Character Analysis: The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat

Dr.P was a singer and teacher at the Local School of Music, who was full of life and joy. Although he seemed physically and mentally great, he had a problem within inside his brain. He could not recognize detailed things like faces because he had multiple types of agnosia that made his representation, imagery and reality disappear. Even though he often made mistakes with distinguishing an inanimate object to a human being, he was able to live life to his happiness through music. In “The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat,” Dr.P experienced two of the three types of visual agnosia. He experienced apperceptieve and prosopagnosia. Apperceptieve agnosia is the inability to see in general, which is usually caused by damages to the visual

Often, he patted water hydrants and parking meters, and is appalled when the furnitures doesn’t reply to him as he makes a conversation. Although Dr.P physically and mentally felt great, he went to his eye doctor who recommended him to Mr.Sacks. During his appointment with Oliver Sacks, he was able to distinguish abstract objects. However, as the objects became more complexed, he began to guess. Sacks was shocked to find Dr.P facing him with his right ear, rather than his eyes. Not only that, but Dr.P had also mistook his wife for his hat and his foot for his shoe. Sacks wanted to understand more about his case and went to his house a few days later. He came upon Dr.P’s artwork, which was placed in chronological order. There was a massive difference between his art work then and now. Before it was, “naturalistic and realistic, with vivid mood and atmosphere, but finely detailed and concrete. Then, years later, they became less vivid, less concrete, less realistic and naturalistic, but far more abstract, even geometric and cubist,” (Sacks 17). Sacks was curious on how Dr.P was able to function in life, so he asked his wife. “I put his usual clothes out, in all the usual places, and he dresses without difficulty, singing to himself,” (Mrs.P 17). Music centered all around Mr.P’s life, which made him able to live an average life. Although his disease became worse

Agnosia is a rare disorder that revolves around the inability to recognize things, things differ from what type of agnosia is in question. Agnosia derived from the Greek word “agnosia.” The translated meaning is ignorance or without knowledge. On the norm, agnosia affects one single information pathway in the brain. The two most common forms of agnosia are visual and auditory. The senses themselves are still intact and there is no loss of memory. Intact, in this case, means that they are still there. Even though many have suffered from visual agnosia like Dr.P, they would still be able to use their eyesight. However, it would not be as accurate as an average person. These type of patients would usually attempt to pick up an object. Once the object is in their hands, they would use their sense of touch, or their tactile information pathway, to distinguish what the object truly is. The main cause for agnosia, is brain damage. This damage affects certain pathways. The pathways in the brain connects primary sensory processing areas to areas that store information and knowledge. Lesions, or damage in tissues or organs, in the parietal and temporal lobes is also served to cause agnosia. Lesions could be caused by strokes, head traumas, or encephalitis. Any additional conditions that can damage the brain may also be a result in agnosia. Examples of