Essay on Delirium and Pandemonium by Lauren Olive

The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness is an insightful book which revolves around Lori Schiller, who at age 17 started her downward spiral into psychosis induced by schizophrenia, and subsequently recovering enough by her early thirties to regain control over her life. The book is a culmination of Lori’s experiences and those close to her during her treatment. In her note to the reader, Lori explains that the variation of ‘voices’ in the book is to give an accurate recollection of her life since her illness and subsequent treatment distorted her memories. Lori and her family’s experiences progress in a mostly linear progression from before the schizophrenia appeared with her slowly loosing independence as the schizophrenia began to reign out of control. The experiences in the book revolve around mental hospitals, healthcare workers, as well as societal stigmas from both her family and acquaintances that Lori and her family encountered about mental illnesses.

Throughout the course of history, society has tried to explain and diagnose the abnormal behavior of individuals with mental illnesses. Originally, folklore and other concepts dating back to ancient times, influenced societies to define and label those individuals that expressed abnormal patterns of behavior as mad, insane and mentally ill (Henderson, 2009). Treatment and legal proceedings for such individuals often incorporated cruel and unusual punishments and in some cases even death. Over time, societal views on the available treatments and legal proceedings for the mentally ill have changed drastically. Legal defense for those with mental illnesses, known as the insanity defense became available as far back as King Henry III’s reign over England (Ahia, 2009). The insanity defense is often used interchangeably with: the insanity plea as well as the phrase “not guilty” by reason of insanity. The accepted use of the insanity plea by the defendant, an individual whom is accused of a crime, is determined by the mental health evaluations of the court’s legal standards and or by mental health professionals. The issue of mental illness and the insanity defense becomes controversial when those with mental illnesses commit heinous crimes and use the “not guilty” by reason of insanity defense. The public fears that the individuals are using a questionable and concerning defense to be pardoned for committing violent crimes and that those individuals who are found not guilty and

This book is comprised of nineteen chapters, 153 pages that are aimed at an audience of sociologists, and academicians in all areas of criminal justice administration. Its major themes are that of violence and disorganization as experienced by inmates in the 1980 New Mexico State Prison Riot and, in precise ways, it discusses the impact of such violence in the day-to-day experiences of those involved – the inmates and prison staff. This riot lasted only two days and more precisely, 36 hours, but the turmoil experienced by the inmates and prison staff during that time will last a lifetime. This book should alert prison officials of the need to run prison facilities in a humane way, but this book demonstrates almost the opposite.

Lauren Oliver once said, “Find the things that matter, and hold on to them, and fight for them, and refuse to let them go.” Despite the fact that Lena is taught that love is a disease and is forbidden, she falls in love anyhow. She comes to realize love is all that matters; that love is something you hold onto, fight for, and never let go of. Delirium is a story that teaches a valuable life lesson that holds true even for today’s teenager: following your heart can set you free.

Traditions typically can be described as noble and based on morality. There are many benefits to following and keeping traditions, and traditions generally survive through generations because they bring a community together and are a proud part of a community’s identity. Through time, traditions and cultural norms change as beliefs change, and sometimes they can stray away from their moral foundations and become dangerous. When this happens, younger, innocent generations are at danger of blindly adopting these toxic traditions.

In our lifetime we will be conflicted on whether we should believe in our faith or not, especially when you go through difficult times. In the novel “Night” by Elie Wiesel, he introduces himself and his father’s struggle to survive through the Holocaust. However as this happens, Shlomo and him begin to lose faith because of all the atrocious things they see and the way that they are treated.

In Ken Kesey's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Kesey shows the reader the idea of sanity versus insanity. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is about the struggle between chaos and order. There is no freedom without a little chaos, yet to maintain the order there must be oppression. McMurphy upsets the routine of the ward by asking for schedule changes and aspiring resistance during therapy sessions. He teaches his fellow inmates to have fun, and encourages them to embrace their human desires. He does this by convincing them that not only are they sane, but they are man (real people), in contrast nurse Ratched as an authoritarian. He soon discovers due to this that he is not only trapped behind physical walls but mental ones as well. Many patients

Lena Haloway is a 17-year-old girl who was lied to her entire life; now she’s going to get revenge. Pandemonium, by Lauren Oliver, is a fiction book. It’s a relatable story about a young girl trying to get through her life. Pandemonium is a good book, but it is considered a “young-adult”(Keller 3) book. It doesn’t stretch your mind as much as some teachers would like a summer book to do. Even though this is a book for younger people, it is still a terrific choice for a summer read.

