Theme of Madness Essay

Imagine what it would be like to be confined to a room that made you feel uneasy, to a place that made you nervous when you were already suffering from a psychological disorder. Imagine being sick and no one believing you. The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, at face value is the dark truth of a woman battling postpartum depression. But, pulling back the layers of the story reveals that it is truly about a woman’s identity in society and illustrates how gender inequality…

In Hamlet, Shakespeare explores the theme of appearance versus reality through the duplicitous characters presented in the text. He examines the way in which humanity is hypocritical, and how willing we are to alter ourselves in an attempt to appear superior. Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s character to exemplify the theme of appearance versus reality and the hypocrisy of humanity. In Act I scene II, we see Hamlet exhibit his indignation about deception. In voicing that he “know[s] not seems,” and…

This was another moment of seeking revenge in this tragedy. Another moment that could prove his madness would be his encounter with the ghost in the bedroom of his mother. “On him, on him. Look you how pale he glares. His form and cause conjoin’d, preaching to stones, Would make theme capable” (Act III, Scene iv, lines 125-127). His mother could not see the ghost, but Hamlet did. This is very odd because in his previous encounter with the…

“Hop-Frog” and Taken: A Comparison Is revenge ever justified? There are two stories, one from the romanticism era and one from the modern era, that show this theme. The story “Hop-Frog” by Edgar Allan Poe is about a dwarf who was taken from his home as a gift for the king. The king has the dwarf do many things for him at his castle. The king mistreats Hop- Frog and Hop-Frog gets revenge. The other story, Taken, by Pierre Morel is about a man named Bryan Mills who is a retired CIA agent and has…

Picture of Dorian Gray, a portrait morphs into a catalyst of dual lives. Tempered through an impulsive desire, Dorian’s essence is divided between the seen and the discrete. Through the use of the portrait and opium motif, Oscar Wilde develops the theme of dual existence/true identity. Throughout Wilde’s novel, Dorian’s portrait and the narcotic opium are used to develop how dual existence becomes Dorian’s undoing with the aid of symbolism. The portrait which once symbolized purity, youth (by…

Entitled The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry, the book was written by a Welsh journalist, Jon Ronson. It was published by Riverhead Books on May 12, 2011 and is comprised of 316 pages. Ronson was born on May 10, 1967 and is notable for his other works including best-selling The Men Who Stare at Goats, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, and Them: Adventures with Extremists. In The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry, Ronson goes through a series of…

“A Streetcar Named Desire” has many interesting themes, relationships, and situations laid out in the play. The play takes place in the 1940’s in New Orleans with the main character being Blanche DuBois, an ex-elite, high class teacher who lost just about everything she had, save for her sister whose name is Stella Kowalski. Stella lives in a poorer part of New Orleans but does not seem to mind. So already we can see that Blanche and Stella come from the high class socialites but chose to go…

thinks to be true. The author’s outside point of view also helps to explain who Don Quixote is as a person, as well as how he comes to believe his own madness. If the story was told by Don Quixote himself, you would not be able to understand the important role that his books play on his behavior. The perspective of the narrator serves to show the clear theme of honor and justice throughout the…

The human ears are capable of more than what meets the eye. Throughout Hamlet, Shakespeare practices different motifs to express themes such as corruption, revenge, and madness. Specifically, Hamlet employs the motif of ears to convey the theme of corruption. After the fall of the great King Hamlet, the throne of Denmark falls into a state of corruption through the lies of the new King Claudius. Hamlet the prince attempts to find ways of exposing Claudius’s lies and end the corruption throughout…

abuse combined with his dysfunctional and unsupportive broken family, shapes the mold for Poe’s unique writing styles and themes. The most common trend in all of Edgar Allan Poe’s works was having an underlining meaning or message to convey his life events to the novel. Poe uses imagery, symbolism, and tone to develop the theme of his poems. “The Raven” especially focuses on this theme of death, despair, and…