Thank Goodness the Ice Pick Trick Failed to Stick

A few days ago our class became enthralled in a brief and heated discussion on how perhaps we cannot consider the “inhumane” treatments in this novel actually as horrible as they seem because of the time frame and the difference in science between then and now. Despite the fact that I think the Big Nurse acts inhumanely harsh and condescending towards the men at times, I do agree that our ability to grasp this novel may become hindered by our lack of understanding of modern psychiatric science during that time. Even with our brief research on this era, I still feel that no matter how many facts I learn, I struggle to comprehend how medical professionals of the time believed that severing the brain in half with an ice pick actually solved mental problems.

I now realize that my inability to grasp this concept has lead me to feel overly angry with the establishment and defensive of the patients in this book. In an attempt to prevent myself from further skewing the characters in my eyes, I decided to further research the shocking medical procedure of trans-orbital lobotomies that became so famously popular in this time.

These depict just a few of the shocking facts that I found and that I feel help me overcome my disgust and realize how commonly this disturbing procedure occurred:

-In the post-war years between 1939 and 1960, tens of thousands of people were lobotomized in the United States and several other countries.

-The whole procedure only takes three-four minutes and often done hastily and without much preparation.

-For a full one third of patients, the lobotomy had absolutely no effect, and for another third, symptoms actually grew worse. The lobotomy procedure is now known as “one of the most barbaric mistakes ever perpetrated by mainstream medicine.” (American Experience)

This video from PBS gives a complete background and significance of trans-orbital lobotomies and I feel helped me gain understanding of the procedure and psychiatric care of the time period of our novel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0aNILW6ILk