Blog Post #3-Topic #3-Na

       According to Merriam-Webster dictionary definition, insanity is defined as "a severely disordered state of the mind usually occurring as a specific disorder " and in law as "unsoundness of mind or lack of the ability to understand that prevents one from having the mental capacity required by law to enter into a particular relationship, status, or transaction or that releases one from criminal or civil responsibility". This interpretation leads one to think that insanity or insane behaviors stems from a mental illness that prevents your brain from making sound decisions. In contrast, this leaves out many other cultural options or ideas of insanity that would be left out if we defined insanity by the dictionary.

       In many cultures, insanity is usually interpreted as doing something extremely out of the norm to the extent that people  question your actions. For example, in the Aztec culture it is generally accepted that they sacrificed humans to the gods. In their view it is insane to not sacrifice another human. When the Spaniards encountered this practice they viewed the Aztecs as insane. The contrast shows how one culture may deem certain aspects as sane while another cultures norms will deem those same aspects as insane.

     In "A Street Car Named Desire" by Williams, Blanche is considered insane by the rest of the characters for her obsession with men, alcohol and her accusations of rape toward Stanly. This play was written during the post-civil war era and a lady was taught to be dependent on the men in her family or her husband. Blanche's erratic behavior and lies around men and alcohol lead the other characters to conclude that Blanche is crazy.  Blanche is also portrayed as very promiscuous with men. According to the post-civil war standards, Blanche's tendencies are seen as out of the ordinary and insane. If we were to evaluate her using modern standards Blanche would be viewed as a sane and sexually active female who is acting on her sexual urges.

      Another view we can evaluate Blanches's sanity by is the dictionary definition. Blanche grows up in a society where she is expected to be and look perfect and marry a nice man with a nice family background. Blanches world comes shattering down when she finds out her husband, who is the perfect male figure in her society, is gay. This experience ends up driving  Blanche's obsession toward men and her need to be taken care of by men. Blanche grows up not being able to face the truth and lies in order to cope with reality. Blanches actions show that Blanche herself lacks the ability to understand or make sound  decisions because of how she was raised. In this evaluation Blanche can be viewed as insane.

    Overall if we look at cultural and academic evaluations of  insanity we can conclude that insanity to an extent is subjective. In many situations Blanche's actions can be called crazy and in those same situations using a different criteria Blanche can be viewed as sane. I think that Blanche is simply responding to the world and cultures she is living in and when evaluated by those standards she can be viewed as crazy.

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