Theme of Sanity and Insanity in Literary Works

This essay explores the theme of sanity and insanity in literary works, using William Shakespeare's Hamlet and Joseph Heller's Catch 22 as examples. The thesis statement of the essay is that the concepts of sanity and insanity are just social constructs.

Running head: THEME OF SANITY AND INSANITY IN LITERARY WORKS
Theme of Sanity and Insanity in Literary Works
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1THEME OF SANITY AND INSANITY IN LITERARY WORKS
“One person's craziness is another person's reality.”
The above quoted lines of Tim Burton, the famous American Director clearly indicate
the nature of the concepts of sanity and insanity. It is to be noted that both sanity as well as
insanity are very relative concepts and their definitions widely vary as per the circumstances
and the contexts in which they are used (Rieger). William Shakespeare in his Sonnet no. 144
said “I guess one angel in another's hell”, which along with the above quoted lines of Burton
clearly indicate the nature of the concepts under discussion. The two literary works selected
to highlight the concepts of sanity and insanity are “Hamlet: The Prince of Denmark” by
William Shakespeare and “Catch 22” by Joseph Heller. It is to be noted that both the literary
works selected deal with the concepts of sanity and insanity in their own different ways. The
thesis statement of this particular essay is: “the concepts of sanity and insanity are just a
social construct”.
The play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare is one of the first plays in the British
Theater which deals with the concept of sanity and insanity (Bali). It is to be noted in this
play Shakespeare portrays Hamlet to a very educated young Prince, who takes refuge under
the guise of insanity to take the revenge of his father’s death and his mother, Gertrude’s
infidelity with her brother-in-law, Claudius (Bali). Thus, throughout the play he is shown as
being perplexed whether he should take his revenge or let it go. The following lines of the
play clearly indicates his dilemma,
“To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

2THEME OF SANITY AND INSANITY IN LITERARY WORKS
And by opposing end them?...”
The novel “Catch 22” by Joseph Heller, on the other hand, portrays the character of
Yossarian, who takes refuge under the guise of madness in order to escape from his wartime
activities and also to overcome the harsh realities of the war (Cacicedo). It is to be noted that
the protagonist of this particular novel, Yossarian, is plane bomber, who takes shelter under
insanity to overlook the destruction of lives which he causes by performing his duties as a
plane bomber (Cacicedo). Therefore, throughout the novel, he is being shown as paranoid and
he thinks that the people are after his life and are secretly planning to kill him. The following
line clearly indicates his paranoia,
“They're trying to kill me," Yossarian told him calmly.
No one's trying to kill you," Clevinger cried.
Then why are they shooting at me?" Yossarian asked.
They're shooting at everyone," Clevinger answered. "They're trying to kill everyone."
And what difference does that make?”
It is to be noted that there is another character in the novel, Orr who also takes refuge
under the guise of insanity to escape from the war.
The reason why Hamlet takes shelter under the guise of insanity is to escape from the
harsh realities of his life and his present condition (Elsalam). He is unable to come to terms
with the fact of his father’s mother by his own uncle and the infidelity of his mother with her
brother-in-law. On top of this, the throne which would have been rightfully his is now being
taken by the murdered of his father. Many people think insanity is a façade to escape from the
harsh realities of life (Elsalam). Therefore, Hamlet takes refuge under the guise of madness

