The Bell Jar: Critical Perspectives On Mental Health

Critical Perspectives on Mental Health

Mental Health Term Paper

A mental health condition can occur to a person of any age, caste, gender, rich or poor, any color and any class. In India mental health is neglected. It is a stigma which id deep rooted in our society. People don't share about such issues, they don't even consults a doctor. They carry it like a burden throughout their life because of the guilt, shame and the fear of society. What will the society think about them? Their judgements, their superstitious beleifs, their construction of an individuals life. An odd paradox and the silence for this term of mental illness for the society. The books EM and the BIG HOOM, The Bell Jar and the movie Thaniyavarthanam discusses

Throughout the movie the sane self of people (family members), their reactions towards the uncle's death, Balan's dream, societal pressure, false belief of Balan being mad, rituals for the curse and prayers to please the Devi, made the a sane person fall into the trap of being a mad person. In case of Balan's uncle the actual reason behind his madness can be due his lovers death, but is also a result of being isolated by the family and chained, treated differently by society, stuck with depression and loneliness and all these factors together made his condition worst. In Balan's case it seems to be constructed madness by his own superstitious family and society. If the person who is called mad or is actually in a mad condition needs care, support, love by their family and society to come out of such conditions otherwise the person starts doubting his or her own self and losses control. This exactly what happened in Balan's case , the scene where a student ask Balan a very blunt question on his face , 'Are you really mad' ? It breaks downs a person as shown in the movie, Balan got broken and he started doubting his own self , he asked his brother about his madness. The start where a sane self becomes a mad self. Mental health is

Both the books and the movie shares a deep meaning of the term madness which we take so lightly and also how mental illness is a social construction. Both the books also shares how women suffers through depression, anxiety and specific mental disorders, how different is mental illness for men and women.The following paragraph from the book, Em and the Big Hoom,"One day, under the huge mango tree that stood in the schoolyard, with a bunch of schoolboys standing around me, mocking me for being the son of a mad woman, I thought suddenly and automatically: “I want to go home.” And then I thought as suddenly, “I don’t want to go home.” I remember thinking, “If I go on like this, I will go mad.” , is really very touchy and disturbing paragraph of the book. How difficult it would have been for Jerry with nothing to do about it and nowhere to go. How disturbing the family dynamics would have. Both the children also suffered with the social mockery and the fear of loosing a parent. How easy is the word mad is for us! we use it evry now and then so casually for friends, mother, even our pets or anybody with whom we get angry or just to make fun of somebody. But we never put a thought even for a second what actually mad means for