An Analysis of a Correlation between A.A Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh” and Schizophrenia
An Analysis of a Correlation between A.A Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh” and
Schizophrenia
We often consider children’s stories to be innocent in nature. From the mystical and charming world of Louis Carols’ “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” to the dark and mischievous tales of the Brothers Grimm collection, we don’t second think about the underlying themes we find in the stories we read to our children. However, that’s not to say authors wouldn't have fun with the idea of creating characters we can relate to in the real world. One such way would be in creating characters that experience mental illness, something we see in our everyday lives. A good example would derive from the story of Winnie-the-Pooh. Author A.A Milne tells the story of a young child named Christopher Robin and his stuffed bear, Winnie. The concept of the story is Christopher Robin and Winnie, along with all their friends, going on magical and fun adventures through the Hundred Acre Woods, a world Christopher Robin constructed through his imagination. Christopher Robin experiences auditory and visual hallucinations that encourage the suggestion that he is suffering from Schizophrenia.
In actuality, Christopher Robin was inspired by A. A. Milne’s own son, who bares the same name as the young boy in the Winnie-The-Pooh story. The real Christopher Robin was born in Chelsea, London on August 21st, 1920. On his first birthday, he was gifted a stuffed teddy bear he ended up naming Edward. The teddy bear was about two feet tall and light brown in color. It would frequently lose it’s eye and was always seen in the hands of Christopher Robin Milne. This bear, along with a real bear named "Winnie" from the London Zoo, became the inspiration for the character of Winnie-the-Pooh.
According to the DSM IV criteria for Schizophrenia, Christopher Robin fits into many categories. According to section A, an individual may be experiencing Schizophrenia if they suffer from two or more of the given
Schizophrenia
We often consider children’s stories to be innocent in nature. From the mystical and charming world of Louis Carols’ “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” to the dark and mischievous tales of the Brothers Grimm collection, we don’t second think about the underlying themes we find in the stories we read to our children. However, that’s not to say authors wouldn't have fun with the idea of creating characters we can relate to in the real world. One such way would be in creating characters that experience mental illness, something we see in our everyday lives. A good example would derive from the story of Winnie-the-Pooh. Author A.A Milne tells the story of a young child named Christopher Robin and his stuffed bear, Winnie. The concept of the story is Christopher Robin and Winnie, along with all their friends, going on magical and fun adventures through the Hundred Acre Woods, a world Christopher Robin constructed through his imagination. Christopher Robin experiences auditory and visual hallucinations that encourage the suggestion that he is suffering from Schizophrenia.
In actuality, Christopher Robin was inspired by A. A. Milne’s own son, who bares the same name as the young boy in the Winnie-The-Pooh story. The real Christopher Robin was born in Chelsea, London on August 21st, 1920. On his first birthday, he was gifted a stuffed teddy bear he ended up naming Edward. The teddy bear was about two feet tall and light brown in color. It would frequently lose it’s eye and was always seen in the hands of Christopher Robin Milne. This bear, along with a real bear named "Winnie" from the London Zoo, became the inspiration for the character of Winnie-the-Pooh.
According to the DSM IV criteria for Schizophrenia, Christopher Robin fits into many categories. According to section A, an individual may be experiencing Schizophrenia if they suffer from two or more of the given