Unhappiness

Discontentment is one of the main emotional undercurrents of the novel, and the narrative’s examinations of unhappiness demonstrate the myriad ways in which discontentment can arise. In the case of Megan, her unhappiness is not necessarily due to a clear external cause, but rather it seems to be caused by unhealthy internal patterns. Megan likely suffers from clinical depression, with some of her main symptoms being irritability, self-hatred, and lack of motivation. She dislikes herself, her life, and other people, and she feels no motivation to change her external life or address her internal problems. In a climactic moment of her storyline, she explicitly exclaims to herself, “I fucking hate myself and my liiiiiife” (201). The novel demonstrates that Megan’s unhappiness is related partially to her own actions and decisions, but mostly it is perpetuated by mental illness, for which she will likely need professional...