Honestly Elliott

After the divorce, Mark kept the family’s large suburban house, and when Kate moved in, she started redecorating the house in a stiff, modern style. She redecorated Elliott’s room to feature sailboats, but Elliott dislikes the change, partly because he dislikes the ocean and partly because he resents that his room no longer feels like it represents who he is. As a result, the house doesn’t feel like home anymore. The house also mirrors Elliott’s fear of being replaced by Jonah, like how Mark replaced Nina with Kate, and they replaced the old decorations with new styles.

Nina’s house is juxtaposed with Mark and Kate’s. Nina and Elliott moved to the center of Avery to an older house with a lot of character. They decorate their house with items of personal significance and plants, giving it a warm, comfortable quality that makes Elliott feel at home. Nina’s house symbolizes the tight-knit relationship between Nina and Elliott. The house is a safe space for him, just as Nina is consistently supportive, providing Elliott with a sense of security as he navigates his coming-of-age journey.

Elliott’s first and middle names serve symbolic purposes in the text. When Mark says Elliott’s name while upset, his tone and the individual syllables become symbols of his disappointment and their strained relationship: “El. You made a mess—again. Li. You broke a rule—again. Ott. You let me down—again” (23). However, as their relationship heals, Mark sheds his disappointed tone, and Elliott interprets the sound of his name in a different way. Mark and Kate use Elliott as Jonah’s middle name, and the name becomes a symbol of love and of the connection between Elliott and Jonah.

Similarly, Quigley, Elliott and Mark’s shared middle name, is a symbol of their relationship. Quigley is a family name and has been traditionally passed down as the middle name of the first born son in the Saywer line. For part of the time, the name is the only connection Elliott feels to his father—“it feels like the only thing in the entire universe that Dad and I have in common” (27). Quigley remains a symbol of the connection between Mark and Elliott, reinforcing the idea that Elliott cannot be replaced.

Elliott refers to his urge to cry as his Tear Tank. He is resentful and embarrassed at his quick cry response and narrates, “Whoever handed out Tear Tanks must have given me an extra small one. Whenever something bad happens, it’s just a matter of time before it overflows” (24). In this way, Elliott’s Tear Tank becomes a motif representing his emotional overwhelm.

The Tear Tank motif contributes to The Power of Friendship and Mutual Support, since Elliott learns that crying with others and sharing his feelings makes it easier to process his emotions. The conversation with Mark in which Elliott identifies and names one of his feelings marks the beginning of the transition of Elliott’s perception of crying, which is further progressed by Elliott sharing his thoughts, feelings, and experiences with Maribel and Dr. Gilmore. He experiences less overwhelm when he shares his emotions, and he learns that crying can be a positive experience when he cries with Mark and Kate in the hospital room.