Madness and Civilization

The Oxford dictionary defines madness as “The state of having a serious mental illness”. Madness has been construed in several different ways throughout centuries and literature. Before and during the Middle Ages madness was mostly seen as a suggestion of sorcery/witchcraft or demonic possession, or an imbalance of the humors- blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm, or as an effect of the moon (since it was believed that madness was caused as a result of sleeping in a place where the moon beams

Throughout the ages the topic of madness has been approached in many distinct manners. In the comic book “Batman: The Killing Joke” — especially in the scene presented in the stimulus above — a lot of attention is paid to Joker’s lunacy. In this book, he is portrayed not as a complete and indisputable madman but rather as a character banding the borderline between sanity and madness. Such a situation evokes questions about the nature of madness and its understanding in our world. From the philosophical

the departure from civilization into a world of unknown. The protagonists of the stories, Marlow and Willard respectively, embark on a mission to search for Kurtz, a man who is portrayed as an evil genius in both texts. The majority of the plot unravels on the river, as the protagonist travel with a crew on a long, slow boat ride through dangerous dark jungles. This journey, presented similarly in both works, represents a path from civilization and the ideal to a place of madness and insanity. The

Madness is used as a literary device in order to introduce chaos and excitement. However, below the surface there is a warning, no one is safe from their own mind or fears. What is madness after all but just the absence of social norms and social conventions? So how can madness be characterized. What causes madness? Madness is when a person abandons society’s most basic rules and expectations and becomes a raw uncivilized thing. A mad person has not only abandoned civilization but also the rational

Heart of Darkness. The aim of this paper will be to discuss the concepts of madness and insanity in both the book and the movie following the hypocrisy of imperialism. Both depict the insight and developing the idea of colonial and democratic views in the light of its for the best. In both stories groups of men travel through the heart of the jungle to reach Kurtz, but on their voyage they learn the devastating reality of madness as they lose themselves and their soul. In the Heart of Darkness Marlow

in Erb 47). When we read this quote it chimes with the above words of Norman in the parlor scene. Drawing on Cynthia Erb’s argument I would position the Psycho’s concept of madness within the context of deinstitutionalization. For this she draws in Michael Foucault’s most influential and complex work Madness and Civilization (1965) that gives a detailed account of how the approach of mental illness changed through the ages. When the Middle Ages and Renaissance took an organic approach where the

And in the heart of darkness the metaphor used is “civilization” placed open the Central Africans by the company of whites. Defence of Luck-now, this poem actually talks about the history of India with England and it focuses on the event of Luck-now and how the men of India fought with all their mighty soul

Conrad’s novella, “Heart of Darkness”, Marlow repeats his assertion of Kurtz being a intriguing and enigmatic man. He attributes Kurtz’s perceived madness to the “darkness and primitive nature” of the Congo. However, is madness truly something that can be induced by the environment around you? It is reasonable to believe that the source of Kurtz’s madness is inherent nature rather than the world around us. However, evidence can be found within the novella that supports both sides of the argument. The

“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.” - Friedrich Nietzsche. There are so many factors that contribute to a person’s madness. Love, trauma, genetics, low self-esteem, cultural expectations, etc. can affect one’s mental health dramatically. In order to stay sane, one’s physical, intellectual, emotional, and environmental health has to be balanced. If more than three of these dimensions of health are out of balance, then one’s mental state will be

of the fire, the masks and even the beast, the themes of the book are strengthened and enriched even further. The fire, among the most essential symbols of the novel, enrich the themes of civilization and hope. When the boys first arrive on the island, they are completely alone, void of any human civilization. However, as soon as a fire is created, a connection is established between the boys and the outside world. As harsh and dangerous as a fire may seem, it provides the boys with comfort and