Craig begins the passage with possessing the quality of self-control, but by the end of the section that seems to have disappeared. On page 55 is the first time Craig hangs out with Aaron, and the first time Aaron offers Craig pot. Craig describes the conversation he had with his mother when he was 10 about not doing drugs, then he goes on to explain that when Aaron offered it to him for the first time, he said no. Progressing through the section, after Aaron and Craig get accepted into Executive Pre-Professional High School, Craig goes over Aaron's house and they decide to have a party. As Craig walks in the door, Aaron holds out the "metal cigarette" to him and says, "Smoke. Celebrate. If anytime's the time, it's now." With that, Craig loses his self-control and smokes the pot with Aaron. This detail showed that Craig could not handle the pressures of the world and his peers and lacked the strength to keep his self-control.
Craig shows his desire to succeed when he is crossing the Brooklyn Bridge with Aaron. Aaron is going on and on about Nia and her perfection and Craig tunes him out. Craig is too busy pondering what it would be like to mean something in this world, and have a purpose. Craig says, "I was happy because someday I'd be walking across the bridge looking at this city, owning some piece of it, being valuable here" (Vizzini 87). This quote showed me that Craig isn't hopeless. He may seem hopeless, going through his depression, but if he has the desire to be successful and make his mark on the world then I believe he can do it.
I agree with you that Craig demonstrated his desire to succeed when he crossed the Brooklyn Bridge with Aaron. Although he despises Aaron secretly, he looks up to him as a role model because Nia likes Aaron over him. As the story progresses, it becomes evident that the bridge has a special value to him other than beholding his future successes. During a consultation with Dr. Barney, Craig reveals he is suicidal(Vizzini 93). According to the survey he filled out, Craig apparently feels the need to die nearly every day. When his doctor questions him about it, he responded, "Right...Brooklyn Bridge...I'm familiar with it" (Vizzini 93). In this way, Craig shows that he contemplates suicide to the extreme that he knows where he wants his final moments to be. It is important to note that this location, as you talked about before, is a place where Craig could possibly feel valuable. Ironically, the bridge could either signify viewing his possible successes or taking his last breaths. Either way, it has a important meaning in his life.
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