Noonday Demon Analysis

Eric G. Wilson was born in 1967, and attended Appalachian State University, Wake Forest University, and the City University of New York where he gained a Ph.D. Wilson is currently a professor at Wake Forest University who teaches courses on British and American Romanticism. He has written many books, and “The Miracle of Melancholia” was published in the Los Angeles Times. I have never really thought too much about the effects that sadness can have on people, especially the positive effects. After reading the first paragraph of this piece, I was a little skeptical but as I continued to read, the author’s argument further developed and I now agree that sadness can have positive effects.

and having carefully analyzed the text, I am leaning towards a diagnosis of, major depressive disorder. The observed symptoms, which the protagonist seems to line up with the following symptoms listed in for Major depressive disorder in the DSM-5 checklist provided in the book (Comer, 2014). In the short story, the protagonist has mentioned and expressed with her actions feeling: in a depressed mood for most of the day, Daily diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activates for most of the day, Decrease in daily appetite, experiencing hypersomnia, daily fatigue or loss of energy (Comer, 2014). These things mentioned are symptoms that are categorized as being

Since the narrator is left alone for most of the day, she allows her mind to go wild with fantasies and is forced to deal with her thoughts by herself. This ultimately chips away at her mental condition and makes her illness far worse. "I can see a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure, that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design." (Gilman 185) This quote

The brain is a strong but delicate muscle inside the human body. However, if this muscle gets overworked it will affect the overall persona of that individual. Depression or any other mental diseases are not diagnoses or setbacks that should be taken lightly. Back in the 1800’s and 1900’s medicine and the knowledge of the individuals that decided to practice medicine was not extensive. Due to medicine, not being as advanced as it is today, a lot of patients were getting treating improperly. The character within The Yellow Wallpaper is a great example of not only a mental disease but also malpractice. Although the main character within The Yellow Wallpaper may be a woman of high social status, the narrator goes mad for the following reasons: she is extremely drugged with improper medicine, she lacks autonomy, and her post-partum depression escalates. Some might say that the story of The Yellow Wallpaper is simplistic, however, it can also be viewed that the simplicity of the story is what makes it complicated and comprehensive.

Society often fail to understand and see the mental pain that individuals carry throughout their lives. Some people bear its burden, while others suffer greatly because of it, to the point of choosing self-destruction. The narrators from “The Gargoyle” (Davidson) and “Walk to Morning” (Boyden) both experience this pain that ultimately sets them on a course to a deep pit. They survive their near-deaths and later encounter unique life-changing people. As a result, they become better individuals.

Everyone has a different way to deal with overwhelming situations. It can be more difficult for people with mental illness to cope with the hardships of life. For instance, in “Horses of the Night,” the character of Chris has dissociative symptoms that can be linked to his depression. Margaret Laurence’s short story tells the story of Chris, a young teenager who moves to from a small farm to the town of Manawaka in order to go to high school. The story is told by his younger cousin, Vanessa. As she grows up, she learns that Chris is depressed. The author uses the theme of fantasy to show that he does not cope well with reality. The horses, Shallow Creek, and the children are symbols that show us the fantasy that Chris lives in.

The days I was caught in the storm of depression united me with Jenny Lawson’s second book that became my therapy for that period of time. It was recommended by a close friend who knew of the challenges I faced in a haze of darkness. When she recited excerpts from the book, immediately, the words changed from tangible squiggles to lived nights in distant insomnia.

Depression, a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration. This mental illness demonstrates to affect teens as much as it affects adults. Studies show that 20 percent of teens will experience teen depression before they reach adulthood. When you deal with depression, you often find it difficult to live an everyday normal life. The “Catcher in the Rye” written by J.D Salinger, narrates on the main character Holden Caulfield, a hostile and negative person, who suffers from severe depression.

Everybody feels depressed at some time or another in their lives.  However, it becomes a problem when depression is so much a part of a person's life that he or she can no longer experience happiness.  This happens to the young boy, Holden Caulfield in J.D Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye.  Mr. Antolini accurately views the cause of Holden's depression as his lack of personal motivation, his inability to self-reflect and his stubbornness to overlook the obvious which collectively results in him giving up on life before he ever really has a chance to get it started.

“The Book Thief” presented a story filled with various themes that comprised a powerful plot line. Although there were many themes in the story, there was one that stood out to me more than others. In the process of reading the book, the theme of suffering affected me the most. The definition of the word suffer is to experience or be subjected to something bad or unpleasant. Different characters within the story are subjected to dreadful feelings and are therefore suffering. Through my analyzation, I observed the three different types of suffering that the characters experienced: guilt, feelings of emptiness, and anxiety. The characters of “The Book Thief” experience these three types of suffering in different ways.

For this paper, I read the graphic novel, One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry. Barry’s novel is similar to Kochalka’s series, American Elf since her life is the main plot and focus. Like the title, Barry divulges into instances from her life that could be considered a demon, or something negative. For example, the first demon she discussed was about her first love and how much he differed from one of her boyfriends. This was considered a demon to her because of how he treated her and how she felt better off without him. In a way, this novel is Barry’s method of expressing her negative moments and sharing them to the public. Not only does this graphic novel encourage others to speak about their demons, Barry is healing herself from her negative

Many people deal with post-traumatic depression and it can have a huge impact on one’s life. In the short story by Charlotte Perkins Gillman, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the main character, as well as the narrator, is an unnamed woman dealing with post-traumatic depression. The exceptionally imaginative protagonist’s metamorphosis is due to her isolated confinement in a room with “yellow wallpaper” in order for her to recover from depression. This type of treatment is prescribed by her physician and husband, John, whose controlling personality demands the main character to get bed rest in a secluded room and forbid her to participate in any creative

William Styron, in his poignant literary work “Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness” writes from a very personal viewpoint of the symptoms and the impact of depression, particularly on his own life. Not only his life in general, but how it impacted his social and emotional relationships with others and even the effect on his own self-image. In a way, Mr. Styron ‘normalizes’ the various reactions and symptoms individuals may have when suffering from depression. He EVEN begins the book acknowledging a moment in his life where it was expected of him to behave and react in a certain manner, yet it appears that he was unable to do so due to his depressive symptoms that

When we break our arm everyone runs forward to sign the cast but when we say we have depression everyone turns and runs the other way. This author shows how severe depression can form and issues that can be associated with severe depression. The way Elizabeth Wurtzel depicts depression and the substance abuse that can be related to severe depression is  impeccable in her non-fiction novel Prozac Nation. Depression affects more than 350 million people worldwide and is the most common of all the mental illnesses, it doesn’t have a cure but it is manageable with proper medication. Elizabeth Wurtzel has said “ I made ‘Prozac Nation’  a necessary reading because I write necessarily.  I tell my story because it is about everyone else: in 1993, people took pills to relieve the pain just like they do now, but it scared them; it doesn’t anymore, because talk is not cheap at all -- it is tender”i think this is very important  because it shows how hushed the talk about the facts on mental illness are. Although depression is shown to be an individual illness, the author effectively demonstrates the massive toll depression takes on family and friends. For example, depression takes a toll on your family and friends by having to watch you suffer and be in pain and not be able to do anything about it. Secondly, your family and friends are stuck watching as depression takes you

This portion of the story is about endurance. When one choses to better himself and go against the normal flow, he doesn’t go about it without reaching a low point. During this low point an individual might be convinced that what he or she is doing is a waste of time, and that bettering ones self is not worth the pain and exclusion. But like Jonathan, a person must shake off those thoughts and remember the true reason for bettering themselves. Only once someone has achieved victory over an aspect of their life will they experience the freedom that Jonathan did.