I like this short story very much since it allows the reader to get an insight into the mind of a person who is mentally ill.
The main character Gerry feels to be on some kind of secret mission finding the burn he permanently smells. Looking for the burn is his “new purpose in life”. He’s checking everywhere. He “started at my bed […] Then under the bed, the floor, the walls, the closets, the outlets”, but cannot find any fire.
The author puts the reader in the Gerry’s position and lets us see and feel what Gerry sees and feel. Gerry is mentally ill. Obviously, he has perception disorders, since he thinks that people cannot see him when he does not see them. He hides under his bed sheets and believes his sister cannot see him. Even when she asks him to get out from under his covers he still thinks she “wondered if I was really under there”. He has totally lost his sense for reality.
At the end of the story we learn that his brother Tony makes him go to the “Sunshine Mental Health Hospital”. The name of this institution is ridiculous alone. Then, Gerry talks to the doctor and tells him about the burn. He insists that he’s fine, but “I don’t think your hospital is”. However, he has vowed “to be quiet about my mission” and pretended to understand what the doctor is saying. But instead, he plans to “get back to the burn later”.
The main character Gerry feels to be on some kind of secret mission finding the burn he permanently smells. Looking for the burn is his “new purpose in life”. He’s checking everywhere. He “started at my bed […] Then under the bed, the floor, the walls, the closets, the outlets”, but cannot find any fire.
The author puts the reader in the Gerry’s position and lets us see and feel what Gerry sees and feel. Gerry is mentally ill. Obviously, he has perception disorders, since he thinks that people cannot see him when he does not see them. He hides under his bed sheets and believes his sister cannot see him. Even when she asks him to get out from under his covers he still thinks she “wondered if I was really under there”. He has totally lost his sense for reality.
At the end of the story we learn that his brother Tony makes him go to the “Sunshine Mental Health Hospital”. The name of this institution is ridiculous alone. Then, Gerry talks to the doctor and tells him about the burn. He insists that he’s fine, but “I don’t think your hospital is”. However, he has vowed “to be quiet about my mission” and pretended to understand what the doctor is saying. But instead, he plans to “get back to the burn later”.
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