What comes to mind when you hear the word change? Not the money change, but change as in a transformation. Change can mean for the better or worse, but overall change can lead to many great achievements as seen in Death of a Salesman and Ordinary People. Two characters in both the play and the book, went through changes and they both did not receive consequences that the other characters did receive. The authors of Ordinary People and Death of a Salesman address that the characters that do not change receive consequences, while the characters who do change do not receive any consequences.

For the past fifty years treatment of schizophrenia has been marked by its basis on the dopamine hypothesis for schizophrenia. However, this model for the disease and its subsequent treatment have left many patients without relief or help in dealing with this disease which has lead to a search for a better model. The dopamine model lacks the recognition of a whole range of symptoms associated with the disease and therefore can not be an accurate basis for treatment. More recently, there has been a shift to the glutamate hypothesis which has been shown to more accurately characterize the wide range of symptoms experienced by patients living with this disorder as well as the possibility in improvements for drug treatments.

Hitchcock's Psycho Psycho first hit our screens in 1960 directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It faced major controversy, as it was different. Horror films before this were more unrealistic and gruesome. Psycho was a groundbreaking film of the horror genre. It was more realistic the events could happen in reality.

According to Mc Donnell & Timmons (2012), “Acute delirium is a preventable, treatment, disorder of consciousness and cognition that commonly presents across many healthcare settings, including older care facilitates, medical and surgical ward, intensive care units and children’s ward”(p.2488). In their article, A quantitative exploration of the subjective burden experienced by nurses when caring for patients with delirium, Mc Donnell and Timmins outline a descriptive study. Even though prevention and treatments are well recognized, dealing with delirium can be very difficult. The purpose of this study is to examine the subjective burden nurses experience when caring for patients with delirium and to identify the individual aspects of delirium that nurses find most difficult to deal with. In the introduction of the article, the authors argue that beyond qualitative studies there is insufficient practical research on the impact and burden of delirium on nurses in practice (Mc Donnell & Timmins, 2012). This argument outlines the premise behind the research. It is not a research question, but a statement of belief upon which they draw in framing the purpose and focus of their research. The authors articulate their recognition of the fact that many researchers have only focused on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention for delirium. In addition, they also recognized that nurses often lack knowledge and understanding

Alfred Hitchcock is arguably the greatest director of all time. Many of his films are considered standards of American cinema and inspired many of today’s directors. Even though Hitchcock is known as timeless director, he had an understanding of philosophy that was beyond his time. Hitchcock had a brilliant perception as to how the mind works and human reaction. Hitchcock’s understanding of philosophy can be seen in his film Vertigo and illustrates how many theories can be debilitating in everyday life.

Lu Xun’s story “Diary of a Madman” serves to demonstrate his discontent with traditional Chinese cultural, not only by the fact that it clearly addresses the incidence of cannibalism that is believed to have occurred but also symbolizes the oppressive nature of Confucian principles.Lu Xun’s madman has the ability to recognize the oppressive elements of Chinese Confucian culture serves to mock established but out-dated traditional scholarship and symbolizes the greater wisdom of cultural reform, especially as it is advanced by modern intellectuals of the period.

David Bergen’s novel The Time In Between, demonstrates the effects of madness through Charles Boatman. Charles is a veteran of the Vietnam War, who suffers from the mental ailment of PTSD (Post Traumatic Distress Disorder). However, it is his pathological ailment, which entwines Charles in to the mental state of madness. Madness in Bergen’s novel is depicted as a subjective tension between rational and irrational behaviour, which consequently tears the individual mentally apart. Charles simultaneously displays this tension from his ability to deductively reason as a practical individual, while at times possessing vicious thoughts. Throughout the novel, it is evident that Charles privately suffers from the symptoms of PTSD, due to the textual cases of temporal confusion, his repetitive compulsion to internally repeat memories, and the emotional dissociation between his mind and body (Buckingham 38). Ultimately, Bergen’s novel reveals that the survivor of trauma does not simply demonstrate that they are suffering from the effects of their past. Consequently, the individual slowly loses grasp of their rationality, due to the difficulties of balancing their mental trauma with day-to-day rational decision-making. Therefore, this essay will focus mainly on Charles, but also explore a segment from Thanh’s traumatic past. Hence, this essay will argue that madness is an after effect of trauma, which causes the formation of the individual’s pathological symptom; consequently, this