Ramblings of a DVD

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was first popularized in 1980, before that time there were several other names. In the time of Mrs. Dalloway, mid 1920s, what Septimus was suffering from was referred to as “Shell Shock.” Septimus feels survivors guilt, increased anxiety and depression. Just before the end of the war his best friend, Evans, was killed. Septimus was treated for a period of time by Dr. Holmes who did not think there was anything really wrong with him. Septimus was then referred to Sir William, who was a psychiatrist to the wealthy. According to Sir William, the answer to Septimus’ mental health issues was to send Septimus away to the country. Sir William did not listen or understand what Septimus was going through. Septimus was being taken away from his wife, his support system and that must have been very frightening for him. Septimus viewed his life as pain and sadly the only way out that he saw was suicide. In fact, in the quote below Septimus struggles with the...

The Mezzanine essentially takes place over one lunch break for the main character Howie, although there are flashbacks to many other points in his life. Unlike most books where a footnote is a short reference for a source or a short clarification of a topic, The Mezzanine footnotes are long rambling tangents that are arguably equally important or even more important than the formal text of the book. Especially in the footnotes, The Mezzanine puts a spotlight on the intricacies of our actions and certain common objects. I found the footnotes particularly interesting. “An unpretentious technical invention—the straw, the sugar packet, the windshield wiper—has been ornamented by a mute folklore of behavioral inventions, unregistered, unpatented, adopted and fine-tuned without comment or thought “ (Baker 95). This quote is a glimpse of a large part of The Mezzanine as a whole. The fixation on small parts of our life is almost a summary of what The Mezzanine means to me, with all of it...