The mentally ill are treated unfairly due to the negative stigma surrounding mental disorders. Mental illness is not just a problem in the real-world, it is also portrayed in many works of literature. For example, in the novel, Sula, by Toni Morrison there is a great focus on mental illness with Plum and Shadrack who both suffer with forms of PTSD from wartime. People suffering with mental disorders are less likely to seek help due to the negative stigma surrounding mental health. National Suicide Day is a day that Shadrack, war veteran, celebrates. Shadrack’s reasoning to create and celebrate this day is because he feels life as a whole is unexpected and surprising. With this analysis of life Shadrack feels that death should not be so unexpected
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Plum, Eva’s son, also shows signs of PTSD like Shadrack after returning from war. However, Plum resorts to drugs and alcohol to solve his problems. While on these drugs Plum also seeks support from his mother to feel better. However, after asking Eva if she was “holdin’ [him], Mamma?” (Morrison 46) Eva decides she cannot handle her son’s problems and kills him. Eva feels that her son would be better off dead than suffering but she also could have sent him to a facility to get help instead of giving up on her son. When suffering, Plum goes to his mom since she has always been there for him as he grew up. While struggling with PTSD, Plum has “this sense of always looking at [himself] through the eyes of others.” (Dodman 2) Plum looks to others to define him because he’s afraid of life and what it may hold in storage for him. In his article, Trevor Dodman expresses the idea that since Eva and Plum had such a close relationship that Plum would turn to his mom when hurt and lonely. Plum feels that his mom will always love him unconditionally and relies on her opinion of …show more content…
Cantrell argues that mental health is a recurring problem in today’s society and affects many families. To support her claim, Cantrell stated that the “National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) [has reported] that one in five people will be diagnosed with a mental disorder.” NAMI also went on to say that “five to nine percent of the population will develop a serious mental condition” (Cantrell 1) This evidence greatly supports my claim in that are many people who suffer with mental health problems but remain silent due to the stigma surrounding mental
Plum, Eva’s son, also shows signs of PTSD like Shadrack after returning from war. However, Plum resorts to drugs and alcohol to solve his problems. While on these drugs Plum also seeks support from his mother to feel better. However, after asking Eva if she was “holdin’ [him], Mamma?” (Morrison 46) Eva decides she cannot handle her son’s problems and kills him. Eva feels that her son would be better off dead than suffering but she also could have sent him to a facility to get help instead of giving up on her son. When suffering, Plum goes to his mom since she has always been there for him as he grew up. While struggling with PTSD, Plum has “this sense of always looking at [himself] through the eyes of others.” (Dodman 2) Plum looks to others to define him because he’s afraid of life and what it may hold in storage for him. In his article, Trevor Dodman expresses the idea that since Eva and Plum had such a close relationship that Plum would turn to his mom when hurt and lonely. Plum feels that his mom will always love him unconditionally and relies on her opinion of …show more content…
Cantrell argues that mental health is a recurring problem in today’s society and affects many families. To support her claim, Cantrell stated that the “National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) [has reported] that one in five people will be diagnosed with a mental disorder.” NAMI also went on to say that “five to nine percent of the population will develop a serious mental condition” (Cantrell 1) This evidence greatly supports my claim in that are many people who suffer with mental health problems but remain silent due to the stigma surrounding mental