay Final Draft

            Over the past decade, young adult literature has become increasingly darker, violent, and more profane. But that doesn’t mean in any way that teens should stop reading these books, as they are simply portraying reality. The term “gatekeepers” refers to the people who challenge books in hope to get them out of the hands of the kids who want them and need them—the very books that provide comfort, hope, and a way out for young teenage victims. This is why young adult books dealing with issues where teens are victimized should not be banned.

            YA books can act as a friend and role model to teens in need of hope and comfort. Sherman Alexie, an acclaimed teen fiction author, admits that he wishes he had the chance to read the YA fiction being published today in his essay “Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood.” Alexie also says that he read books because they “were the most loving and trustworthy things” in his life [Alexie 26]. Alexie was a victim of poverty, racism, and sexual and physical abuse, so it is safe to say that he knows what teens with the same or similar issues are feeling. This is why Alexie, in a sense, represents the teens of today, which is why we can trust him—he is speaking for our teens. Shelly Wilhelm, a bookseller in Denver, explains in the article “Teen Fiction Plots Are Darker and Starker” by William Porter that although kids want fantasy when they’re younger, they start to want darker books that are altogether more realistic as they mature. This is because books contain the same issues they are dealing with. This is how young adult books provide comfort.

            But YA books don’t just stop at comforting victims and giving them hope—they serve as role models for teens struggling with ways to make their lives better. By reading these books, teens will get a better sense of what does and doesn’t work to make their situations better. In the same “Darker and Starker” article, the best-selling author Levithan tells Porter, “when you feel the world is broken, as an author you create an alternative world to try and fix it… It’s a way of grappling with the present.” Sherman Alexie agrees, describing his problems as “monsters” and his words “weapons”. He knows it is too late to protect teens from the terrible things in life, so he writes for them so they have something to fight their monsters with. In other words, victims will better know how to cope with their problems after reading YA books. An example of a lesson teaching YA book it Nancy Werlin’s The Rules of Survival. The main character, Matt, and his sisters are abused by their mother until she starts dating a man Matt believes will help end the abuse. But when he leaves, Matt realizes he must take matters into his own hands to save himself and his sisters. This is an important message for victims sitting around waiting for something to change. Maybe it will and maybe it won’t, but if you speak up for yourself, you can ensure it. This is more support for why books concerning these issues should not be banned: they give teens insight on how to cope with their problems.

            Gatekeepers may argue that YA books with “fairy tale” endings are unrealistic portrayals of how it will most likely turn out, and they make empty promises of a dream world that nobody can actually achieve. But what these people don’t understand is that most YA books don’t end perfectly, and the ones that do are only trying to motivate victims reading them to change in hope of obtaining something better than what they have. “Teens read because they believe… that books—especially the dark and dangerous ones—will save them,” says Alexie. If a teen struggling with self harm reads an entire book about another teen facing the same thing and finds out that at the end of the book the teen commits suicide, they will not feel motivated to feel better. It is the job of young adult fiction to make problems to seem possible to overcome. It is fiction, after all. Even so, not all YA books end perfectly. For example, in The Rules of Survival, Matt’s mother still sends him and his sisters letters (some threatening, some sincere), even after a restraining order and the creation of new, loving families. The letters are a constant reminder of Matt’s abusive, hating mom. This is so much more realistic than, say, Matt’s mom being killed by a passing van or disappearing in a cloud of smoke. YA books are down to earth but still motivating enough to push victims reading them to a better future.

            Overall, banning YA books in which teens are victimized is wrong because they can be comforted by them and learn so much from them. These books are a way for teens to learn for teens to learn how to fix their situations, which is important in this changing, darkening, world.