61 pages • 2 hours read
Laurie FrankelThis Is How It Always Is
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
Fairy Tales
Fairy tales appear repeatedly in the book as a way of coping with and making sense of the world. Penn uses fairy tales as a tool to teach his children life lessons, namely self-acceptance. Poppy takes on this legacy of storytelling, first as a kindergartener facing her gender identity for the first time, then as an English teacher in Thailand. While Poppy is in Thailand, fairy tales serve the dual function of helping the students learn a new language while also helping Poppy connect with people and normalizing her experience in the world. Telling her story to the Thai students gives Poppy perspective on her situation and helps her cultivate the confidence to return to her school in Seattle. Finally, Penn abandons the fairy tale trope after he realizes that he does not believe in neat endings, but rather in the power of storytelling to continue to grow as it is told.
Secrets
The book repeatedly examines the drawbacks yet necessity of secrets, most pointedly around keeping Claude a secret from the Walsh-Adamses’ Seattle community. On the one hand, this secret allows Poppy to live the life she has always dreamed of, unburdened by public scrutiny or physical violence. On the other, she and her family live in fear of someone finding out. This secret takes a psychological toll on Poppy’s brothers, who admit after the secret is out that every single one of them told someone at some point. It also accentuates the ideological divide between Rosie and Penn and catalyzes their brief separation.
In contrast, Claude’s pink bikini, bought for him by his grandmother, represents Claude’s proud embrace of his nontraditional gender expression. When Claude wears the bikini to the public pool, his family must contend with his divergent gender identity for the first time. This public outing, and the negative responses it elicits, also exposes the biases of children and parents in the Walsh-Adams family’s greater Madison community and contributes to their keeping Claude a secret in Seattle. However, the bikini ultimately symbolizes Claude’s sense of autonomy around his identity, putting him on the path to becoming Poppy.
Personal Growth
Though the book’s focus is Poppy’s journey, nearly all of the characters experience some form of personal revelation. Through his weakness for Cayenne, overly intellectual Ben realizes he is not immune to the stereotypes of adolescence and first love. Roo grows out of his sullen expression of autonomy and is able to use his emotional response to Poppy’s transition to fuel a thoughtful college essay. Penn simulates a journey of personal efficacy through his stories of Princess Stephanie, which Poppy takes to heart as a tool to help her forge her own path. In Thailand, Rosie abandons her need for orders and answers, showing that personal growth happens at any age.
The Importance of Family
Throughout Poppy’s process of coming to terms with her gender identity, she consistently receives the unwavering support of her family. Her parents, grandmother, and brothers prevent her from falling into total isolation and reflect herself back to her during difficult times. Poppy’s brothers become a safe haven that she can disappear into, for instance, after the incident with Nick Sr., when she vanishes into the back of the family van and leaves the violence behind her. Even the fact that Penn sells his story of Grumwald and Princess Stephanie instead of his novel shows the power of family to help one achieve one’s life ambitions.
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By Laurie Frankel
