Minor And Madman

630 Words3 Pages
Brilliant Minds of Oxford English Dictionary The Professor and the Madman, by Simon Winchester, is about two extraordinary men and their contribution to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. Minor and Murray shared things in common. These two men were intellectuals, Minor being a Yale alumnus, and Murray being self-taught. Both were the children of missionaries. They were similar in appearance: tall, thin, with long white beards, and blue eyes. They were almost the same age. Professor Murray was born to a poor Scottish family. In contrast, Minor was from a wealthy New England family. Professor Murray had stable marriages, but Minor was promiscuous. Minor is depicted as a dynamic character. For instance, Minor had difficult family circumstances. At early age…show more content…
The first conflict is human. For instance, in 1910 doctor Brayn had a hostile act with Minor. He ordered all Minor’s privileges to be taken away. The suite of two rooms that he had occupied for the previous thirty seven years, to remove his volumes of books, to give up his access to his writing table, his sketchpads and his flutes, and move into the asylum’s infirmary. Minor’s reputation made the doctor feel jealous. The second conflict is psychological. When Minor joined the army, the horror of war made a traumatic impact on him. In the battle of wilderness he was forced to brand the Iris deserters. Later, he began with constant paranoia. In his mind, the Irish looked for revenge against him. The third conflict is social. For instance, the civil war caused the death of many people. Minor suffered from the horrors of the civil war. As a doctor, he saw many soldiers dying. At that time, the modern antiseptics did not exist which could have reduced the spread of bacteria and the outbreak of disease. The fourth conflict is environmental. For example, in Victoria, London the fog was so thick that it was difficult to see people on the

More about Minor And Madman

Open Document