Catherine and Claire’s Rights The play Proof by David Auburn tells a story about a woman named Catherine, whose father is a brilliant mathematician plagued by a mental illness. Due to her father having this mental illness, she struggles to deal with her suspicion that she has inherited the same disease. Catherine’s sister Claire does not think she is capable of living on her own and wants to commit her to a mental hospital. Catherine is against this completely and continues to fight Claire on this the whole time. Should Catherine be committed or be able to live a normal life on her own. Taking this issue to court there are two sides to every case Catherine thinks she can be on her own and Claire thinks Catherine should be committed.
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Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, this the case is about Catherine who is not capable of being on her own. The prosecution will call three witnesses to the stand during this trial. We will call Hal to the stand, Hal was a graduate student of Robert Catherine’s father. Hal goes on to explain on particular incident where Catherine had called the police on Hal. She had had feared that Hal was taking her father’s notebooks without permission. She demanded to see his backpack, but found nothing like she thought she would. As Hal is about to leave a notebook falls out of his jacket pocket and Catherine decides to call the police. The next time Hal and she interact is at a party after her father’s funeral. The two are talking alone outside, Catherine apologizes for calling the police and ends up surprising Hal with a kiss. These actions could be done by someone who has mental issues. One day she is calling the police and the next kissing that person, in other words not capable of making rational decisions. Another situation “Catherine declares that she wrote the proof but no one believes her. She accuses Hal of being past his prime, saying that she trusted him, and he storms off. She begins to tear up the notebook, but Claire gets it away from her” …show more content…
“Major mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder rarely appear “out of the blue.” Most often family, friends, teachers or individuals themselves begin to recognize small changes or a feeling that “something is not quite right” about their thinking, feelings or behavior before one of these illnesses appears in its full-blown form” (American). One sign is problems thinking, which is where there are problems with concentration, memory or logic thought and speech that is hard to explain. Along with mood changes, where there is a rapid or drastic shift in feelings. These are traits Catherine is exhibiting in her daily life and may be due to having a mental illness, where she can’t be
Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, this the case is about Catherine who is not capable of being on her own. The prosecution will call three witnesses to the stand during this trial. We will call Hal to the stand, Hal was a graduate student of Robert Catherine’s father. Hal goes on to explain on particular incident where Catherine had called the police on Hal. She had had feared that Hal was taking her father’s notebooks without permission. She demanded to see his backpack, but found nothing like she thought she would. As Hal is about to leave a notebook falls out of his jacket pocket and Catherine decides to call the police. The next time Hal and she interact is at a party after her father’s funeral. The two are talking alone outside, Catherine apologizes for calling the police and ends up surprising Hal with a kiss. These actions could be done by someone who has mental issues. One day she is calling the police and the next kissing that person, in other words not capable of making rational decisions. Another situation “Catherine declares that she wrote the proof but no one believes her. She accuses Hal of being past his prime, saying that she trusted him, and he storms off. She begins to tear up the notebook, but Claire gets it away from her” …show more content…
“Major mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder rarely appear “out of the blue.” Most often family, friends, teachers or individuals themselves begin to recognize small changes or a feeling that “something is not quite right” about their thinking, feelings or behavior before one of these illnesses appears in its full-blown form” (American). One sign is problems thinking, which is where there are problems with concentration, memory or logic thought and speech that is hard to explain. Along with mood changes, where there is a rapid or drastic shift in feelings. These are traits Catherine is exhibiting in her daily life and may be due to having a mental illness, where she can’t be