Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
4-17-2019
Abstract
The portrayal of characters living with anxiety-based disorders is prevalent in both classical and contemporary works of literature, and the author has the option of making the condition of their characters explicit or inferential. In the novel Turtles All The Way Down by John Green, the anxieties of the main character, Aza Holmes, is an explicit focus for much of the text. Her experiences with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are expressed in a literary manner, and this portrayal directly correlates with research in clinical psychology on OCD and related disorders. In this literary analysis, we examine the points of intersection between X and Y and analyze how the various aspects of a psychological disorder can be expressed through literature, and from a first-person narrative. For example, through literary techniques such as characterization, anecdotes, diction, and syntax, one can identify the examples of confirmation bias, avoidance, and the importance of peer acceptance within the text. This study utilizes these attributes from both disciplines to investigate the intertextuality that is contained in a English narrative.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Barlowe, Francesca and Carey, Alexis, "Literary Analysis of Turtles All The Way Down by John Green and Connections to the Research on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" (2019). Papers, Posters, and Recordings. 6.
https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/great-day-works/6