All The Bright Places Analysis

A quest involves five rules; a quester, a place, a stated reason, a challenge, and a real reason to go, as stated in How to Read Literature Like a Professor for Kids. In All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, the questers are Finch and Violet Markey, and the place they are assigned to visit are the Wonders of Indiana. Violet’s and Finch’s stated reason to go is a project for a U.S. Geography class to discover and observe the Wonders of Indiana. The student’s mission is to “go there and see each one, take pictures, shoot video, delve deep into their history, and tell him just what it is about these places that makes us proud to be a Hoosier” (Niven, 30). A challenge is presented when Finch grows tired of a peer, named Roamer, who has been

calling him a “Freak” his whole life. Finch reacts to the situation of Roamer calling him a “Freak” one last time by “having him up against the locker, my hands around his throat, and I’m choking him until he turns purple” (Niven, 272). This altercation gets Finch expelled from school, then consequently causes Violet to finish the project on her own. The real reason for the quest of the Wonders of Indiana is because Finch wants to seek out the extraordinary in their ordinary home state, and that he also wants to spend more time with Violet. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven exhibits the concept of “Quests” flawlessly by fulfilling each one of the rules stated in How to Read Literature Like a Professor for Kids by Robert C. Foster.

“Most have a range, a lot of different possible meanings”(Foster 64), Robert Foster, the author of

How to Read Literature Like a Professor for Kids is stating that symbols having multiple meanings. A symbol used in All the Bright Places is the ledge of the high school bell tower. The ledge represents grief and thoughts of suicide for both Finch and Violet. As Finch finds himself on the ledge thinking, “I am asking myself this now as I stand on a narrow ledge six stories above the ground. Maybe this time I’ll do it- let the air carry me away. It will be like floating in a pool,
drifting off until there’s nothing”(Niven, 3).

The ledge also represents a new beginning for mostly Violet, but also for Finch. As Violet confesses to her parents that Finch was the one to save her from jumping off the ledge she says, “On the first day of school after Christmas break, I climbed up on the bell tower ledge. That’s where I met Finch. He was up there too, but he was the one who talked me down, because once I realized where I was, I was scared and I couldn’t move” (Niven 308). After the school bell incident, Violet and Finch began to get closer and start to heal themselves with eachother’s company. The ledge of the high school bell tower represents both grief and a new beginning.

Robert C. Frost writes in his novel, How to Read Literature for Kids, that “Political is writing that thinks about human problems, about how human beings in groups get along, about the rights individuals possess (or should), and about the wrongs committed by those in power”(Frost 68). Jennifer Niven conveys the social problem of suicide in her novel All the Bright Places. Niven mainly targets the causes of suicide which consist of labels, mental illnesses, judgement, and a lack of care and sympathy people show towards suicide. Niven writes in her novel, “People

rarely

bring flowers to a suicide” (382). Showing that people usually don’t care to show sympathy in the
death of one who commits suicide. Finch’s parents also show a lack of care towards his mental illness and ignore the fact that he is depressed. Niven attacks this by stating “mental and
emotional illnesses go undiagnosed because the person suffering symptoms is too ashamed to
speak up, or because their loved ones either fail to or choose not to recognize the signs” (382). Jennifer Niven uses her novel, All the Bright Places, to exhibit the various political aspects and issues of suicide prevention and awareness.

“I don’t eat red meat, Dad. Actually, to be technical. it’s 80s Finch who’s the vegetarian” (Niven 70), Finch is conveying this message while sitting at the dinner table with his dad’s new family. Finch’s dad replies to the unexpected comment from Finch with, “Oh for Christ’s ... ” (Niven 71), clearly showing that he is annoyed with Finch being a vegetarian. As said in How to Read Literature Like a Professor for Kids, communions show how characters get along and the feelings toward one another. As the dinner goes along, the unbiological son of Finch’s dad, Josh Raymond, is kicking at the table leg. As Josh Raymond is acting mischievously, Finch’s Dad replies softly and paciently with, “Josh Raymond, we’ve dicussed kicking at the table”(Niven 70). Finch is suprised by his dad’s behavior as Finch thinks, “It is a tone he has never once used with me and my sisters”(Niven 70). The behavior of Finch’s Dad is more gentle and caring towards his new family, as he treats them with a lavish living, while Finch and his sisters are treated callously.

“Even when they bring the body up, swollen and bloated and blue”(Niven 337), Violet thinks as she sees Finch’s body come up from the water. Finch decides to end his life by drowning himself into the Blue Hole. The drowning of Finch can mean many things to Violet, but
to litertaure it means the climax. Finch drowning himself, and consequently leaving Violet to deal with overwhelming feelings of grief and guilt makes her think, “You can’t do this to me. You were the one who lectured me about living. You were the one who said I had to get out and see what was right in front of me and make the most of it and not wish my time away and find my mountain becuase my mountain was waiting, and all that adds up to life. But then you leave. You can’t just do that (Niven 341).” The drowning of Finch certainly strikes a high and critical point in All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.