WARD NO. 6

Ward No. 6

Rich. There is so much in this story I am tempted to read it again before commenting.

I will do my best with what I got from my initial reading.

Philosophy plays a big role in the story. Philosophy can give you insight and also possibly drive you crazy.

Insight -- knowing things from books is different from learning them through experience -- as the doctor sadly finds out. Just like theory is different from practice.

The good doctor was living in a prison of the mind all the time due to his lack of interesting companionship. Reaching out to a lunatic apparently was too much for the town to handle.

Just like Socrates was put to death for corrupting the youth -- the doctor is condemned for fraternizing with the enemy.

What happens if you are sane and all around you people are crazy -- think Winston Smith in Orwell's novel 1984 -- or any other totalitarian system where free speech is seen as dangerous.

But did the doctor ask for it? Were his ideas anti-life -- skewered to such an extent that the only interesting companionship lied in Ward No. 6?

The doctor had a lot of ideas -- when he was a doctor he could feel pity for Ivan Dmitritch -- from his pedestal he could give advice -- but once he went down to the same level as the patient -- then he saw the reality.   Reminds me of the reality show:  Undercover Boss -- where CEO's go undercover and realize the way their companies really operate.

The doctor's ideas -- and maybe this is the point -- that ideas when espoused as just ideas may sound noble and profound -- but when these ideas are really lived and not just thought -- then the consequences may be quite tragic (I'm thinking of the anti-science ideas many politicians espouse -- if as a society we really discount science and put into practice faith over reason -- we'll inherit the result).

Beware what you think may become how you live.

This is a complex story that also deals with mental illness. Who is really crazy and who determines what crazy is -- if you live under tyranny then talking about freedom is crazy. If you live in a society where everyone lies -- then telling the truth is treasonous. If you live in a society where racism is the norm -- then tolerance is a threat ( There are millions of examples). Society has a lot to do with how we perceive sanity and how we think about how we should live. Breaking traditions can be dangerous.

Conforming to the standards of society may make you live longer but not happier. When and how to break free from what is expected is something all of us have to decide at some point in our lives.

Do it wisely.

R.I.P. Andrey Yefimitch.