Insanity Vs Insanity

What is madness? Is someone considered mad or insane simply because they are different, and they, in turn, see the rest of the world as insane? William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet is about a complex protagonist, Hamlet, who plays the role of a tragic hero. He encounters several misfortunes from experiencing his beloved father’s death, witnessing his mother 's incestuous remarriage to his uncle, and seeing his father’s ghost. Due to all of this, Hamlet falls into a deep depression. Hamlet begins his journey by seeking revenge against Claudius after discovering that his noble father was murdered by his own uncle. Hamlet is a character whose actions and emotions may seem like one of an insane person, however, in the beginning of the play, it is clear that he decides to fake madness in order to gain an advantage over Claudius. This would aid in him in accomplishing his revenge. Hamlet is sane throughout the play: he only shows signs of insanity in front of certain people whom he does not trust. However, even they believe that his madness is not sheer madness but has a reason to it. Hamlet’s character is sane as in the play his rationality is shown through the logic and intelligence he uses in his plots. He usually calculates his movements and his impulsive acts are justified. While there are reasons to believe that many of the hardships could have driven Hamlet to the point of insanity, his display of intelligence and rational thinking throughout the play proves his sanity.

One explanation of the distinction between sanity and madness is regarding how they are socially constructed. For example, Walker (2006) portrayed madness as individuals who are

Throughout Shakespeare?s play, Hamlet, the main character, young Hamlet, is faced with the responsibility of attaining vengeance for his father?s murder. He decides to feign madness as part of his plan to gain the opportunity to kill Claudius. As the play progresses, his depiction of a madman becomes increasingly believable, and the characters around him react accordingly. However, through his inner thoughts and the apparent reasons for his actions, it is clear that he is not really mad and is simply an actor simulating insanity in order to fulfill his duty to his father.

The narrator is constantly trying to prove his sanity, yet we can conclude that he actually, if not consciously, subconsciously understands he is going mad. He is the one that first puts the idea of him being mad in the reader?s mind, and he is the one that continually asks how it could be possible that he is mad, which shows that he himself is not sure. He?s trying to prove his sanity in such a desperate way, that I believe it is obvious he must have some idea of his insanity, otherwise he would just state his sanity, rather than trying to prove it.

The insanity defense has become popularized by criminal television shows, but it is not used as portrayed. According to Dr. Zachary Torry, a psychiatrist, the defense is actually used in one percent of cases and not even one-fourth of those cases will succeed in front of a jury (Torry). Furthermore, the legal definition of insanity is very different than the societal definition. As stated by George Blau, a criminal defense lawyer, “insane” does not describe someone who is psychotic or crazy, but it instead describes someone who does not know the difference between right or wrong. They are found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) because one of the three traits of a crime is not evident. The three traits are a guilty mind (mens rea), a prohibited act, and a pre-established sentence (Blau). For the insane, there is no mens rea because someone cannot feel guilty for an act that they do not know is wrong. Therefore, those found NGRI have a different punishment than those convicted of a crime. Their sentence is often time at a mental institution where treatment is available, but the sentences can be irregular and unchecked by government associations. Therefore, the insanity defense may need to be amended, by requiring monitoring of the cases and adopting the mens rea approach or to be completely abolished because of its potential improper use and a lack of proof.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, sanity is “the condition of having a healthy mind [or] the condition of being based on reason or good judgement” (Merriam-Webster). Using this definition, the question to address would then be what constitutes having a healthy mind? Some people believe that in order to be seen as having this you have to be “normal”. For some this term is the “equivalent of [being] oblivious and you [are] ‘abnormal’ when you [are] sentient, human, and real” (Maisel, 2011). This concept of what is normal and what is not is dependent upon how everyone in the society around them acts. Therefore, someone who is not deemed as being “normal” cannot be seen as having a healthy mind and having a good sense of judgement because they are too perceptive to the world around them. In Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener” and Harlan Ellison’s “ ‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” the principal characters are ostracized by the society’s they live in for this very reason. Being that both of the characters are mindful enough to rebel against what society expects of them, they can be perceived as exhibiting a form of “divinest sense”.

Insanity can be defined as a mental illness that causes a person to have difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality. Whether Shakespeare’s Hamlet was insane or feigning insanity is a controversial topic. Gregory Shafer argues that Hamlet is not insane and that he uses insanity or madness for his own political purposes (42). In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Prince Hamlet’s circumstances force him to seek revenge for the murder of his father King Hamlet. He creates a plan that he believes will give him an opportunity to kill Claudius, and the main part of this plan involves him faking insanity. Further and further into the book, his actions of a madman become more believable. However through his thoughts and actions it is clear that he is not truly insane, and his is only acting in this way in order to reach is ultimate goal of revenge.

