Popcorn

In the novel’s first section, Andrew embarks upon The Journey Toward Self-Acceptance and Resilience Amidst Adversity. One of the main sources of adversity that Andrew faces is his family’s low socioeconomic status. The Yaegers’ financial precarity affects every aspect of their lives, from the cramped quarters of their apartment to Andrew’s worn-out wardrobe: “[He] can’t remember the last time [he] had a Brand-New Shirt. One that isn’t a hand-me-down from [his] weird cousin in Des Moines” (7). The family’s finances also have a major bearing on the plot and characters because they limit Andrew and G’s access to healthcare, as evidenced by Susan’s current inability to place G in a memory care facility. Gene Phillips, the novel’s antagonist, is another source of adversity, and his bullying causes Andrew significant stress throughout the story.

In addition to these external factors, Andrew faces adversity in his daily life due to his OCD and anxiety. At the start of the novel, the main character struggles with self-acceptance due to his mental health conditions. Although Dr. Cain often tells him that “[t]here’s more to [him] than just the anxiety” (75), he hasn’t fully internalized this message yet. Embarrassed and frustrated by his obsessive thoughts and compulsions, he calls himself “weird” (48) and “a reject” (53). Initially, the seventh-grader judges himself harshly for his mental health conditions and expects others to do the same. Although he doesn’t always recognize his own strength, the protagonist already demonstrates resilience in these early chapters. For example, he uses the deep breathing techniques Dr. Cain taught him to “get that feeling of impending doom in [his] stomach to loosen up” enough for him to finish his math test after Gene alarms him (53).

Popcorn takes place on an especially important and stressful day for the Yaeger family, allowing the author to highlight The Importance of Friendship and Support Networks. Many individuals with anxiety disorders benefit from psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy, so the inclusion of Dr. Cain’s character contributes to the novel’s realism as well as its encouraging message about asking for help. The Jones family is an important part of the Yaegers’ support network, which Mika demonstrates by volunteering to take care of G while Susan is at work.

The calm and loyal Jonesy is a particularly vital source of support for Andrew because she is his only close friend among his classmates. In the novel’s first section, Andrew and Jonesy’s interactions with the members of the basketball team illustrate how the protagonist’s social anxiety makes him reluctant to try to make new friends, but he gradually becomes more receptive to his peers as a source of support as the story continues. Similarly, Andrew initially hides his and G’s health conditions from most adults at school out of embarrassment. This even includes adults that he’s fond of and trusts like Nurse Finnegan. These early chapters identify caring adults and peers who are already important sources of support in Andrew’s life while highlighting that he has room to grow when it comes to allowing himself to rely on others.

Throughout the novel, the Anxiety Files serve as a motif of The Role of Humor and Art in Coping with Mental Health Challenges. For Andrew, art and humor are closely connected to mental health because he begins creating autobiographical comics after his therapist gives him a sketchbook and encourages him to “draw [his] feelings” (31). Drawing the misadventures of Tense Kid gives Andrew a safe way to explore the challenges of living with anxiety and OCD. The Anxiety Files help him cope with his condition by giving him a means of expressing himself and a way of turning something difficult into something funny. For example, in the first Anxiety File, the main character demonstrates his sense of humor and creativity by comparing the physiological effects of anxiety to having “a fussy iguana in [his] stomach” and a “swarm of caffeinated bees in [his] head” (9).

Harrell uses the novel’s other symbols and motifs to give further insight into the protagonist’s thought processes and stressors. The symbol that gives the novel its title is introduced in Chapter 7. Harrell uses popcorn to represent anxiety, and Andrew’s “Kernel Scale” tracks his anxiety levels with “popping” representing a panic attack (75). At the start of the novel, Andrew and Susan place great importance on making his school picture perfect. The photograph comes to symbolize the life they aspire to, one filled with the ease, prosperity, and calm that they currently lack but hope to attain with her new job: “She needs this job to work out. It could change things—and we really need things to change” (8). The photograph’s symbolic importance exacerbates Andrew’s distress when things go awry, such as when Gene tears the new shirt his mother purchased specifically for the photo: “I feel a twinge in my stomach thinking of my mom. She’ll be so upset. Or disappointed, or whatever. And none of those kids in G’s pile of photos had ripped clothes” (62). Over the course of the story, the photograph’s meaning evolves as Andrew shifts from aspiring to be picture-perfect to practicing self-acceptance.

These early chapters offer clues about the events of the next two sections. For example, the novel’s opening sentence establishes that the story takes place on an “awful, one-for-the-books day” (1), foreshadowing that Andrew’s string of misfortunes is only beginning. Chapter 1 establishes that G has a tendency to wander off and forget where she is, which offers a clue about her disappearance in the next section. In addition, the fact that having a panic attack at school would be Andrew’s “Very Worst Nightmare Scenario” foreshadows that he will live through his worst fear during the climax (74). In the final chapter, Andrew prevents Gene from punching him by accidentally hitting him in the nose. This altercation is foreshadowed by Jonesy’s advice about sharks in Chapter 3: “[O]ne pop to the nose and they decide it isn’t worth it” (39).