Turtles all the way down

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Spiral minds are harder to twist

‘Turtles all the way down’ by only hearing that name you get very curious about what the book is about. You can’t guess by just seeing the tittle and it is quite an intriguing book. One of the themes of the book, and I think the main theme, is mental illness. In the book it is shown by the main character Ava who has OCD, which has a big impact on her life.

Another theme that plays a big role in the book is identity. That is also something Ava is dealing with as she goes through two identity crises. One is finding her own identity, she struggles with regular teen struggles of liking a boy and feeling normal. The other struggle is the one with OCD, which limits her in having a normal life. For example when she has a boyfriend and she is kissing him, she can only think about all the bacteria that are coming into her body and she has to stop kissing him. She is constantly thinking and worrying about all the bacteria and germs inside her body. She is always wearing a Band-Aid because she has a little wound on her dumb that she keeps open, just to see that there is still blood inside of her. Sometimes she feels fictional because she has no control over her thoughts.   

”I took off the Band-Aid, opened up the cut with my thumbnail, then washed my hands and put on a new Band-Aid. I looked in the drawers beneath the sink for some mouthwash, but they didn’t have any, so in the end, I just swished cold water around in my mouth and spit it out”.(Green, 2017,p.102)

Why should these dark themes be so prominent in adolescent literature? ‘’One reason is that teenage readers have discovered that the conventions of juvenile literature do not match the complexity of their new experience. And as a result they demand that stories not just embody their wishes and fantasies, but also reflect realistically the darker parts of life and the newfound limits on their idealism, as Whitehead and his colleagues have argued as stated by Appleyard’’ (2012,p.14) Mental illness is something that is very present in the life of adolescents in all sorts of shapes and forms, yet it is exceptional  to hear or read about from the perspective of the person undergoing it. This makes turtles all the way down an excellent book for adolescents as now they can read and learn more about how it feels to have a mental illness.  

For people from the outside it is very hard to understand, this also becomes obvious in the book regarding Ava’s mother. She is trying to help and understand her daughter, but faces some difficulties to do so. It is clearly that she cares a lot for her but because of her OCD her daughter is quite a mystery to her.

“You seemed locked inside of your mind, and I can’t know what’s going on in there, and it scares me.”(Green, 2017,p.110)

Also Aza’s best friend Daisy has often a hard time understanding her friend. Aza feels very insecure and a bit like she has been made a fool when she reads the online stories of Daisy, and finds out that one character is just like her. Only Daisy, who is the writer, makes fun of the character and she feels a bit attacked by her own best friend.

“Ayala, Aza. Beginning of the alphabet to the end and back. Gave her compulsions. Gave her my personality. Anyone reading it would know how you really feel about me. Mychal. Davis. Everyone at school, probably.” (Green, 2017,p. 141)

No one in the life of Aza really understands what she is going through or the way she thinks.

The discussion in class was about the main character Aza and the effect of the crises on her actions and her feelings, as she feels she cannot be a normal girl who does what ‘’normal’’ teenagers do. We found the story is quite realistic as it shows real life struggles that are rarely addressed. However the element of the murder of Picket seems a bit unrealistic as they find so much information online.

We also discussed the novel’s age suitability 12-18, identity vs role confusion, confrontation with real world problems (Erikson). But the age from 15-16, because there are some heavy topics in the book, like OCD and the death of Davis’ father. I personally think this is an excellent novel for adolescents because, as stated by Appleyard (1991), ‘’there are three main responses teenagers gave when questioned about what is important in a good novel. Identification with the character, realism of the story and a good story makes them think’’. Turtles all the way down has all these qualities and not just for teenagers who themselves are facing mental illness but also their friends, peers who are trying to understand them.

“You see this red?” I pointed at the inflamed skin on either side of the wound. “That’s infection. That’s a big problem.” I rarely let anyone see my finger without the Band-Aid, but I wanted Daisy to understand. This was not like the other times. This was not irrational worry, because dried blood was unusual, even for when the callus was cracked open’’ (Green, 2017,p. 86.)

Bibliography

Appleyard, J.A. (1991). Becoming a Reader: The reader as thinker. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press

Erikson, E.H. (1970) Reflections on the dissent of contemporary youth. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 51, 11-22

Green, J (2017). Turtles all the way down. Boston: Dutton Books.

Image 1 – [Untitled image spiral]. (n.d). Pinterest. Retrieved April 10, 2020, from https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/556687203940441974/