Since Darl burned Gillespie’s barn down, they have to send him to a mental institute in Jackson so that they do not get sued. Cash thinks that Darl has just lost all of his sanity. He comes to the conclusion that there is really any such thing as crazy or sane. He thinks that it all depends on what you are doing when someone is watching. Then it is up to them to determine what they think about that person from their actions. In my opinion, I don’t really agree with that statement. I think that Darl was sane until his mother died and then he could not get his brain to turn off. Sometimes people can be so intelligent and have brains that are creative and can think outside of the box more than others. Leading up to Darl burning down the barn he

Holden Caulfield is an insane person in a sane world. What is insanity? Insanity is when you’re in a state of mind that prevents normal perception, behavior or social interaction. This state is mental illness. Insanity is when you do things in deranged or outrageous ways that could frighten people, or make people feel uncomfortable when around you. It’s when you do things out of the ordinary; yet feel as if they are ordinary. Insanity could come about when you’re depressed, or after a traumatic event, and sometimes even by keeping all your feelings bottled up inside of yourself. Sane people are sensible, reliable, well-adjusted and practice sound judgment. It’s behavior that is expected in a society. By these

On the other hand, I could see why some say he is sane. In some parts of the story he is in his right mind. Like when he said, “But, ere long, I felt myself getting pale and wishing them gone.” (page four). I feel as if he had come to his senses and figured out what he did. So, while he was doing the murder, he didn’t know what he was doing. But, afterwards it hit him. He learned what he did.

In criminal cases where an insanity defense is used, the defense must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was not responsible for his or her actions during a mental health breakdown. There are two forms of an insanity defense, cognitive and volitional. In order for an individual to meet the requirements for cognitive insanity it must be proven that the defendant had to be so impaired by a mental disease at the time of the act that they did not know the nature of what they were doing. If they are fully aware of their actions, one must prove that they didn’t know what they were doing was wrong. Volitional insanity, also known as irresistible impulse, states that the defendant is able to differentiate between right or wrong at the time, but suffered from a mental disease that made them unable to control themselves. Volitional insanity is common in crimes of vengeance, where very few states allow the use of this defense. The insanity defense should not be confused with incompetency. In incompetency cases, the individual is not able to understand the nature and consequences of the case, nor adequately able to help an attorney with his or her defense. The insanity defense reflects the approach that an individual who can’t acknowledge the consequences of their actions should not be punished for the crime. In most jurisdictions a professional is bought in to determine if the defendant was not able to differentiate between right or wrong at the time of the

Imagine being stuck in a box with absolutely no way out. Everyday becomes another struggle to escape only to find that you are being controlled and confined for no apparent reason. One would eventually let reality slip through their hands and welcome insanity into their empty minds. This is the life of the men in the novel Catch-22, by Joseph Heller. Catch-22 introduces a world were sanity and insanity have switch places, were the logical man is pronounced crazy and the insane man is pronounced a hero. In the novel Catch-22, the theme that is portrayed is that it is impossible to live as a sane person in an insane world. Heller supports this theme with the use of situations that happen to the main

like he is to others in the play, so he has no reason to act insane.

Insanity is a perfectly rational adjustment to the sane world. In the play Hamlet several times only with family and close family members has he showed any signs of madness. However when he is alone he is thinking of ways to make other believe that he is insane. Hamlet is trying to deceive everyone by his words and his actions. Essentially the book Hamlet is about a boy who needs to help his father to take revenge by assassinating the king so that he may be in peace. Although Hamlet seems insane throughout most of the book, he is just faking it so that he may assassinate the king and avenge his forebear.

In the poem “Much Madness is divinest Sense” by Emily Dickinson her main focus was sanity. In her mind, she believes all crazy or insane people are the ones who actually have it all figured out and know more then the sane people in the world. The the poem she looks at all the people that share the same sanity and motives. In line 2 she says “To a discerning Eye--”, to further explain her view of looking at the difference between her definition of people being “sane” and “insane”. Emily believes “Tis the Majority” of people have a lot of sense in their madness. Believing they have a purpose to serve and they are not crazy when it all comes down to the end. As an ending result she believes the sane people should be kept away