Teddy And Laeddis's Delusional Disorders In Shutter Island

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Shutter Island begins with Edward (Teddy) Daniels and his partner, Chuck Aule – both U.S. Marshals, arriving at Ashecliffe Hospital to investigate the disappearance of one of the patients there. Rachel Solando was being housed at Ashecliffe because she had drowned her three children. Once arriving, it was as if Rachel had disappeared without leaving a trace. The only shred of evidence the men could find was a note, tucked under a piece of tile floor, reading “Law of four. Who is 67?” Teddy and Chuck, along with Dr. John Cawley, the head psychiatrist, have no clue what this note could mean. Both men have no doubt they have their work cut out for them as they begin their investigation on Shutter Island. The marshals immediately encountered problems …show more content…

Laeddis was being allowed to live out his delusion, in attempt that he would discover who he really was along the way. Laeddis was on a new type of medication that helped to control the worst of his behavior, which made it easier for the psychiatrists to allow him to play out his delusion. The psychiatrists were trying to use all of their attempts to bring Andrew back in to reality before they had to resort to drastic measures. Allowing Laeddis to live in his delusion and play out the entire scenario was aimed to be more therapeutic for him. This was done in hopes that he would bring himself out of his delusional state and recognize what was actually real, versus the staff having to use drugs to rid him of his delusions, or him having to be …show more content…

The three films were analyzed using the Fairbairn object relations theory and psychoanalytic thinking, regarding consciousness, ego, and moral defense. According to the Fairbairn model, moral defense, or defense of the superego or defense of guilt, is someone who internalizes the bad they have suffered and in turn externalizes something good in attempt to make up for it. The article specifically mentions the final scene, when Andrew Laeddis is taken by the orderlies to the lighthouse. His quote at the end leaves us to believe that he has not fallen back into his delusional state, but has rather chosen to be Edward Daniels once again. In the article, Laeddis’s last quote is reworded like so, “which is best, to live as someone who is unconditionally bad, or to die as someone who believes that he is conditionally good?” This quote makes it easier to understand what Laeddis meant as he left for the lighthouse. Teddy Daniels is someone Laeddis created so he could be good. He wanted to believe that Andrew Laeddis was a different person, and that he himself was not capable of what he had done, nor was he the victim of the wrongful things his wife had done. Once Laeddis was forced into reality, he could no longer live in the lie he created. This forced him to take responsibility and own up to the hurt he felt. So, even though Laeddis knew he would be taken to the lighthouse and lobotomized if he

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