#Turtles all the way down summary full

One might argue, “Wait, the primary narrative conflict is character against self, and you’re trying to tell me the protagonist triumphing in that conflict isn’t the story’s focus? Seems shaky to me.”Īnd I could understand that argument: yes, there’s a reason we call it the primary narrative conflict. Simply put: there’s no “magic drug” presented as a MacGuffin to help move the plot along, which is great because Aza being “cured” is fundamentally not what the story is about. In fact, Aza’s psychiatrist treats her OCD with medication and what, in my observation, would be something like cognitive behavioral therapy. Where the first of these is concerned, the book throughout is set in a world that is, insofar as we can tell, just like our own. Aside from those approaches treading in harmful waters, I’m glad Green didn’t go this direction for two reasons: I, however, feel as though the conflict reads as a character-versus-self narrative-at least that seems to be how Aza experiences the conflict despite how she might frame it externally.įurther to these points, I feel the “easy” (as if anything in writing is ever easy) thing for Green to have done with this narrative conflict in mind would have been to put to use the throwing off the disability or miracle-cure tropes. Granted, one could go on then to frame this as a character-against-nature narrative conflict, and I wouldn’t begrudge anyone who chose to do so. The character versus self conflict is so deep within our protagonist that it actually turns inward on itself as Aza frames it not as a struggle against herself, but rather as if it were a struggle against another third-party entirely. Green’s choice of character versus self is even more noteworthy because of its depth: Aza’s intrusive thoughts and obsessive-compulsive disorder define how she navigates her everyday life, so much so that Aza often employs metaphors to describe her relationship to them. *rolls eyes at self*Ĭharacter against character is great, and I was certain after the first couple of chapters that Turtles All the Way Down would feature this as its primary narrative conflict type.Īfter the first five chapters or so, however, it became apparent that the book’s true conflict, in my view, was actually character against self, which I believe can be one of the most rewarding paths to pursue as a writer, and among the most harrowing to follow as a reader. Repeat ad nauseam for 60,000+ words, and now you have a novel. Now think of your antagonist as another ram. If you’re looking for a visual to drive this home, think of your main character as a ram. The most commonly put to use among these (in my reading experience, anyway) is character against character-wherein our protagonist must overcome the obstacles put in their way by another character. Ideally, we choose one of these as our protagonist’s primary conflict type and sprinkle in the others in our subplots or scenes throughout. There are four narrative conflict types we as writers can choose from for our protagonist to endure throughout the course of our manuscripts. Stars deserves its own Biblio Breakdown at some point, but for now we’ll focus on Turtles All the Way Down, Green’s 2017 release. Aside from Turtles (and a number of other titles), he’s the author of The Fault in Our Stars, a book so impactful that even just typing its title gets me misty-eyed. If you recognize the name John Green, you should. She splits this reward with Daisy and then immediately regrets taking due to the rift it causes in her friendship with Daisy.It’s time for another Biblio Breakdown! In this installment of the series, we’ll examine John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down. These thoughts are made worse when Davis gives Aza $100,000 to keep quiet about any information she knows about his father’s disappearance.

#Turtles all the way down summary full

She often contemplates the idea that she isn’t real, that her thoughts are out of her control, even when she can identify them as a crazy thoughts, and that her body is full of microorganisms that could attack her at any time which worries her so much that she is willing to take dangerous measures to counter these attacks.

Mostly, he can’t control the fact that their entire fortune will go to a prehistoric reptile called a tuatara if and when their father is considered “legally” dead.Īza has her own past tragedy to deal with, but her worries dwell in the small set of concentrated ideas deep inside. He also can’t control his younger brother’s sadness over the disappearance, despite their father never being completely present in their lives.