2.3 Madness Of The Character
Madness of character is one of the Ghotic elements, which is almost always appears in Ghotic fiction. It is a change of the character’s attitude, which is
influenced by evil thought, crime, superstition belief, and obsession and so on, usually the characters that get mad are male characters while the women are in
distress. As an appeal to the pathos and sympathy of the reader, the female characters often face events that leave them fainting, terrified, screaming, suffering and
destroyed by the madness that consumes the male character. In order to find out the madness of the character in this story, in this thesis, I will analyse it by focusing on
the characterization of the characters of the stories.
Madness or insanity, has been recognized throughout history in every known society. Primitive cultures turned to witch doctors or shamans to apply magic, herbal
mixtures, or folk medicine to rid deranged persons of evil spirits or bizarre behavior, for example; Archaeologists have unearthed skulls at least 7000 years old that have
small round holes bored in them using flint tools. It has been conjectured that the subject may have been thought to have been possessed by devils which the holes
would allow to escape. However, more recent research on the historical practice of trepanation supports the hypothesis that this procedure was medical in nature and
intended as means of treating cranial trauma.
As been cited in An Introduction to Fiction, by X. J. Kennedy 1976 : 11, 12, every story hinges on the actions undertaken by its main character, or protagonist, a
term drawn from ancient Greek tragedy that is more useful in discussions of fiction that such misleading terms as hero or heroine. Additionally, stories may contain an
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opposing character, or antagonist, with whom the protagonist is drawn into conflict. Development and motivation are also important in any consideration of a story’s
characters. Characters can be termed either static or dynamic, depending on the degree to which they change in the course of the story. In some stories, writers may
try to plug directly into a character’s thought by using interior monologue, a direct presentation of thought that is somewhat like a soliloquy in drama or stream-of-
consciousness, an attempt to duplicate raw sensory data in the same disorder state that the mind receives it.
Description of characters also helps us to understand the writer inten. In real life we are told from an early age not to judge people by external appearance, but in
fiction the opposite is more often the case: physical description is invariably a sign of what lurks beneath the surface. Given the brevity of most short stories, these physical
details may be minimal but revailing in their lack of particulars. The problematic characteristics of people with antisocial personality disorder
are enduring in nature. That is their problems begin in childhood and continue throughout most of their adulthood. As children, many of them had serious problems
with implus control, the ability to restrain the gratification of one’s immediate needs or desire, and were regarded as having a conduct disorder. Children with conduct
disorder get in trouble at home, in school and in their neighborhood. The more frequent and diverse the childhood antisocial acts are, the more likely the individual
is to have a life-long pattern of antisocial disorder.
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Barlow 1995:533-534 explain, that the causes of antisocial personality disorder are from biological dimension: genetic influences, family, twin, and
adoption studies all suggest a genetic influence on both antisocial personality disorder and criminality. Derek Russell Davis in his book An introduction to
psychopathology, explains that the causes of the disorder among others: external agents affecting the brain directly, e.g. alcohol, drug or violence producing injury;
and events and circumstances outside the person which compose his experience. In real life we are told from an early age not to judge people by outward
appearance, but the opposite is more common fiction: a physical description is always a sign of what lurks beneath the surface. Due to the short story is the shortest,
the physical details may be minimal but the lack of specific revailing
o .
Criteria for Madness Personality Disorder
Some of the characteristics of the madness personality which quoted from sources: http:en.wikipedia.orgwikiMadnessSadistic_personality_disorder,
1. Is amused by, or takes pleasure in, the psychological or physical suffering
of others including animals. they
are:
2. Has lied for the purpose of harming or inflicting pain on others not merely
to achieve some other goal. 3.
Gets other people to do what he or she wants by frightening them through intimidation or even terror.
4. Restricts the autonomy of people with whom he or she has close
relationship e.g., will not let spouse leave the house unaccompanied or permit teenage daughter to attend social functions.
5. Is fascinated by violence, weapons, martial arts, injury, or torture.
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2.4 Romanticism
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