50 pages • 1 hour read
Highly Illogical Behavior
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Character Analysis
Solomon Reed
Solomon Reed is a teenager suffering from agoraphobia, panic attacks, and deep anxiety issues. Solomon is convinced that the world outside his parent’s house is rife with chaos and is certain that the only way to keep safe is to stay indoors. After he dives into the school fountain in the throes of a panic attack, Solomon emphatically refuses to leave his house for three years. Even so, Solomon is kind, with a sharp sense of humor and intense passions for science fiction such as Star Trek.
Solomon tries to convince his parents that he is happy in his reclusive lifestyle, but when a stranger inserts herself into his life, he discovers how lonely he’s actually been. He is surprised to find how easy and pleasurable it is to get along with Lisa, and once she gains his trust and introduces him to Clark, Solomon’s life changes. Solomon is building his courage to step into the backyard and swim in the pool his parents are building him, and Clark and Lisa help him become more comfortable with himself, motivating him to embrace more of life. When the swimming pool is ready, Solomon is also ready to take the plunge, signifying his natural desire to be in the world and his growing comfort with his place in that world.
Solomon is a forgiving person who values love; when he discovers Lisa’s betrayal, Solomon only needs some time and space (and an emergency) to leave that past behind. Solomon is the one who takes that crucial step outside, that crucial dive into the pool, the jump into the back of Clark’s van when his beloved grandmother is in critical condition at the hospital. Even though he is motivated by the people around him, well-loved and supported, Solomon is the one who tackles his own fears and embraces the world outside his home.
Lisa Praytor
Lisa is an ambitious 17-year-old perfectionist. She is highly motivated and extremely intelligent. Determined to get out of her hometown and desperate not to repeat the same unstable cycles as her mother and absent father, Lisa seeks her own opportunities to propel her life forward. Her persistence and desire to escape her small town is juxtaposed to Solomon’s reclusiveness; she is similar to Solomon in that in her own way, she is trying to run away from the world.
Lisa’s clever plan to secretly become Solomon’s therapist disguised as his friend in order to get a scholarship to college could be construed as unethical, but Lisa has her own survival at stake—or, so she believes. What she did not predict is how personable Solomon would be, and how close they would genuinely become.
Ironically for an aspiring therapist, Lisa is not as good at perceiving how people are feeling as she thinks. When she becomes certain that Clark and Solomon are in love with one another she reacts emotionally even though she wants to be the type of person who reacts rationally to everything. When she suspects a relationship brewing, Lisa is more concerned than ever about her essay to get the scholarship, demonstrating how much Lisa feels she has to rely on herself for happiness.
When Solomon discovers her secret intentions and Clark proves that he is not gay, her embarrassment and loneliness teach her how important people actually are to her own happiness. Even though Lisa sets out to cure Solomon, she also ends up curing herself by discovering that it’s not people who need to be fixed, but society and the way people approach one another. Lisa learns that she can give and receive happiness from others without sacrificing her integrity.
Clark Robbins
Clark is an attractive, athletic, shy teenager. Even though it looks like he has everything going for him, he too comes from a divorced family with complicated values to navigate. Clark, Lisa’s boyfriend, is not as ambitious as she is, and he is genuinely happy living his life surrounded by the familiar people and hobbies he loves.
Clark keeps his interest in sci fi and comics a secret from his athlete friends, and he hesitates to have sex with Lisa. Lisa and her friend Janis often judge Clark as unmotivated, but Clark finds happiness internally rather than externally like Lisa. Clark becomes the moral voice of the story, as he continues to expect that Lisa will call off her essay on Solomon. He is protective of his loved ones, loyal, and personable.
Clark does not reciprocate Solomon’s feelings of romantic love, but that does not negate Clark’s intense platonic love for Solomon. In Solomon, he unexpectedly finds the kind of friend he’s always wanted, a friend who embraces him for all his interests and layers.
Solomon’s Grandmother
Solomon Reed’s grandmother plays a significant role throughout the novel. She is the stable center of Solomon’s world: She provides him with unconditional love, consistent advice, and she is always quick with a joke or a game for him. When Solomon is at his most vulnerable, it is the presence and guidance of his grandmother that allows him to continue. She is the first adult he comes out to; she’s the one who helps him decide to invite Lisa Praytor over in the first place; and she is the one who gives him the best advice about letting Lisa back into his life after her betrayal is revealed. Whaley establishes Solomon’s grandmother as a motif because Solomon needs a symbolic reason for leaving the house and going into the outside world. It can truly only be an emergency concerning his grandmother’s life that would enable him to push himself outside. She acts as a persistent symbol of strength and inspiration.
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By John Corey Whaley
