Mental Illness

The two main mental illnesses Jimenez explores are anxiety and depression. The main characters associated with mental illness are Jacob, Benny, and Briana. To begin, Jacob’s anxiety is a key aspect of his character. The following quote describes his fragile mental state at the start of the novel: “I was teetering on some precipice, trying not to fall. Amy and Jeremiah, my family, my new job—all of it prodding me to the drop-off” (47). Although Jacob has routines to help mitigate his anxiety, he feels helpless against the new stresses plaguing his life. Jacob’s anxiety can make him appear rude or standoffish to strangers, preventing him from making friends at his new job.

In Benny’s case, his physical illness brings about a mental one. Briana describes, “Benny was clinically depressed. He’d been depressed since all this started last year, but it...