The Circle of Tentacles: Closure

The first post on this blog discussed the circle of Tentacles that Craig had lost himself in. As the book went on, we found more and more Tentacles that threatened to suffocate him. We've already mentioned how he cut off one significant Tentacle, Nia. Now let's talk about how he's cut off the others, and how that has affected him.

Nia

Nia started out as an important character to the story, and now Craig has considered ending his friendship with her "a Shift". How do you think his feelings have evolved, why? Was she ever an important character to the story, and is this "Shift" important?

Animal Farm

When Humble and Craig talk on page 207, Humble relates their situation to George Orwell's Animal Farm, quoting the famous line "All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others". He goes on to say that "Here in the real world, all equals are created animal, but some are more animal than others". What do you think this says about the different characters in the book? Who is the most animal? The least?

The Crack

In chapter 6, Craig describes the wall in his apartment. "This crack in our front hallway has been there for three or four years. Dad paints over it and it just recracks. We've tried putting a mirror over it but it's a strange place to put a mirror-on one side of a hallway-and my sister started calling it the Vampire Mirror to tell if people who came into the house were vampires, and it came down after a few weeks, when I came home stoned and stumbled into it. Now there's an exposed crack again. It's never going to get fixed." Do you think this story ties into Craig's character, and is used as some sort of symbol by Vizzini?

The Circle of Tentacles

In Craig's therapy session on page 14, he goes off on a rant about going to a museum and missing an extra-credit email. This would stop him from getting an A, which would stop him from getting into a "Good College", which would stop him from getting a "Good Job", which would mean he could hardly afford a shrink, which would render him depressed and useless, which would eventually make him homeless. These obstacles, which he calls his "Tentacles", definitely seem to weigh him down. Do you feel like you can relate to this? I know I get really stressed out sometimes because of this same problem.

It's Kind of a Funny Story Movie Trailer

This is a trailer for the movie made based on the book, which we intend to watch after we have finished reading it.