A weekly presentation on (Mental Health in John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down) by (Asst. Prof. Dr. Khadija Saeed Ismael) at English Department
A weekly presentation on (Mental Health in John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down) was presented by (Asst. Prof. Dr. Khadija Saeed Ismael) at English Department for the teaching staff on Monday 13th of December. Teachers’ questions were answered by the presenter at the end of the presentation. Below is a summary of the presentation. Mental health and illness have been tackled and theorized over centuries in various cultures. It possesses a complex history in being used for various causes and perceptions due to the needs of a certain group of people. Characters who develop mental illness, in classic novels, usually go crazy, or they are neglected, they die and things turn to be well for the other sane characters, or even they commit suicide. Thereby, it was not possible for characters suffering from mental illness to be any type of hero since they were frequently killed off or called villainous. The depiction of mental health experiences in recent literature is realistic. People with mental illness can be the main characters or even the heroes of the story. They are aware of their mental illnesses and they upraise an admirable struggle against them. John Green in his novel, Turtles All the Way Down depicted mental health in a realistic and unconventional way.
