In the book “Highly Illogical Behavior” by John Whaley, some of the central conflicts that the characters faced were mental illness, their own questionable plan, and the love triangle. It all begins with a teenager named Solomon Reed, who suffers from agoraphobia, the fear of any kind of situation, due to an unfortunate event that happened three years earlier. In eighth grade, he stripped down to his boxers and lowered himself into the school fountain, which caused total embarrassment and he was locked in the house for three years, two months and one day. He thought this would be his whole life, but everything was about to change when he meets Lisa Praytor and Clark Robbins. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Lisa and Clark are a high school couple who have had a big impact on Solomon's life. Lisa was first introduced to Solomon. Her main plan was to befriend Solomon in hopes of gaining his experience with mental illness, writing his college essay, and somehow helping him face the outside world again. Shortly after, Clark is introduced and they soon become best friends. The couple was able to help Solomon conquer his fear and go out to the backyard pool. However, with Clark and Solomon spending almost all of their time together, Lisa feared that the boys were gay for each other and even gave Solomon the wrong idea about Clark. Solomon is gay and is in love with Clark, but Clark's feelings are not mutual. A couple of weeks later, after the night of Solomon's meltdown when Lisa and Clark confessed about the college essay and how he felt used, Solomon's grandmother got into a car accident. That's when true friendship was born and Lisa and Clark were there to help Solomon get out of the house to visit his grandmother in the hospital. Ultimately, it showed the true value of friendships and how they can provide another source of help for those suffering from mental illness. Whaley reveals how important it is to understand people with mental illnesses and the moral support they need. It also reveals misconceptions about mental illness through different character perspectives and the importance of what keeps friendships lasting, forgiveness. Putting the two things together, mental illness and friendship, creates an incredible storyline because some people find comfort in friends and even consider them as family.
tags