Jacob From 'The Hitchhiker'

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Jacob from the story “The Hitchhiker” by Anthony Horowitz universe is filled with a different form of reality, Schizophrenia. “Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that affects the way a person acts, thinks, and sees the world”(“Schizophrenia” 1). For those suffering with schizophrenia, the truth is blurred making it difficult to cope with everyday life. Jacob suffers from Paranoid Schizophrenia because he is very and has delusions/hallucinations of persecution throughout the story. To begin, Jacob’s Schizophrenia is characterized by paranoia. According to the article explaining Schizophrenia, Jacob’s beliefs are normal. Jacob is convinced that the hitchhiker came from a nearby asylum and is a killer. A sign of paranoid Schizophrenia is having …show more content…
His misunderstanding of the person sitting next to him is related to his condition. The account describing the characteristics associated with delusions of persecution explains his attitude about the hitchhiker. Throughout the ride Jacob heard the hitchhiker whisper alarming things that fit Jacob’s Paranoia for him. This was do to the fact that Jacob was experiencing “ auditory hallucinations (e.g. hearing voices or some other sound) are most common in Schizophrenia”(“Schizophrenia” 3). Hallucinations are major symptoms of Schizophrenia. What Jacob is thinking becomes more and more peculiar as their journey continues. Jacob’s uneasiness builds when he is shaken by Mr.Rellik’s words and thinks “ I must have misunderstood him… That’s what he thought and that’s what he meant”(Horowitz 231).Jacob sees everything that his mind wants him to see. These ideas about other people are created because of his disease. How he perceives the world around him are true indicators of his mental state. Jacob’s personality is blurred because of his disease that gives him Paranoia and Hallucinations. Throughout the story Jacob’s thoughts are continually abnormal. He thinks about how the hitchhiker could have come from an insane asylum nearby, and could be there just to kill them all. The reason for his thoughts are because he has Schizophrenia. His Bizarre ideas show that he needs to get
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Analyzing The Theme Of Schizophrenia In 'The Hitchhiker'

and change the way people think about people. People with schizophrenia may see or hear things that don’t exist. Similarly in the story “The Hitchhiker” by Anthony Horowitz there is a boy, named Jacob who sadly, has schizophrenia which causes him to do and think things that he should not have which is why he is in a prison for the criminally insane. Jacob has schizophrenia because he has hallucinations and he is delusionist. To begin, having hallucinations will make people see or hear things in…

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