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

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The nonfiction work titled, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical
Tales, written by Oliver Sacks is a compilation of riveting stories about neurotic patients. Sacks’
purpose for writing this book is to show the personal, more humane side of neurosis, rather than
strictly the clinical side. There is also a significant argument presented to the reader, does the
medicine or the disease remove “the self” from the patient. The reader can conclude the answer
by reading the book and truly understanding what Sacks’ purpose was. The argument in this book
also serves as the theme, removal of one’s self. There are twenty-four stories served to the reader
in this book, each one equally as powerful as the last.
As previously stated, the pressing issue of the …show more content…

Before answering this,
the reader must understand the term “the self.” Self in this context means the humanity of the
patient. Even though the patient may appear to be “crazy,” the patient is still human, the patient
still has feelings, and the patient still deserves to be treated as these things. This is why Sacks
writes this book as stories instead of case studies. One story that truly encompasses this is
headline of this book, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. As soon as Dr. P walked into
Sacks’ office he was treated like a real person, not someone who was crazy. Sacks truly wanted
to help this person and figure out how to do so. When Dr. P had trouble identifying something,
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Sacks treated him as if he was perfectly fine, like a human being. This is just one out of countless
examples of Sacks’ kindness, and interest in preserving “the self.”
This book had a gigantic impact on my life. When I was first introduced to this book I
thought, “Wow, this is crazy, a man who puts his wife on like a hat!” That would be anyones first
reaction to a title like that. When you really read the book, really understand the

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