Punk 57
60 pages • 2-hour read
Penelope DouglasPunk 57
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Themes
Staying True to Oneself
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying, substance use, sexual content, sexual harassment, and death.
The theme of staying true to one’s values, personality, and desires is heavily present throughout the novel. Douglas primarily develops this theme through the main characters, Misha and Ryen, and the way they use alternate identities and personas. Centrally, the narrative highlights Ryen’s internal struggle between her true self and the persona she presents to others, including Misha. This internal conflict emerges early in the novel, in Chapter 2, when Ryen’s descriptions of her life and friend group fail to align with her musings in her letter at the beginning of Chapter 1. However, as the novel progresses, Ryen starts to confront her identity through her interactions with Misha and his alternative identity, Masen Laurent. Through their developing relationship, Ryen ultimately learns the power of staying true to herself—a transformation Misha helps to facilitate. Thus, Douglas uses the two protagonists’ developing relationship to emphasize that embracing one’s authentic identity, regardless of societal pressures, is necessary for personal growth, emotional healing, and acceptance.
Douglas uses a specific letter Ryen penned to establish how she initially presents herself to others. The opening letter in Chapter 1 is an old letter of Ryen’s that Misha rereads often. In it, she talks about a cheerleader, whom Ryen is ashamed to admit that “a long time ago I wanted to be her. Part of me still does” (1). Ryen describes this girl as “Mean, cavalier, superficial” (1), characterizing the cheerleader as someone unpleasant. Ryen envies that the cheerleader is never alone, but she wonders if the cheerleader still has insecurities. In Chapter 2, the narrative reveals that Ryen was talking about herself when she wrote this letter. Ryen is a cheerleader and the head of her friend group. As the events of the novel progress, Ryen proves she is everything she described in her letter: she’s a bully to others, postures herself to win approval from her classmates, and maintains a careful persona to ensure that she never ends up on the wrong side of a conflict with the other popular kids. Ryen needs “the security of my fragile little circle” (36), and the choices she makes to maintain this security often come at the cost of her true feelings and the emotional well-being of others.
However, the person Ryen is deep down slowly begins to emerge as the novel progresses, and she faces off with her foil and love interest, Masen—the alter ego of Misha. Because Ryen has stayed true to her values, desires, and interests in her letters to Misha over the years, Misha understands who Ryen is on the inside. When Misha finally meets Ryen and learns that she isn’t who she portrayed herself as, he realizes “Everything makes sense now. The cheerleader she talked about in her letters and everything she hated—she was talking about herself” (86). Misha begins to use his knowledge of Ryen’s inner self to push her to become the person she doesn’t dare to be. Misha believes, “[M]y Ryen is still in there somewhere” (114). By this point in the novel, Ryen and Misha/Masen’s early interactions with Ryen lay the groundwork for the internal shift realized by the novel’s end.
Through her antagonistic yet passionately sexual relationship with Misha’s alter identity, Masen, Ryen begins to let go of her mean girl persona. Masen calls out her bad behavior and picks at her insecurities while comforting her when she’s vulnerable and true to herself. Ryen confesses to Masen that she lies to Misha in her letters and that Misha “gets the version of me I want to be” (197). Ryen shows awareness of the flaws in her mean girl persona, and as the novel goes on, she begins to make changes accordingly. Ryen acknowledges that Masen has “taught me that who I am when I’m with him feels too good to sacrifice for the approval of everyone else” (234). Ryen comes to understand the power of being herself with the help of someone who knows what her true self looks like.
Misha also helps develop the theme through his use of the Masen Laurent persona. Misha chooses to adopt this new identity to infiltrate the school where his mom works without getting on her radar, but this fake name also helps him get close to Ryen in a way that feels increasingly wrong to Misha as things progress. After things get physical between Ryen and “Masen,” Misha acknowledges the harm he’s doing by pretending to be someone else. He worries, “She’ll never forgive me for betraying her like this. For being right under her nose and damn near seducing her” (153). Misha understands that he’s risking the valuable friendship he’s built with Ryen by pretending to be a different person. When it comes out that Misha has been deceiving Ryen, the pain he causes her is immeasurable, and it takes a long time for him to earn her trust again. Through Misha’s deception, the novel develops the idea that presenting falsehoods instead of one’s true self leads to emotional turmoil and pain for oneself and those around them. Thus, both Misha and Ryen’s character arcs underscore that embracing one’s authentic identity is necessary to reconcile internal and external conflicts and facilitate personal growth, emotional healing, and acceptance.
