The Professor and the Madman - Essay Example

Number] The and the Madman The advent of Oxford English dictionary has been regarded as a milestone in the development of English Literature. The recognition for undertaking such a momentous task was received by the two protagonists; James Murray and William Chester Minor. The latter, however, had a peculiar story ingeniously interpreted by Simon Winchestor. In his book, “The Professor and the Madman”, Winchestor beautifully carves the story behind the creation of the Oxford English dictionary. It is a simple tale narrating the journey of two men, who produced an incontestable cornerstone of the English language. A story that contained no stupendous news, no celebrated scandal or gimmick as Winchestor says, “It existed only for the purpose of tale-telling, of being read for pleasure--- a mild, sober and unsensational pleasure.” A piece of literature that was unexpected to become a commercial triumph. It had made up to the Times of London best-seller list. Now what seemed more far-fetched was the novel’s success in America. As Winchester says that it was rejected by an American publisher saying that this was a piece for Atlantic Monthly. Ironically, this 242 paged text celebrated its fifty second week on the New York best-seller list. Although both the characters are of immense importance and had equally contributed to the success of the book but Minor has a strange intriguing story. Dr. Minor was born on the Island of Ceylon (now known as Srilanka). His parents were missionaries and he had many half-siblings. In his early teens he was sent to America where he attended the University of Yale and pursued his career in medicine. He enrolled in the Union Army as a surgeon and served at the Battle of Wilderness. He was also assigned the task of branding an Irish soldier in the Union army. This duty left detrimental effects on Minor’s psychological condition. Subsequently, Minor was appointed in New York, after the end of American Civil War. He was attracted to red light area and spent most of the off-duty time with the prostitutes. His behaviour was becoming eminent and he was transferred to a remote post at Florida Panhandle. However, his condition became even worse and he was admitted to lunatic asylum. He stayed there for eighteen months but unfortunately, showed no signs of improvement. Later, in 1871 he went to UK where he accidently murdered George Meritt and was incarcerated in the asylum at Broadmoor , in Berkshire. There, he spent most of his time reading book. Reading and painting were his hobbies. While in asylum, Minor found a flier in a book that he purchased. It was an appeal for readers to volunteer in compiling a dictionary. He filled in the application and sent it to James Murray who was the editor of this project. The application was accepted and Minor began reading and documenting words. He continued this work for almost twenty years of his life and sent thousands of definitions to Murray. James Murray was unaware that his volunteer was an inmate. He tried to chase Minor and meet him. Their unique attitude towards literature formulated bonds of friendship between them. James highly admired Minor’s work and his appreciation brought meaning to his doctor’s life. Dr. William Chester Minor is known in the history in many ways. Being a young man he had served in the Union army as a physician. He cured the injured soldiers in the battle of the wilderness. Mutilated bodies to shattered limbs, he has seen the most terrifying punishments while he served the army. His own mental condition was at risk and consequently, he was sent to asylum, after a series of unfortunate events. There he inclined his attention towards his love for books which brought out the scholar with in him. He devoted rest of his life in pursuit of searching definitions for various words. Minor is well-known for his enormous contribution in the creation of Oxford English Dictionary. However, strange it is to hear that a man of such intellect was suffering from paranoia. Dr. Minor perceived delusions that frightened him from fatal attacks by Irish men whom he had punished while he served the army. In this lunacy, he took the life of a man. In general, three characteristics describe the life of William Chester Minor, a physician, a scholar and a madman. Following the graduation year, Dr. Minor enrolled in the American army and served as a surgeon. He had seen gangrene, amputation, filth blood and pain, men groaning and dying from dehydration, diarrhoea, typhoid and typhus fever. Later he served under General Ulysses Grant and had seen broken limbs, heads and crude wagon dragging the casualties to the dressing station. The doctor had witnessed cruel punishments given to deserters who were humiliated, tortured, suspended by their thumbs, nailed to trees and crucified. Unfortunately, the innocent doctor, who enjoyed reading and painting, was forced to brand the face of an Irish deserter. Despite the odds he served the American soldiers tirelessly and earned the position of a captain during a cholera epidemic in New York, in 1866. His superiors reported that he was a skilful physician and an operator par-excellence. However, punishing the Irish soldier left adverse impact on the mental health of Minor(Winchester 67). He often visited bars, houses of the prostitutes and felt the need of carrying a gun along with him for security. Minor thought that the Irish would make an attempt to kill him to avenge the blood of their soldiers who died at the hands of the doctor. As a result, he was transferred at the remote post of a regimental physician to keep him busy and away from temptations but the effort went in vain as the doctor exhibited signs of paranoia. Minor was examined and was diagnosed as delusional and sent to a federal mental hospital in Washington D.C. However, his mental condition did not stabilize as he claimed that intruders try to break into his room. He made a visit to London where he thought that reading and painting may eliminate the signs of insecurity. Ironically, Minor murdered an innocent soul when he mistook George Merritt with the Irish deserter from the Civil War, trying to escape into his room and kill him. After a series of trials, Minor was not found guilty and was institutionalized in Broodmoor asylum for criminally insane, in Berkshire, England. It was not a hospital but merely a prison whose residents were referred as “lunatics”. The narrator describes Minor as lunatic at the beginning of chapter 3 which reads, “ Originally, affected with the kind of insanity that was supposed to have reoccurring periods dependent on the changes of the moon”(Winchester 43). Even in his cell, Minor felt strangers entered his quarters during the night time. As time passed, Minor’s delusions became more fantastic. He amputated his penis. The doctors were unable to cure his illness as he grew infirm and was unable to carry out any search work. His love for painting was also taken away by the succeeding head of the asylum. The doctors in American army concluded that the mental illness of Dr. William Minor was not solely a result of his enrolment in the army but as the author Simon Winchester explains several aspects of Minor’s early life that likely to contributed to his mental instability. Nevertheless, it is hard to imagine an army physician living in an asylum. Ironically, life was not at all nuisance for Minor at the Broadmoor. He lived peacefully by seeking refuge in reading and painting. He read books and created his own library in one of the two cells he was given. His love for books encouraged him to apply as a volunteer for compiling a dictionary. He searched for the meaning of various words and developed a different method of taking note on the words he read. Consequently, when asked for information regarding a specific word, Minor quickly sent the details to Murray. William Chester Minor is reported to have sent ten thousand definitions. His passion for reading and good financial conditions led to the formation of Minor’s library of antiquarian books, mainly imported from the United States. This factor and the unlimited time Minor had for research helped him to carry out this task impeccably. He was also granted a lot more freedom to accomplish his activities.  According to Winchester, the Vice-Consul also arranged with prison officials for Minor to be supplied with “whatever he liked so long as it didn’t prejudice his safety or the asylum’s disciplined running.”  Murray highly appreciated Minor’s work. However, when he was apprised of the mental illness of the doctor, Winchester quotes him as saying, “. . . all I could do was to write to him more respectfully and kindly than before. . . .” Dr. William Chester Minor was an asset to the advancement in English language. Though the aftermath of his insanity is lamentable. Simon, however, sees Minor’s tragedy as the wild card that led him to contribute to a colossal cause. If he was not insane or had attempted murder, then Minor might never came across the flier of appeal for volunteer ship. Thus his characteristic as a marvellous scholar would have remained un-known to the world. This legend passed away from this world on March 6, 1920. Work Cited Dunea, George. Doctor and dictionary. London: Hektoen International. Winchestor, Simon. The professor and the madman, New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1998 Read More