‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and ‘Regeneration’ both present studies of insanity that stem from social pressures on characters. Insanity is defined as a “state of being unsound in mind” and “applicable to any degree of mental derangement from slight delirium or wandering to distraction”. Throughout the texts, we do see characters with ‘unsound minds’, ‘mental derangement’ who appear utterly distracted or delirious. The massive social cause of this insanity for the characters in ‘Regeneration’ is The Great War of 1914-1918. The soldiers are being treated for shellshock at Craiglockhart. Their ‘unsound minds’ being the result of shell shock from the trauma of trench warfare, knowing that once they get better they will be sent back out to the front line to endure it all again. ‘Unsound minds’ are the conditions with which Rivers, the doctor treating these insane soldiers, in Barker’s ’Regeneration’, concerns himself. He knows that the young men from the Great War, brought to Craiglockhart, are the result of being constantly bombarded by shells, whilst sitting in a rat-infested trench that is knee deep in churned mud and rain water, drenching feet and uniform, knowing that if they are ordered ‘to go over the top’, through ‘No Man’s Land’ imminent death will probably result. Rivers knows, therefore, that there is a social cause for the insanity manifest in the young soldiers brought back form the trenches. Moreover, there is the double-edged sword that if he can help heal their mind, they will return to face further conflict. Barker explores the study of Rivers’ therapy with the insane and helps us see that the War itself is the culprit. The same symptoms of insanity described in ‘Regeneration’ amongst the soldiers, are seen in t...
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... he tried to eat, the taste and smell recurred’. In contrast, Blanche has problems with her shakes and reliving the internalisation of the “war” in her mind. ‘She sits down shakily, taking a grateful drink’
Works Cited
What’s in a Name?” A Brief Foray into the History of Insanity in England and the United States, Janet A. Tighe, PhD, http://www.jaapl.org/content/33/2/252.full
Donald Pease, Tennessee Williams: A Tribute, p840
Debbie Swan, An Unexpected Message from Our Past, https://www.k-state.edu/english/westmank/regeneration/homosexuality.swann.html
The White Feather Campaign: A Struggle with Masculinity During World War I, Peter J. Hart, Student Pulse (2010, Vol. 2 NO.) http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/151/the-white-feather-campaign-a-struggle-with-masculinity-during-world-war-i
Macro History and the World Timeline, http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch03-2.htm
Before Kirkbride's standardized methods for mental hospitals, those with mental illness suffered crude and inhuman treatment. Beginning in Colonial America society, people suffering from mental illness were referred to as lunatics. Colonists viewed lunatics as being possessed by the devil, and usually were removed from societ...
The film gives a historical overview of how the mentally ill have been treated throughout history and chronicles the advancements and missteps the medical community has made along the way. Whittaker recounts the history of psychiatric treatment in America until 1950, he then moves on to describe the use of antipsychotic drugs to treat schizophrenia. He critically summarizes that it is doctors, rather than the patients, who have always calculated the evaluation of the merits of medical treatment, as the “mad” continue to be dismissed as unreliable witnesses. When in fact it is the patient being treated, and their subjective experience, that should be foremost in the evaluation. The film backs up this analysis with interviews of people, living viable lives in the town of Geel, Belgium. I would recommend this film to anyone interested in the history of medicine and specifically to those examining mental illness. It provides a balanced recounting of historical approaches to mental illness, along with success stories of the people of Geel, Belgium. And although I had to look away during the viewing of a lobotomy procedure, I give credit to the power of the visual impact the footage
In the 1840’s, the United States started to build public insane asylums instead of placing the insane in almshouses or jail. Before this, asylums were maintained mostly by religious factions whose main goal was to purify the patient (Hartford 1). By the 1870’s, the conditions of these public insane asylums were very unhealthy due to a lack of funding. The actions of Elizabeth J. Cochrane (pen name Nellie Bly), during her book “Ten Days in a Mad-House,” significantly heightened the conditions of these mental asylums during the late 1800s.
Mental illness has been around as long as people have been. However, the movement really started in the 19th century during industrialization. The Western countries saw an immense increase in the number and size of insane asylums, during what was known as “the great confinement” or the “asylum era” (Torrey, Stieber, Ezekiel, Wolfe, Sharfstein, Noble, Flynn Criminalizing the Seriously Mentally Ill). Laws were starting to be made to pressure authorities to face the people who were deemed insane by family members and hospital administrators. Because of the overpopulation in the institutions, treatment became more impersonal and had a complex mix of mental and social-economic problems. During this time the term “psychiatry” was identified as the medical specialty for the people who had the job as asylum superintendents. These superintendents assumed managerial roles in asylums for people who were considered “alienated” from society; people with less serious conditions wer...
Up to the 1600s, people with psychotic disorders were sent off in "ships of fools", locked in cages, "flogged into reason", or killed. The care for the insane at this time was the responsibility of nuns and monks (Noll, xviii).
