The Professor And The Madman Analysis
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester tells the story of how one of the most prolific contributors to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary did his work from an unexpected place: the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane in Crawthorn, Berkshire.
Dr. William Chester Minor was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He seemed a fairly normal boy, giving little hint of the complications that would later arise. Soon after his birth his family moved to the island of Ceylon, but when Minor was fourteen, his parents became concerned about his behavior around the girls of the island and sent him to America. There he trained as a doctor, and entered Yale University. After obtaining his degree, he made the decision that partially lead to …show more content…
However, he began to show signs of paranoia and other strange behaviors. He illegally carried a gun. He spent nights with different women, an uncharacteristic development that alarmed his friends. He spoke of having headaches and vertigo. After being examined by several doctors, he was declared to be suffering from monomania, and was placed on the Army Retired List. He stayed with friends for a few months, then headed to Europe to rest and regain his health. Unfortunately, Europe did not do much to improve his condition. While staying in London, Minor was convinced that he was being tormented by men, mostly Irishmen (harkening back to the Irishman he was forced to brand while in the Army), who would sneak into this room at night and poke and prod him, force foul-tasting food into this mouth, and mistreat him in other ways. One night he awoke to find, or rather, imagine, a man standing over his bed. The man immediately took off running. Minor grabbed his illegal gun and pursued him. Upon reaching the street, Minor saw ahead of him the shadowy shape of a man walking, who, in his groggy terror, he assumed to be the man who had fled his room. He fired several shots, one of which struck the man, who fell, dead. Dr. William Chester Minor had become a
Dr. William Chester Minor was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He seemed a fairly normal boy, giving little hint of the complications that would later arise. Soon after his birth his family moved to the island of Ceylon, but when Minor was fourteen, his parents became concerned about his behavior around the girls of the island and sent him to America. There he trained as a doctor, and entered Yale University. After obtaining his degree, he made the decision that partially lead to …show more content…
However, he began to show signs of paranoia and other strange behaviors. He illegally carried a gun. He spent nights with different women, an uncharacteristic development that alarmed his friends. He spoke of having headaches and vertigo. After being examined by several doctors, he was declared to be suffering from monomania, and was placed on the Army Retired List. He stayed with friends for a few months, then headed to Europe to rest and regain his health. Unfortunately, Europe did not do much to improve his condition. While staying in London, Minor was convinced that he was being tormented by men, mostly Irishmen (harkening back to the Irishman he was forced to brand while in the Army), who would sneak into this room at night and poke and prod him, force foul-tasting food into this mouth, and mistreat him in other ways. One night he awoke to find, or rather, imagine, a man standing over his bed. The man immediately took off running. Minor grabbed his illegal gun and pursued him. Upon reaching the street, Minor saw ahead of him the shadowy shape of a man walking, who, in his groggy terror, he assumed to be the man who had fled his room. He fired several shots, one of which struck the man, who fell, dead. Dr. William Chester Minor had become a