Self-Discovery

Self-discovery is a major and overarching theme in the novel “Turned” by Morgan Rice. Self-discovery has to do with learning and coming better to understand oneself, and who one truly is. In the novel, self-discovery deals primarily with Caitlin, in two very distinct ways, but with both ways supporting one another. Both forms of self-discovery Caitlin undergoes leads to her growth and maturation as an individual.

When the novel begins, Caitlin is a shy, self-conscious girl, who has no friends, an abusive home life, and only has the emotional outlet of a journal which she keeps clutched against her like a security blanket. She is unsure of herself, doesn’t find herself attractive, and feels different somehow. Her relatively quick romance with Jonah, and later Caleb, along with her coming to terms with the effects of vampirism, ultimately improve her. She becomes a brave, confident young...