Schizophrenia In Anthony Horowitz's 'The Hitchhiker'

Have you ever witnessed somebody talking to themselves, or even pretending like they have an imaginary friend? While you might think that they are completely crazy, the truth is that they might potentially be a patient of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that affects the way a person acts, thinks and sees the world. People with schizophrenia have “an altered perception of reality” (“Schizophrenia” 1). As seen in Anthony Horowitz’s, “The Hitchhiker”, schizophrenia is no joke. The main character, Jacob, is schizophrenic, and his disorder ultimately affects the way he behaves. People with schizophrenia display behaviors that may seem crazy, as well hear things that do not really exist. To begin, patients of schizophrenia may display

As a matter of fact, “auditory hallucinations are most common in schizophrenia” and mainly consist of voices or sounds that people hear but aren’t there in reality (“Schizophrenia” 2). Commonly, “the voices are critical, vulgar or abusive”, which may lead to some of the common symptoms of schizophrenia such as delusions, disorganized speech and disorganized behavior (“Schizophrenia” 2). Likewise, Jacob experiences auditory hallucinations while in the car. Jacob is confidently positive that he heard the man say “you’re dead” as well as “I’m going to kill you” (Horowitz 231,233). Jacob experiences auditory hallucinations, which will end up bringing out the worst of his schizophrenia. In the same way, people who hear voices and/or sounds cannot differentiate what is real and what is not, causing them to act like Jacob. Clearly, people with schizophrenia might become a victim of auditory hallucinations. People who have schizophrenia live a hard life. Whether it is experiencing many different symptoms or when they might even “withdraw from the outside world” (“Schizophrenia” 1). Jacob himself displays two severe symptoms of schizophrenia such as showing bizarre actions or having auditory hallucinations. So next time you see someone talking to themselves, or even pretending like they have an imaginary friend… just