Blog Post #3

When defining the word “insanity” multiple definitions can be derived. The Merriam-Webster website defines this term as “a severely disordered state of the mind usually occurring as a specific disorder”. With this given definition we can conclude that for someone to be considered insane they must suffer from a specific disorder, so someone who does not suffer from this unknown disorder is considered to be sane. Unfortunately we cannot characterize this disorderly state since the website does not define it. One’s definition of disorderly state can contradict others definition. The use of the word depends on the person that applies it since it can be utilized to describe someone’s characteristics, state of mind, or behavior. With this in mind, we can research different cultures and examine their perspective of disorderly state.

This summer I will be studying abroad in France. In preparation to this trip, I had to attend an orientation that educated us on the country and the culture. We were told multiple things to not do while on the trip to avoid being seen as an insane American. One interesting thing we were told was to avoid “speaking loudly” due to the fact that in the French culture this is considered to be out of the norm and simply indicate insanity. This example justifies that the word insanity has multiple meaning. The French are not saying that all Americans suffer from a disorder but that their loud and sometimes folly personality defines them as insane. So to be considered sane in the French culture one must not speak loudly and behave with carefulness. Although this does not apply to every single American, we were told this due to previous experiences with the college students on our campus. In my mother’s culture, the Mexican culture, the word insanity is more commonly used than in the American culture. The word insanity is translated as “loco”. It is not frequently used to describe someone who has a mental disorder but more to describe characterize a person, animal or even an object that seems crazy in a playful and exceptional way. When used to define a person it is not typically used to indicate that the person has a disorder. Due to the commonality of the term there are not restrictions to how it can be used.

In the play, “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams the character Blanche is characterized by the author as insane. I do not believe Blanche is insane, but that she is a romanticist. A romanticist is defined by The Free Dictionary website as “the individual’s expression of the emotion and imagination, departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion against established social rules and conventions”. We can use these components to compare Blanche’s actions and confirm that she is a romanticist. The main trait of being a romanticist is imagination which Blanche expresses in many ways throughout the play. When she invites Mitch she insists that they pretend that they ‘are sitting in a little artists’ café on the Left Bank in Paris’ (p.177). This imagination of creating a romantic fantasy indicates that she rebels against the social norms of an elder woman creating a fantasy. Another example is her free will to express her feelings. Blanche loves to express her feelings without a filter which is the main reason she was sent to a mental hospital. Overall throughout the novel Blanche attempts to bring romance into her life to avoid reality. Arguably, her actions can be seen as insane but due to the dictionaries ambiguous meaning we cannot determine whether Blanche has a disorder.