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Jennifer Niven's All The Bright Places

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In the novel, All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, two struggling teens develop an unlikely relationship through an exploration of identity and friendship. Violet Markey is popular and Theodore Finch is the school freak. Violet and Finch meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school - both thinking about jumping off and committing suicide. It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself - a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. As Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. How far will Violet go to save the boy she has come to love? There are two very obvious and prominent themes in this novel. Identity and …show more content…

Violet envies Finch’s freedom, while Finch is jealous of her close family. Violet’s parents are caring and super protective obviously more so due to her sister’s recent death. “Like Ryan, my parents are perfect. They are strong and brave and caring, and even though I know they must cry and get angry and maybe even throw things when they're alone, they rarely show it to me.” p56. One night, Violet does not come home because she was out with Finch and they lost track of time and fell asleep. Violet’s parents forbade her from seeing Finch after that incident. They are scared something might happen to the only daughter they have left. Violet’s parents’ actions are reasonable as they are certainly shaken from their daughter’s death. Violet appreciates her family but she also sees them as an obstacle she must mend before she can focus on herself. Finch’s mom is wrapped up in her own feelings and his dad lets his feelings come out with his fists. “But it's not just a headache I feel, I can see it, like it's made up of a million colors, all of them blinding. When I tried to describe it to Kate once she said, “You can thank Dad for that. Maybe if he hadn't used your head as a punching bag.” p156. As the author paints Finch’s parents as villains, some may argue Finch’s mental health issues are due to his father’s actions and his mother’s …show more content…

He seems to recognize his disorder on some level but he is still surprised when his guidance counselor mentions it. Finch tries to deal with it himself rather than going to get treatment and become a label. He goes to a suicide support group in a nearby town. He doesn’t want to be ill and he fights his suicidal tendencies to the best of his ability. Soon enough, Violet and Finch begin to wander. During these outings, they begin to strengthen their friendship and find themselves. “What if life could be this way? Only the happy parts, none of the terrible, not even the mildly unpleasant. What if we could just cut out the bad and keep the good? This is what I want to do with Violet ” p145. Violet improves, while Finch gets worse. His highs are high and his lows are low. Finch falls into a downward spiral that starts with him moving into his bedroom closet. Violet wondered if he's just losing interest. She writes it off as normal teenager stuff. Violet cares about finding Finch, she even tries to enlist the help of her parents who dislike him, but it's too late. Finch runs away from home, but his family doesn't care. No one's looking for him except for Violet, and Finch doesn't want to be found. “I know life well enough to know you can’t count on things staying around or standing still, no matter how much you want them to. You can’t stop people from dying. You can’t stop

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