The Importance of Maintaining Close Relationships
Douglas underscores the idea that close relationships are worth maintaining for the emotional and social support systems they provide throughout the novel. She primarily conveys this theme through the progression of Ryen and Misha’s relationship and Misha’s relationship with his parents. Misha’s initial withdrawal from his pen pal relationship with Ryen after his sister’s death highlights the emotional isolation that can emerge from neglecting important relationships. Similarly, Misha’s strained bond with his father due to both characters’ grief and his later confrontation with his mother, who abandoned him, shows the disconnect and hurt that can occur and persist when family connections are broken. Thus, the novel demonstrates that maintaining close relationships—with both friends and family—is essential for connection, resilience, emotional support, and security, especially in the wake of personal loss and hardship.
After seven years of consistent correspondence with his pen pal, Ryen, Misha suddenly stops writing to Ryen with no explanation. This leaves Ryen wondering, “Misha, where the hell are you? I’m drowning here” (25). Ryen relies on Misha as an outlet for her heavy feelings and stresses. Ryen appreciates that “He listens, pumps me up, takes the pressure off, and has no expectations of me” (26). Ryen remains a loyal friend, writing to Misha regularly like she promised she would in one of their past letters. However, Misha’s lack of correspondence has Ryen feeling like “Maybe I’m not a priority anymore […] Maybe he got bored” (101). In Chapter 9, Ryen drives by Misha’s house to see if anyone still lives there, only to learn Misha is fine, just not home at the moment. Ryen eventually accepts that “Misha is gone” (231), and she’ll never have her best friend again. Misha’s sudden silence fractures the long-standing connection the pen pals built—something Ryen must learn to contend with as the novel develops.
When the narrative shifts to Misha’s perspective, it reveals that Misha stopped writing to Ryen when his sister, Annie, died. Misha narrates, “I couldn’t write lyrics before Ryen. And now, since that night three months ago, I can’t write anything” (83). Misha later tells Ryen that “I stopped writing because I couldn’t talk about it, but I couldn’t talk about anything else, either […] I needed you, but I just didn’t know how to talk to you anymore. Or anyone. I’d changed” (312). Misha’s grief over Annie’s death caused him to isolate himself from Ryen, making his grief even harder to process because he didn’t have his close friend to support him. When Misha and Ryen reconcile, both characters grow stronger in facing their struggles, thanks to the support they provide one another.
Douglas also develops the idea that it’s important to maintain close relationships through Misha’s relationships with his mother and father. Misha and his dad were never close, but after Annie’s death, they “either fought or ignored each other” (241). Misha’s dad admits to Misha, “I stopped being able to talk to you […] I stopped finding a way to talk to you” (125). The disintegration of Misha and his father’s already-strained relationship leads to more hardship for Misha’s dad, who begins to let the house go and medicates the pain away with Xanax. Of the pills, Misha suspects “he started taking it because my mother left. He’d loved her, and she skipped out” (240). Misha’s dad’s spiral into depression and apathy is a direct result of his loss of relationships. With Annie dead, Misha no longer living at home, and his ex-wife gone for good, Misha’s dad struggles to manage the pain of his loss alone. Misha understands he must do better. He acknowledges, “We’re never going to have a relationship like you and [Annie] had, but I’m here” (242). Misha’s recognition that his dad needs him underscores that it’s important to maintain relationships with loved ones.
Douglas reinforces this idea when Misha finally confronts his mom in Chapter 22, telling her, “I wanted you to see me play guitar […] I wanted you to like us. I wanted you to tell my father that he was a good guy” (331). Misha’s anger that his mother did not bother to maintain a relationship with her children illustrates the ugly way in which abandonment of close relationships can impact a person. Through Misha’s relationships with Ryen, his dad, and his mom, the novel develops the idea that close relationships are worth maintaining to create a network of connection, resilience, emotional support, and security, particularly while navigating and healing from personal loss and hardship.
