When one lives in a privileged country, it becomes very easy to walk through life with a negative attitude and to almost become blind to all that one is lucky to have. Han Nolan, in her adaptation of Crazy, portrays the protagonist as an insecure teenager who learns to accept his fate and trust others. In this novel, a young boy named Jason Papadopoulos is left alone to live and take care of his father who is suffering from a mental illness. After attending daily counseling sessions, Jason learns that he is never alone in his problems and is eventually adopted into a foster home which starts off a little shaky. However, he quickly realizes how grateful he is for what he has received.Through the symbols, conflicts and characters …show more content…
First off, a person versus self conflict is presented in this story, as Jason is forced to be the leader of his house due to the lack of an adult figure to take care of him. Jason has to take matters into his own hands and is has to take care of not only himself, but also his troubled father. Everyday, Jason returns to his cold, foul smelling home and feels ashamed as he thinks, “ there’s no warmth in the house as I step into the hallway, no smell of dinner cooking, no sound of mom’s voice singing from the kitchen” (Nolan 41). These thoughts from Jason show that his household used to be filled with joy, happiness and the calming smell of his mother’s cooking. However, following his mother’s death, Jason outcast’s himself from society and replaces his friends with imaginary voices which also provides a person versus self conflict. Moreover, Jason and his father are considered poor and often run out of food, therefore creating a person versus society conflict. After making more friends during his daily group counseling sessions, Jason acts surprised when one of his friends, Shelby Majors, shows up to his home. As soon as she enters his home: “ she goes toward the refrigerator, so I give up and just let the embarrassment happen” (Nolan 83). After failing to stop his friend from invading his kitchen, …show more content…
Moreover, Jason Papadopoulos is displayed as a dynamic character who goes through a significant change. This is demonstrated as he describes, “ I eat a huge breakfast of French toast and scrambled eggs” (Nolan 213). After moving into the foster home with the Lynch’s, Jason no longer has to act like an adult and is provided with nourishing food. His character shows a significant change from the beginning when he was provided with unnecessary stress, but after moving into the foster home that stress is lifted and allows him to act like a normal teenager. Although the decrease of stress shows a significant change in Jason, joining the support group has also changed him and allowed him to accept his mother’s death, trust other individuals, and maintain healthy relationships with his new friends. Finally, Jason’s best friend and potential love interest Shelby, provides a significant connection to the theme even when her life seems to be falling apart. Soon after her mother is diagnosed with the fatal disease of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), she receives continuous support from her friends which allows her to later on accept her loss and say, “ I feel like her [her mother] peace is my peace” (Nolan 281). Following these feelings of relaxation, Shelby accepts the fact that her mother is resting in peace and that she did the best that she