An Analysis Of Oliver Sacks The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat

In this novel The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, written by physician and neurologist Oliver Sacks, is about different patient cases that had suffered some type of neurological disorder. Sacks, as he is currently a professor at Columbia teaching Clinical Neurology, brings stories and experiences into novel form to show how some of these neurological problems can change the livelihood of those who have it and the ones that care for them the most. Throughout this novel, 24 different types of case studies are looked at and from those case studies, they are broken into 4 different types of chapters which are Losses, Excesses, Transports, and The World of The Simple. Each of these chapters serve as a segway to show how people’s lives were

affected with different types of problems in their brain function.
In the first chapter, Losses, Sacks talks about how some patients have either lost or somehow lack the functions some parts of their brains due to either sever injury or diseases.

Some diseases, such as Aphonia, Aphemia, Aphasia, Alexia, Apraxia, Agnosia, Amnesia, Ataxia (Sacks 7). One of the first patients that is observed is a Dr. P, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat, whom was a great musician that had a difficult time with visual images. Dr. P can not recognize items such as his shoe, foot, or even his wife. His problem was so bad that at one point, he graded his wife’s head and tried to put it on his as if it was his hat. One interesting case of Dr. P, whom had great musical intelligence, could do anything when he was singing, but once he stopped singing, he would forget and stop whatever he was doing. In a similar case called The Lost Mariner, a 19 year old boy named Jimmie G, was the radio operator for a submarine. His does not have the ability to recall memories anytime before the 1940s. Due to this damage to his brain, he will always believe he is 19 years old, but one of the interesting parts about this case is that even though he can not remember anything past the 1940s, he has an incredible mind for chemistry and math. This shows how this people that have had traumatic brain injuries or defects can still do amazing things even though parts of their brain does not

work.
In the second chapter, excesses, talks about a very interesting neurological disorder in which they either lost the function or lack the function of their body, but not excesses of the system. One case, Witty Ticcy Ray, is about an individual whom has Tourette but had an abnormal quickness to him. When Dr. Sacks gave him this new medication to help him with his Tourettes, he became incredibly slow and lost himself. As a result, Ray decided not to take the medicine anymore and live with the Tourettes. Another story in this chapter, The Cupid’s Disease, is about a 90 year old woman named Natasha who had syphilis, showed very similar Ray as she had an extreme amount of energy, but decided to live with this disease instead of taking the medication. Finally in the case A Matter of Identity, Mr. Thompson does not have the ability to recognize people, but has the ability to create fictional characters. In this chapter, we can see the overlaying theme of how even though medication is suppose to help people with different conditions, some choose to live with their disease since they do not like the outcome that the medicine provides.
In the third chapter, transports, Dr. Sacks talks about some of his patients that have incredible minds in which they have very vivid imaginations, feelings, dreams, or any other unconscious and preconscious activates in which they believe it is a portal to a different universe. One case, Reminiscence, is about a lady named Mrs. O’C who relieved her childhood as if she was back in Ireland. The most fearful part of this type of disease is that she still believes that she is in her dream, almost living in her memories. In the case, Incontinent Nostalgia, a 63 year old Parkinson’s patient has been using L-Dopa to help her in her fight against Parkinson. One of the major side effects that L-Dopa has is that it causes a feeling of nostalgia and joy as she is now stuck in her past memories, living life as if she was still in her youth. Finally, in once case labeled The Dog Beneath the Skin, a 22 year old medical student had the fantasy of becoming a dog. His sense of smell was amazing, similar to that of a dog, in which he could tell what certain things were by the smell. With each of these case studies, it shows how their disease transports them into a different dimension of thinking which they are living their lives as other beings or people. The affects of this show how sometimes the mind is the true keeper of reality and when something is wrong with one’s brain, their reality can actually turn out to be a fantasy.
In the fourth chapter, the world of the simple, show the lives of those whom are innocent, transparent, and simple. In the case of Rebecca, a 19 year old girl whom loves poetry, stories, and the arts, acts like a child as she can not perceive what is right and wrong. For instance, she will put gloves on her feet, and shoes on her hands. Her caretaker, her grandmother since her parents passed away, soon passed and Rebecca was slowly rotting away, but then she found the theater in which she let her talents shine. In the case study of A Walking Grove, a 61 year old man who had both Parkinson's and Meningitis had an unreal brain for music. Even though he can memories many different operas, his actions are that of a child in which he talks and acts as if he was a child. This shows how even though people have amazing gifts, even with these amazing gifts, damage to the brain can make those whom have amazing gifts handicapped. Some of these individuals can not live by themselves as they are dependent on others to help them survive in the world.
In Oliver Sacks, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, shows many different types of neurological disorders in which patients who have extraordinary talents can be hindered by having something wrong with their brain.

By organizing his stories in four chapters, Losses, Excesses, Transports, and The World of The Simple, it was easy to follow how each tied in with each other. In Losses and Excesses, the neurofunction was the main theme, as in Transports, the ideology of visions and hallucinations took shape, and finally in The Wold of The Simple, how brilliant minds can be turned into innocents as their mind is that of a child. This novel shows how even though people may be brilliant, they all have their cross to bare. Some greater than others, but everyone has something holding them

back.