Mental Illness In Mary Chase's 'Harvey'

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Mary Chase’s comic play, “Harvey” is about the adventures a man named Elwood P. Dowd and his friend Harvey, an imaginary rabbit pooka. Because Elwood sees Harvey his sister, Veta, and niece, Myrtle Mae, try having him admitted him into a sanitarium. But because of the sister’s hysteric, the sanitarium doctors admit her into the hospital instead of her Elwood. The rest of the play is about the doctors and family trying to find Elwood and Harvey so that the doctors can give Elwood a shot that would make him stop seeing Harvey. However, in the end Veta decides not to allow the doctors to give Elwood the shot, in fear of how he might act after the shot is given to him. Chase’s, “Harvey” approaches, in a very light, comically way, the stigma surrounding mental illness. The text parallels how society treats individuals who suffer with mental illness. People with mental illnesses are treated poorly compared to the average person, are often isolated and acceptance from family members is hard to gain. However, despite how an …show more content…

One of the only times the doctors did talk to Elwood is when they interrogate him about where Dr. Chumley was. However, when people with mental illnesses do begin to speak about their disease they usually are stopped, because the person they are talking to begins to lecture or threaten them. The latter happens to Elwood in Act II. Elwood, Nurse Kelly and Dr. Sanderson are having a discussion about where Dr. Chumley is, but then Wilson walks in and threatens Elwood, “Oh, he did, eh? Listen, you-talk fast or I 'm workin’ you over!” (Chase 50) Despite the fact that Elwood did not where Dr. Chumley was and Wilson had not heard the whole conversation; Wilson still threaten Elwood because He only sees him as a lunatic, and not a human being that deserves the same amount of respect as anyone

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