Comparing and Contrasting Deborah’s and Hamlet’s Illnesses Mental illness is a complex topic many psychologists try to make sense of. It is hard to diagnose some illnesses because of their vague symptoms that could classify them as a multitude of disorders. Hamlet, of Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet, and Deborah, of Joanne Greenburg’s I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, share many commonalities in their illnesses. Hamlet’s storyline is one filled with deceit; Hamlet is told by the ghost of his father that his power hungry step-father, Claudius, murdered him to gain the throne. Hamlet, enraged and obsessed with avenging his father, plots to kill Claudius and send him to Hell. Even before he is aware of his father’s murder, Hamlet shows signs
…show more content…
Based on the description of Hamlet throughout the play, it is possible that he had Major Depressive Disorder. Sufferers of this disorder are said to experience “negative views of themselves and the world around them,…recurrent thoughts of death or suicide,… [and] visual hallucination[s] such as seeing the visual image of a deceased person” (Thakkar 2). Hamlet is constantly referring to his home of Denmark as a prison. When his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive to visit Hamlet, he asks “what crimes [they have] committed to be sent to this prison?” (Shakespeare 107). Hamlet feels trapped inside a world of deceit. His father, whom he has always looked up to, is murdered by his uncle and his mother is now married to the killer without truly morning her late husband. Claudius insists that Hamlet stays in Denmark and to not go back to school causing Hamlet to feel like a prisoner. All of these events are major contributors to Hamlet’s depression. A prominent motif in Hamlet is suicide or mentioning death. Throughout the play, Hamlet describes how he does not “value [his] life one bit” (Shakespeare 55) and how there is not “anything from [him] that [he] could care less about” (Shakespeare 103). As his situation worsens, he wonders if “it [is] better to be alive or dead” (Shakespeare 139). Reoccurring thoughts of suicide is a major indicator of a mental illness. People in …show more content…
“The word ‘schizophrenia’ is derived from the New Latin terms for ‘split mind’” (Kahn 1) and is characterized by “distortions of perception, speech and thoughts” (Kahn 1). Because of a hard childhood filled with bullies and lack of understanding, Deborah created an alternate universe in her head, called Yr, that she would go to when she was scared or lonely. This world evolved as she created gods and invented a complex language that only she and the gods could speak, called Yri. Psychologists believe that patients suffering with thought disorders, such as schizophrenia, “make up their own words that mean nothing to others” (Khan 2). Deborah believes that “English is for the world – for getting disappointed by and getting hated in [while] Yri is for saying what is to be said” (Greenberg 53). When Deborah is faced with a decision or is assessing a situation, she always consults the gods of Yr to find out what their opinion of the problem. Yr soon became a tyranny that could completely control Deborah causing her perception to disintegrate. When the gods become angry, they punish Deborah by sucking her into Yr into the Pit which is like Hell in Yr. Deborah describes “the full Punishment” by saying it feels like “an executioner’s hand and the testimony of light, space, time, gravity, and the five senses [become] meaningless” (Greenberg 177). Because of
Based on the description of Hamlet throughout the play, it is possible that he had Major Depressive Disorder. Sufferers of this disorder are said to experience “negative views of themselves and the world around them,…recurrent thoughts of death or suicide,… [and] visual hallucination[s] such as seeing the visual image of a deceased person” (Thakkar 2). Hamlet is constantly referring to his home of Denmark as a prison. When his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive to visit Hamlet, he asks “what crimes [they have] committed to be sent to this prison?” (Shakespeare 107). Hamlet feels trapped inside a world of deceit. His father, whom he has always looked up to, is murdered by his uncle and his mother is now married to the killer without truly morning her late husband. Claudius insists that Hamlet stays in Denmark and to not go back to school causing Hamlet to feel like a prisoner. All of these events are major contributors to Hamlet’s depression. A prominent motif in Hamlet is suicide or mentioning death. Throughout the play, Hamlet describes how he does not “value [his] life one bit” (Shakespeare 55) and how there is not “anything from [him] that [he] could care less about” (Shakespeare 103). As his situation worsens, he wonders if “it [is] better to be alive or dead” (Shakespeare 139). Reoccurring thoughts of suicide is a major indicator of a mental illness. People in …show more content…
“The word ‘schizophrenia’ is derived from the New Latin terms for ‘split mind’” (Kahn 1) and is characterized by “distortions of perception, speech and thoughts” (Kahn 1). Because of a hard childhood filled with bullies and lack of understanding, Deborah created an alternate universe in her head, called Yr, that she would go to when she was scared or lonely. This world evolved as she created gods and invented a complex language that only she and the gods could speak, called Yri. Psychologists believe that patients suffering with thought disorders, such as schizophrenia, “make up their own words that mean nothing to others” (Khan 2). Deborah believes that “English is for the world – for getting disappointed by and getting hated in [while] Yri is for saying what is to be said” (Greenberg 53). When Deborah is faced with a decision or is assessing a situation, she always consults the gods of Yr to find out what their opinion of the problem. Yr soon became a tyranny that could completely control Deborah causing her perception to disintegrate. When the gods become angry, they punish Deborah by sucking her into Yr into the Pit which is like Hell in Yr. Deborah describes “the full Punishment” by saying it feels like “an executioner’s hand and the testimony of light, space, time, gravity, and the five senses [become] meaningless” (Greenberg 177). Because of