Noah Sweetwine has Synesthesia and I Have Recipts
In I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, it is made spectacularly clear from the very beginning that Noah does not think like we do. I have seen some people propose autism as an explanation for this, and I cannot and will not speak about this as I don’t know enough about autism to properly say my opinion on this (although I do believe its a possibility). I can talk about this, however. Because I propose another explanation for Noah’s voice.
Now, synesthesia isn’t, as some believe, simply seeing letters as colors. it can be any combination of senses being connected. One synesthete might feel silk when they taste a banana or hear Beethoven when they see the letter A. The combinations are practically limitless. The only true determining features are that the connection is consistent and involuntary. (Source: WebMD Synesthesia article) Now, admittedly, it is often rarer for people to truly see the connections their brain makes, but I believe that Noah is one of these rare people, and let me explain why.
Let’s look at this in depth. Noah’s combination of senses appears to be sight, with feelings. Noah consistently calls the popular girls Jude hangs out with “Hornets.” On page 109 (Paperback version for these pages by the way) he says “The antennae on her head are pointing right at him.” Noah has been calling these girls Hornets since the beginning of the book and has always seemed to feel the same combination of fear, intimidation, and a bit of anger at them whenever he’s around them. for example, on this same page, he describes Courtney’s smile as being “all scarlet lips, sparkling white teeth, and menace.” The menace is the important part there. However, later on, if I remember correctly mind you, he stops calling Courtney and Heather hornets, as if he’s stopped seeing the antennae when he stopped feeling that emotion. You see where I’m going with this?
Are there more examples though? Well, yes, and here’s just a few I gathered. He consistently says the popular kids are “covered in flame retardant” (111). He describes the girl at Brian’s going away party as having a devil tail and her tattoo moving and that she tastes like sun rancid oranges when she kisses him. (125.) When Brian is looking for him at the party, Noah says the feeling “shape-shifts [him] into a waterfall.” (126). When he thinks Jude is messaging Brian he says “It’s like having explosions on board 24/7. I can’t believe when I touch things they don’t blow to bits.” (239), which is directly tied to the feeling of betrayal. The electric fence between him and Brian after (242). The stone giants in Guillermo’s yard breathing (243) and other art eating him (21).
Do you see what I’m trying to say here? These connections remain consistent through the book, although it is hard to always tell the consistency, admittedly, as feelings have many subtle variations and are based on specific circumstances. The feeling of Brian’s betrayal won’t feel the same as his mom’s betrayal, which made finding evidence rather challenging, but I did my best. However, the connections are made consistently enough and in enough places that we can tell this isn’t just, say, a metaphorical description of kissing someone, or an artists view on the world (Source: me, an artist) We can also tell from the language that Noah uses that this isn’t metaphorical, as there is never any usages of similes in replace of the images, and with the way he describes them, its as if he truly sees it. For example, he always draws his dad without his head, because he grows so big, like he truly is seeing this and drawing what he sees. When Noah’s feelings towards his dad change, however, he draws him with his head on, like he doesn’t see this anymore. Synesthetes are also usually very artistically inclined, which Noah obviously is.
Although others may find different conclusions, I truly believe that Noah is a synesthete. I’m not saying he isn’t also on the autism spectrum, but I believe this is the best explanation for his particular style of voice.
Let me know what your conclusions are, or if you agree or not! I’d love to hear more opinions!
