The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B

At the beginning of Adam’s coming-of-age journey, he sets a goal for himself to be taller, braver, and more courageous. He is eager to grow, be older, and become more mature. He is also eager to “cure” his OCD and other mental health issues. This can be seen when he feels increased motivation to do his therapy homework, thinking, “If doing psycho homework would put him on the fast track to being fixed, then move over, Adam was boarding that bus” (10). He wants to be what he perceives as normal, but he does not actually care about doing the work necessary to get there. Adam is more concerned with getting cured fast and easy rather than actually facing his problems, demonstrating his naive understanding of his OCD and his preoccupation with becoming an idealized version of himself, with perfect traits and perfect control over himself and his surroundings.

Adam’s issues and compulsions are directly related to his perceived notion of heroism. This is evident when he says, “I believe there are times that my molecules are nuclear and that they’ll explode, raining radiation on all those I love unless I execute certain cleansing and clearing rituals, but I’m going to work on that too” (134).