Madness And Civilization: A History Of Insanity

“Norm” refers to an average standard shared by people in a certain society, and the norms are concepts that are constantly used to evaluate and control people. In French philosopher Michel Foucault’s book Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, Foucault traces the evolution of the concept of madness during three eras: the Renaissance, the Classical Age and the modern society. In chapter “ Great Confinement”, Foucault describes a movement across Europe in the 17th century, which saw the establishment of institutions, which locked up people who were deemed to be “abnormal”. According to Foucault, “ Madness was perceived through a condemnation of idleness and in a social immanence guaranteed by the community of labor.
“Abnormal” not only refers to the people who really has the mental illness, but also refers to the people who are deemed to be unproductive and disruptive to the society such as criminals, deviants and unemployed. As the result of being “abnormal”, they are isolated from the society and confined to receive certain treatments, which in order to transforming them into what the society would accept. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the patients in the mental institution are forced to participate the meeting of the Therapeutic Community, which talks about theory of being a norm. After several times, the Chief Bromden can points out the concept of “abnormal”. According to Chief, “ how a guy has to learn to get along in a group before he’ll be able to function in a normal society, how the group can help the guy by showing him where he’s out of place; how society is what decided who’s sane and who isn’t, so you got to measure up”(Kesey 30). In mental institution, the goal of the Therapeutic Community is talking about every single secret with others, and discuss them instead of letting them fester inside of