Would Absurd Fiction Author Agree With Your Argument?

One of the reasons why the author would have agreed about this argument is because he strongly believes in human values and social relations (Kaibr). When a returning soldier with traumatizing memory during warfare has to face stressful problems, not only sometimes, but all the time, they have to suffer in their severe mental pain. The circumstance turns worse if they do not get treated right and on time. Most of the time, the patient does not know their behavior is a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder because life is busy enough for them to think that it is normal to be depressed, gloomy, or disappointed in daily life (Kaibr). Be that as it may, mental health is a critical problem that people accidentally neglect until it causes a major problem that seriously affects their life quality. Edward Albee’s knowledge about the patient is smartly displayed in the character’s dialogue and his behavior:

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JERRY: All right. Who are your favorite writers? Baudelaire and J.P. Marquand? PETER: [wary] Well, I like a great many writers; I have a considerable... catholicity of taste, if I may say so. Those two men are fine, each in his way. [Warming up] Baudelaire, of course ... uh ... is by far the finer of the two, but Marquand has a place ... in our ... uh ... national ...

JERRY: Skip it.

PETER: I ... sorry.

JERRY: Do you know what I did before I went to the zoo today? I walked all the way up Fifth Avenue from Washington Square; all the way. (Albee 4)

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As characterized by Jerry, the author clearly understands a stress disorder patient would act irrationally. Of course, abnormal thinking is not their fault, but unluckily they neither have been treated correctly nor recognized for their mental illness. Jerry harshly ignores Peter’s reply and continues to express his discomfort and unconnected messages (Albee 3). Since these behaviors seem not as dangerous as one can imagine, it might quickly turn into a worse situation where people around have no idea how to help which is displayed by Peter in the later part of the film (Albee). Considering how PTSD patients react to a situation negatively, Edward Albee would have agreed that stress disorder is a social epidemic because of the error in their vision of life, and their respect for others’ thoughts.

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            Similarly, Albee would have considered post-traumatic stress disorder as a social epidemic because it can slowly cause danger without attention.  Most soldiers’ mental pain typically comes from the memory of warfare where they were traumatized because much innocence was killed. Latterly, when they return home where their mind can be peacefully relaxed without thinking of guns, bombs, wounds, and deaths, it can irregularly flash back their horrible remembrance (Swanson). Whenever these heroic soldiers are alone, these terrible memories surface causing much pain and strife. Many suicides or massive gunshots tend to occur more often in the society nowadays (Swanson). Utterly, the victims are innocent, and the crime is eventually diagnosed in the late period of stress disorder. According to the National Library of Medicine, suicide is the third leading reason in American teenagers (Swanson). Albee once said that “all art is an act of aggression against the status quo” (Chana). He means that people constantly do not realize their daily problem until it turns into a difficulty that catches their attention. Just like the ending scene of Jerry’s suicide, his purpose from the moment he walks toward Peter’s bench was realized, but is it too late (Albee 13)? If a PTSD patient is not treated correctly and carefully, they may cause serious problems and unfortunately face court.