Cosi Shows Us That There Is as Much Madness in the Outside World as There Is Within a Mental Institution.’ Discuss.
In Louise Nowra’s COSI, a semi-autobiographical drama, Nowra reveals that there is as much madness in the outside world as exists in an asylum. COSI reveals to the reader that madness does not discriminate; lunacy is no psychological construct and that madness is the perception of normality versus abnormality whereby no boundaries exist. Through the use of COSI Nowra is able to compare the delirium of the outside word to that of the mental institutes during the 1970’s, drawing upon the themes of the era and theatrical concepts in order to encapsulate his message of universal madness. The characters in COSI, those in the asylum condemned as mad by society, play a vital role in the comparison of madness in the outside world, the chaos of politics and Vietnamese war, free love and sex, the new age society and lifestyles, and outright foolishness of the way mentally ill were treated, one of many connections that Nowra has with the play. However in COSI, Nowra does not fail to show the outright mania of the patients, through the use of theatrical structures and conventions, the madness of the patients is juxtaposed with that of the external world and the similarities conveyed through symbolism and other dramatic techniques.
The Vietnamese war and the policies of the government during the 1970’s were chaotic enough, yet against the protests of left wing radicalists, such as Nick and Lucy in COSI, protagonists of the Vietnamese war, society had descended into anarchy, the madness of society comparable to that of a mental institution. War is mad enough yet after the development of nuclear technologies and policies of Mutually Assured Destruction, war, the Vietnamese war was pure inconceivable madness. It was no wonder that protests for the war to cease began, seen in COSI as Nick leads the moratorium against the government” 1,2,3,4 we don’t want your fuckin’ war. Radicalise the nation”, his readiness to implore violence utter lunacy, “barricades and bombs, why not?” The
The Vietnamese war and the policies of the government during the 1970’s were chaotic enough, yet against the protests of left wing radicalists, such as Nick and Lucy in COSI, protagonists of the Vietnamese war, society had descended into anarchy, the madness of society comparable to that of a mental institution. War is mad enough yet after the development of nuclear technologies and policies of Mutually Assured Destruction, war, the Vietnamese war was pure inconceivable madness. It was no wonder that protests for the war to cease began, seen in COSI as Nick leads the moratorium against the government” 1,2,3,4 we don’t want your fuckin’ war. Radicalise the nation”, his readiness to implore violence utter lunacy, “barricades and bombs, why not?” The