Madness: A Misunderstood Deficiency of Conformity

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Essay #2: Classical Argument People fear what they do not know or understand. Madness, or insanity can be defined as severe mental illness or abnormal behavior. It can mean that one cannot conform to society or is simply foolish. Every definition of the word, however, pertains to some deficiency in one 's relationship with oneself or the world. If a man cannot get along with people in the world because he does not operate by the same set of logical principles, moral precepts, or social graces that the society around him accepts, that society might consider him insane. When people presume that someone is mad they begin to categorize them into groups and restrict some of their freedoms. This is illustrated in several books and films that depict how people are inhibited from doing what they In the book, Catch-22, by Joseph Heller, Yossarian and several of his comrades are indirectly characterized as insane members of the American Air Force. Yossarian is labelled by his comrades as crazy because he repeatedly fakes illness to stay in the hospital and takes wild evasive action on every mission to avoid danger. Yet, by some standards, he is sane because he is trying to stay alive albeit his occupation as a soldier. Technical definitions aside, the men use the term "crazy" to describe the world around them because war is unfamiliar, unnatural, and cruel. They are on some level reacting with incredulity to the fact that they must go about their daily lives dealing with death and perilous danger. Paranoia and extreme fits of anger usually mark a person who is not fit to get along in his surroundings, but calm nonchalance amidst destruction and death can also be seen as disturbing or perverse behavior, too. Few of the characters in Catch-22 are treated unfairly, or less serious, because the airmen treat each other as

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