Theme of Isolation in Monster by Walter Dean Meyers (Essay Example)

Sniffling through the dark and quiet night, Steve Harmon began reflecting on how he ended up in his jail cell. The 16-year-old African American had been charged with felony murder for his involvement in a botched robbery that ended in Mr. Nesbitt's death in Harlem. Throughout reading the novel “Monster,” we see how different types of isolation affect the human brain as well as how seclusion from the outside world by being in prison impacts one's mental health. Today, studies show that prison facilities don’t treat or bring any attention to their inmates' mental health, as once previously thought. Instead, the symptoms of those that are suffering worsen because they have no access to medicine or psychiatric services. Isolation can come in many forms and have negative effects on several areas of the body, including the brain. 

Social isolation affects the brain by worsening cognition, memory, and efficiency, making it harder for the mind to cultivate and comprehend knowledge. “Isolation has been shown to cause brain shrinkage,” claims behavioral neurologist, Joel Salinas. “The kind of changes you’d expect to see in someone struggling with Alzheimer's.” Isolation also impacts social learning by inhibiting important interactions and lack of face-to-face communication. In an experiment done by “Scientific Reports,” they found that the feedback of stress-regulating cortisol was weaker in the brains of subjects that had previously been socially isolated. However, once put back into society, those cortisol hormones balanced themselves out and enhance the brain’s functions. “We’re a social species,” suggests Stephanie Cacioppo. “We really need others to survive.” Without the social aspect of interacting with others, we harm our ability to grow and learn.  The impacts of social isolation on the brain and social learning are frequently overlooked and monumentally damaging. We must take action now before it's too late.

Another form of isolation is self-elected isolation, which is a type of isolation put upon oneself with a lack of important relationships and emotional support. This type of isolation can cause loss of friends, connections, and a sense of self-identity in the real world. Brigham Young professor of psychology and Ph.D., Julianne Holt-Lunstad says, "Being connected to others socially is widely considered a fundamental human need—crucial to both well-being and survival." Self-elected isolation increases anxiety and other emotions, such as anger and distress. In a study conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons, or AARP, researchers found that forty percent of all adults, especially men, aged forty-five and above were isolating themselves from social community activities, such as going into the office, volunteering, or attending religious ceremonies. This self-elected isolation was then linked to higher levels of stress hormones and inflammation. Some experts even say that self-elected isolation can lead to heart disease, diabetes, or coronary artery disease due to high blood pressure and increased vulnerability. “There’s the idea that Americans are rugged individuals,” James Lubben of Boston College explains, “but none of us is capable of living alone.

A more recent form of isolation, COVID isolation, also has its debasements. While quarantining ourselves by staying at home may have prevented the spread of the novel disease, it definitely put a strain on our mental health. Aristotle, the Great Greek Philosopher, said in his book, “Politics,” that humans are “social animals,” and need to interact with others. Several researchers have data to back up the fact that homosapiens have never been built to be apart from each other for an extended amount of time. We need to fulfill our natural cravings for socialization and practice our people skills to develop our personal identities. One of the biggest effects of isolation during the pandemic was lower self-esteem and lack of motivation. In fact, Lancet Health scientists researched the effect the pandemic had on the mental health of individuals aged fifteen years and older by comparing a variety of surveys pulled from different years. They looked at surveys from the years 2011-2019, before the pandemic occurred, and then 2020, when the pandemic was at its peak and determined there was a greater prevalence of poor mental health during and post-pandemic. “Surprisingly, there was no evidence of a lockdown effect on the mental health of adolescents aged 15–19 years, despite this concern being widespread in the public health debate. The largest effect was found in women aged forty and above with kids.” (Lancet Health, 2022)

Solitary Confinement is another form of isolation. It occurs when prisoners are detained in single cells as a form of punishment. This form of isolation is usually an attempt taken by a prison to control the interactions between the inmates of a jail. Solitary confinement can come in many forms and vary between countries. For example, prisoners in the US may be isolated in a dark room for minor offenses, such as using offensive language. But an inmate in Germany would only have to face those consequences after conducting serious acts of violence, such as homicide or assault. In 2016, Albert Woodfox reentered society after spending 43 years trapped in a 6x9 jail cell for 23 hours a day, fighting to prove his innocence. Psychologists say this social segregation only worsens the problems they are trying to solve. One ex-convict even said, “All day, I sit in the bathtub, in my locked bathroom, all day, with no lights. The coldness of it makes me feel like I’m back in my cell, and it’s the only place I feel comfortable. Anything but this seems very disorienting. I can’t get used to the real world again.”

Researchers have been digging deeper into how prison affects mental health. Professor Craig Haney, an expert on the psychological effects of imprisonment and prison isolation, has linked prison isolation to negative mental health effects as a result of separation from family, loss of autonomy, boredom, and lack of purpose and self-esteem. “The prison environment is almost diabolically conceived to force the offender to experience the pangs of what many psychiatrists would describe as mental illness,” he says. In 2018, analyzers from the University of Georgia explored the connection between depression and how far prisoners were from their homes by researching inmates at 214 different state prisons. They found that people incarcerated more than 50 miles from home were more likely to experience depression. “All I’d do was cry. It is horrible being away from your kids, especially when they are the only people who care for you,” states an anonymous mother in a Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) article. “I was very hurt and depressed. I was crying constantly and worried. It was brutal.” 

As you can see, isolation can come in many forms and have several negative effects in different areas. Today, we can see how different types of isolation affect the human brain as well as how seclusion from the outside world by being in prison impacts one's mental health. Through recent studies, we have found that prison facilities do more harm than good when it comes to mental stability, for they worsen the psychological state of their inmates rather than nurture them.