The Ever-Present Symptom of Psychotic Thinking

The Curious Savage by John Patrick is a short, meaningful play about sanity, insanity, and what the two really are. It is the story of Mrs. Savage, a widow whose husband has left her millions of dollars, and her step-children, who are willing to do anything to get it from her. When Mrs. Savage uses the money for a ridiculous-sounding Memorial fund, her step-children have her instituted. What becomes evident throughout the play, however, is that although some may believe that a life-size doll is their son, and others may refuse to speak while compulsively taking apart radios, and still others may spend millions of dollars on foolish wishes of desperate people, it may be possible that the ones who are truly insane are not these, but senators, judges, and models, who will knock over chimneys, dig up lawns, and cut apart stuffed museum displays to gain superficial possessions.

Insanity is not a medical term, which is really a good thing, since no one knows what it is. For instance, I'm supposedly crazy because I don't want to have sex before I'm married. But aren't the truly crazy people the ones who have intercourse with partner after partner after partner, looking constantly for validation, thinking that this will bring it to them? If having casual sex is going to bring you self-contentment, it would have done it by the third or fourth time, yet people do this for years and years. I think that's insane.

It is my belief that society no longer understands 'insane' to mean 'lacking in sanity,' but as anything that isn't what everyone else does. If we were to really call people insane who behaved in ways that made little to no sense, especially repeatedly, the only sane ones would be the ones that are constantly called crazy for deviating from the norm.

Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.
-Angel Monèt

What of the people who are undeniably crazy? People who hallucinate or talk to themselves? Surely we can label these 'insane' without argument? They certainly deviate from the norm, and they definately have no grasp on reality or how to face reality's challenges. I believe, though, that many of these people simply got lost on their way to finding satisfaction, as the all-too-sexually-active teenager and the workaholic adult have. Many adults compulsively work harder than is healthy in order to feel financially secure, when working only part as hard would probably suffice. This is not all that different from a student answering all Cs on a multiple-choice worksheet (despite knowing the correct answers) in fear that he'll die if he doesn't. The adult thinks he will fall into poverty if he doesn't continue to work harder, harder, harder, and the child thinks he will die if he doesn't put C. In many situations, both are wrong.

Well, regardless of whether or not you agree with me, I still encourage you to read The Curious Savage. :] It doesn't take long to read, and in addition to being meaningful, it's very humorous.

<3 o.