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War has a definite effect on the mentality of a soldier, so much so that many result in insanity during or after the leave of combat. Timothy Findley’s The Wars, portrays the “stupidity, futility and the horror of the terrible losses of the First World War, describing war as an image of the worst that can be within a man” (Anne Nothof Interview). Findley portrays mental aspects as well as physical, that lead to Robert Ross’ demises, specifically, the conditions of war, overall aspect of war taking someone’s life and the feeling of loneliness and silence.
Insanity is the being in the state of mind of mentally ill. Redhill illustrates insanity through the people of Bellevue Square and Jean Mason. The three important settings, Bookshop, Kensington market, and Bellevue Square, is all related and emerge together as a place of paradise for Jean and the people referred to as,
What comes to mind when you hear the words “insane asylum”? Do such terms as lunatic, crazy, scary, or even haunted come to mind? More than likely these are the terminology that most of us would use to describe our perception of insane asylums. However, those in history that had a heart’s desire to treat the mentally ill compassionately and humanely had a different viewpoint. Insane asylums were known for their horrendous treatment of the mentally ill, but the ultimate purpose in the reformation of insane asylums in the nineteenth century was to improve the treatment for the mentally ill by providing a humane and caring environment for them to reside.
Much of my skepticism over the insanity defense is how this act of crime has been shifted from a medical condition to coming under legal governance. The word "insane" is now a legal term. A nuerological illness described by doctors and psychiatrists to a jury may explain a person's reason and behavior. It however seldom excuses it. The most widely known rule in...
Both legal and mental health professionals have long struggled to establish a clear and acceptable definition of insanity. Insanity is a legal term, not a psychological or medical one. The Sarasons prefer to use the term “maladaptive behavior” instead of insane or insanity. Maladaptive behavior is, “behavior that deals inadequately with a situation, especially one that is stressful” (5). Adaptation is the way people balance what they do and want to do, and what the environment/community requires of them. Successful adaptation depends on a person’s stress (situations that impose demands on him or her), vulnerability (likelihood of a maladaptive response), and coping skills (techniques that help him or her deal with difficulties/stress) (5). Consider the recent school shootings as an
Are psychopaths like Alice, “mad or bad?” (page 21). The question whether psychopaths are mentally ill or just a bad seed has caused much debate. Dr. Hare explains that the problem is not only labeling them mad or bad, but who deals with them. “Does the treatment or control of the psychopath rightly fall to mental health professionals or to the correctional system?” (page 21). Not only are professionals confused on how to classify psychopaths, but the media also creates confusion. Psychopath means mental illness and the media uses the word to classify someone as, “insane or crazy”, (page 22). Dr. Hare explains that even though psychopaths, “cannot be understood in terms of traditional views of mental illness”, they, “are not disoriented or out of touch with reality, nor do they experience the delusions, hallucinations, or intense subjective distress that characterize most other mental disorders…psychopaths are rational and aware of what they are doing and why.” (page 22). Most professionals use the term psychopath and sociopath as one in the same. Since DSM-III, antisocial personality disorder has been used in place of psychopath and sociopath. Philippe Pinel was the first psychiatrist describe a psychopath and Harvey Cleckley was one of the first successful publish a book describing a psychopath to the general public . Pinel used the term, “insanity without delirium”, (page 25). Cleckley wrote The Mask of Sanity, which influenced researchers in North America. Dr. Robert Hare explained that WWII was the first time clinicians felt a need to diagnosis people with psychopathy. Due to the draft, there was a need to weed out the people could disrupt or harm the military structure. Dr. Robert Hare realized how hard it was to identify a true psychopaths from rule breakers and developed the Psychopathy Checklist. This checklist is used world wide to help clinicians identify true
By believing her own lie, Blanche disconnects herself from the reality in which she lives. She becomes so immersed in her lies that she herself is unable to tell where her fantasies end and reality begins. It is no longer a lie to maintain her appearance but a delusion that she believes in. In her mind she is not an aging women with few social contacts but a proper young lady with friends of high standings.
To conclude, the author portrays Blanche’s deteriorating mental state throughout the play and by the end it has disappeared, she is in such a mental state that doctors take her away. Even at this stage she is still completely un-aware of her surroundings and the state she is in herself.
History shows that signs of mental illness and abnormal behavior have been documented as far back as the early Greeks however, it was not viewed the same as it is today. The mentally ill were previously referred to as mad, insane, lunatics, or maniacs. W.B. Maher and B.A. Maher (1985) note how many of the terms use had roots in old English words that meant emotionally deranged, hurt, unhealthy, or diseased. Although early explanations were not accurate, the characteristics of the mentally ill have remained the same and these characteristics are used to diagnose disorders to date. Cultural norms have always been used to assess and define abnormal behavior. Currently, we have a decent understanding of the correlates and influences of mental illness. Although we do not have complete knowledge, psychopathologists have better resources, technology, and overall research skills than those in ancient times.