The Consequences of Bullying
In Punk 57, Douglas shows that bullying carries consequences, both long-term and immediate, for both the bully and the victim. The author develops this theme primarily through Ryen’s character growth and her interactions with characters like Manny Cortez, an emo student and regular bully victim at Ryen’s school. Ryen is a product of bullying, and her experience as a bullied child heavily influenced her decision to adopt a new identity. By the time she reaches high school, Ryen has internalized the hurt she experienced as a bullied young child and has become a bully herself. However, through her interactions with Manny and her relationship with Misha, she begins to confront her actions and understand their far-reaching effects. Through Ryen’s character arc, the novel shows that bullying has a lasting emotional toll—not just on the victims but also on the bullies who often struggle with their unresolved pain. By showing the cyclical nature of bullying and the tangible harm it inflicts, Douglas demonstrates the importance of empathy, accountability, and changing one’s harmful ways.
Douglas uses Ryen’s recollection of her experience being bullied to contextualize her current behavior. In Chapter 4, Ryen recalls being on the playground in fourth grade and trying to befriend the cool children, but they only mocked and shunned her. As the novel unfolds, details about the impact this experience had on Ryen further emerge. Ryen confesses that she abandoned her only friend in elementary school so she could join the cool children, and although she felt guilty for what she’d done, she never looked back or tried to contact her old friend again. After fourth grade, Ryen transformed herself completely to be someone she isn’t—to appeal to the cool children and earn their respect. Ryen’s abandonment of her only friend and transformation into someone entirely different is a result of the bullying she received, highlighting how bullying can have a lasting impact on the victim and determine how one acts in the present.
By the time she reaches high school, Ryen’s transformation from victim to bully is complete. In Chapter 3, Ryen uses Manny to deflect from Trey’s joke at her expense, narrating, “My armor deflects,” and “I can’t help but feel a sliver of satisfaction” when her successful deflection makes Trey laugh (53). However, as Trey continues to bully Manny, Ryen acknowledges, “The guilt, the disgust at myself, the pity for Manny and how I used to be just like him” (53). Yet, she adds, “Manny and any shame I feel are far below where I sit […] I’m in the clouds, too high for what’s on the ground to be of much concern” (53). Ryen’s perspective on herself and on the way she and her friend group treat Manny shows how Ryen is aware of the damage bullying causes but doesn’t care because she isn’t the victim anymore. Ryen’s transformation from victim to bully demonstrates how drastically she has deviated from her true self for popularity and social acceptance.
However, with the help of Misha posing as Masen, Manny’s victimization becomes increasingly harder for Ryen to ignore as the novel unfolds. Masen holds Ryen accountable for her mean girl behavior and forces her to dig deep to find the girl she used to be—the girl she still portrays herself as in her letters. Ryen’s final act as a bully comes on the heels of her discovery that Misha has been posing as Masen for their relationship. Distraught, Ryen lashes out at Manny for something innocuous “because he’s an easy target. Because he’s weaker than me. Because he’s the only thing weaker than me” (256). Ryen’s justification for her misdirected temper reflects the novel’s overall message about bullying: that those who are hurt by bullying will seek to hurt others in response.
However, by Chapter 19, Ryen’s transformation into a better person is nearly complete. After witnessing Trey throw one of Manny’s necklaces in the trash, Ryen chooses to seek Manny out to see if he’s okay and stumbles upon a graphic scene. Manny has been attacked, and “Blood trails off his ear and down his neck” (302), as Trey ripped out one of his gauges. Manny doesn’t trust Ryen because “He thinks I’ll victimize him. And why not? I’ve done it in the past” (302). Manny’s distrust of Ryen due to her past treatment of him and her association with his bullies shows how bullying erodes the ability for people to form interpersonal connections and grow trust among peers.
Douglas uses Manny’s dialogue in Chapter 19 to provide a full picture of the Ryen and her friends’ bullying caused Manny. Manny explains, “I used to be able to go home and get away from it. But now we’re older. We have social media, and everything they say about me during the day, I get to see online every night” (303). Manny adds, “That’s why I get high […] As high as I can get as often as I can get […] so I can bear the fucking pain of breathing and eating and looking at people like you” (303-04). Manny’s account of how the bullying impacts him and his choice to use drugs to cope with the bullying develops the idea that bullying causes irreparable harm to the victims. Through Ryen’s character growth and relationship with bullying, and Manny’s accounts of his suffering at the hands of Ryen and her friends, the novel emphasizes that bullying carries consequences for everyone involved. It is only once Ryen shows increased empathy, accountability, and changes her past harmful ways by the novel’s end that the cyclical nature of bullying can cease.
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