Ten Days In A Madhouse Analysis

Ten Days in a Madhouse was written by Nellie Bly. It was published by Open Roads Media (Bly). The place it was published was New York on October 27, 2015 (Bly). It was interesting and was an informative book that gave insight into what insane asylums were like in the 1880’s. This book was well-written, showed the mistreatment of women in insane asylums in a way that was historically accurate, and it was persuasive in getting attention for the asylums. Nellie Bly was a journalist who advocated for women’s rights. When her father died when she was young, she was forced to try and find work (Biography.com Editors). So, she began going to school but couldn’t finish college because she didn’t have enough money (Biography.com Editors). The

This shows her ability to be persuasive in getting people to do something for a cause. Her writing pushed the reader to see there should be changes in the asylums. The point of the book was to get better care, and that is exactly what she accomplished. The writing of this book aided her because it gave more people the ability to read about her concerns and change their opinion. The writing was persuasive because it showed her emotions and gave an understanding of the struggles she and the other women in the asylum faced. Today, the conditions have certainly been improved compared to those back in the 1800’s. Even though there are still some problems, the ones that Nellie was concerned with have been changed for the better. Even though technology and knowledge were required to have these improvements, having awareness of the problems with insane asylums was one of the first steps to changing them. According to a study, 80 percent of people who have a mental illness in 2013 don’t get treatment until about ten years later (21st Century Treatment of the Mentally Ill). So, this shows an improvement in doctors not falsely diagnosing the majority of people who have a mental