3THEME OF SANITY AND INSANITY IN LITERARY WORKS
not only to take the revenge of his father but also to come to terms with the present
circumstances of his life. The following banter between Hamlet and Polonius clearly indicate
the fake insanity of Hamlet,
“Lord Polonius: What do you read, my lord?
Hamlet: Words, words, words.
Lord Polonius: What is the matter, my lord?
Hamlet: Between who?
Lord Polonius: I mean, the matter that you read, my lord.”
The protagonist of the novel, “Catch 22”, on the other hand, is unable to come to
terms to the fact that his duties as a wartime plane bomber are costing the lives of many
individuals and that he himself like the ones whom he kills can get killed at one of his
bombing missions (Cacicedo). Thus, he says,
“It doesn't make a damned bit of difference who wins the war to someone who's dead.”
Moreover, the hypocrisy of the war and the wartime activities also bothers him a lot
as he says,
“What is a country? A country is a piece of land surrounded on all sides by boundaries,
usually unnatural. Englishmen are dying for England, Americans are dying for America,
Germans are dying for Germany, Russians are dying for Russia. There are now fifty or sixty
countries fighting in this war. Surely so many countries can't all be worth dying for.”
Therefore, it becomes apparent that both the characters of Hamlet and Yossarian take
refuge under the guise of insanity to escape the harsh realities of their lives.

4THEME OF SANITY AND INSANITY IN LITERARY WORKS
It is to be noted both the concepts of sanity as well as insanity are very relative ones.
For example, in the novel “Catch 22”, the soldiers are faced with a Catch 22 situation which
states that to get out of the war a person needs to a insane and they have to report themselves
as insane to the medical officers (Nagel). The hypocrisy of the situation comes into play in
the fact that how could an insane person report himself or herself as insane. If a person were
to report himself as insane, then there is a high possibility that that person is completely sane
and by declaring himself insane is just trying to run away from the war (Nagel). The situation
becomes clear in the conversation between Yossarian and the medical officer,
“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's
safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind.
Orr was crazy and could be grounded…Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute
simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.
"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.”
Therefore, it can be said that the theme of sanity and insanity used in the novel “Catch
22” clearly indicates the hypocrisy of war. The play “Hamlet: The Prince of Denmark”, on
the other hand, also uses the theme of sanity and insanity to clearly reveal the hypocrisy of
the situation (Elsalam). The words of Hamlet himself in the play are a penetrating insight into
the theme of sanity and insanity,
“I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a
handsaw.”
His conversation with his beloved Ophelia further reveals the use of this particular
theme in his characterization,

5THEME OF SANITY AND INSANITY IN LITERARY WORKS
“Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar…”
It is also interesting to note Hamlet’s idea of the civilized modern men which throws
further light on the theme under discussion here,
“What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form, in
moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a
god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this
quintessence of dust?”
Finally, the words of Polonius above the madness of Hamlet are a fitting description
of the theme under analysis here,
“Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.”
Therefore, from the above discussion it becomes clear that the theme of sanity and
insanity are a common fodder of many literary works and the ideas of sanity and insanity
have been explored in many diverse ways. The above discussion also reinstates the thesis
statement of this particular essay that sanity and insanity are just social constructs. It is to be
noted that a sane person might appear insane to an insane person and vice versa. The two
literary works used for this particular essay make the thesis statement of this essay very clear.

6THEME OF SANITY AND INSANITY IN LITERARY WORKS
References
"Hamlet: The Prince Of Denmark." Shakespeare.mit.edu. N.p., 2018. Web. 22 Feb. 2018.
Bali, Shweta. "Mechanics of Madness in Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear." IUP Journal of
English Studies 9.4 (2014): 81.
Bloom, Harold, ed. Joseph Heller's Catch-22. Infobase Publishing, 2009.
Cacicedo, Alberto. "" You must remember this": Trauma and Memory in Catch-22 and
Slaughterhouse-Five." Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction 46.4 (2015): 357-368.
Elsalam, Dina Mohamed Abd. "The Feigned Madness of Ulysses and Hamlet: A Derridean
Reading of Cartesian Cogito." Journal of Literature and Art Studies 6.2 (2016): 135-146.
Nagel, James. "" Catch-22" and Angry Humor: A Study of the Normative Values of
Satire." Studies in American Humor 1.2 (2014): 99-106.
Rieger, Branimir M., ed. Dionysus in literature: essays on literary madness. University of
Wisconsin Pres, 2012.