Compare the connotations of the name “Crownsville” with the name “Hospital for the
Negro Insane.” What do you think the directors were trying to achieve when they
renamed the facility?
When the author and Deborah took a trip to Crownsville to find out more about Elsie, the author herself said that she didn't expect the former Hospital for the Negro Insane to be the "sprawling 1,200-acre campus, with bright green hills, [and] perfectly mowed lawns" (Skloot 269). Basically, the connotation that the original name has is extremely negative, plagued with racist history. Anything that was labelled for "negroes" or for "people of color" tended to be dirty and falling apart, barely standing on its foundations. The name Crownsville has a more positive connotation, making the facility sound like a royal village. The word "crown" by itself produces a more prestigious and clean image than does the whole phrase "Hospital for the Negro Insane." Also, the word "insane" is less sensitive and gives a chaotic image while a hospital for the "mentally ill" provides an image of people going through treatment and getting better. The directors were most likely trying to achieve to get more funds by changing their name to something more presentable. There would be a higher flow of money going into the hospital with something as simple as changing the name. As well as funds, the directors were most likely aiming at attracting more people to choose to attend their hospital if need be. The new name sounds more inviting and gives the impression that there will actually be quality and efficient treatment, while the original name sounds more like a prison where people go in to never come out.
What Alejandra has states is remarkable, and I would like to add on to her last statement on how the “original name sounds more like a prison.” The Hospital for the Negro Insane essentially was a prison. The hospital was by far overcrowded as it “2,700 patients, nearly eight hundred above maximum capacity” (Skloot 275). It was obvious that people in there would be left alone. In addition, to add on to how prison-like they were, this period of time proved to be known as the Darkest Era for asylums like these. They were run on really low budgets, and devalued those who placed in them. Not only this, but the hospital was for African-Americans at the time. This would obviously worsen the conditions, as many were discriminated against.
Mad In America's Chapters. (2011, November 22). Retrieved January 17, 2015, from http://www.madinamerica.com/2011/11/chapters/
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway Paperbacks, 2011. Print.
Great insight Alejandra, especially when you stated that maybe changing the name may have something to do with receiving more funding. Upon learning more about the hospital and it's practices in the 1950's, the fact that barely any medical records were left over from that time is troubling, though the reason was stated was a pest problem. Do you think there was something more to it than just that?
The loss of the records due to pests was also a cover up. When Deborah and Skloot walked into the main building of the facility, Deborah said that what was inside those records wasn't good, "Why else would they get rid of them?" (Skloot 269). Lurz mentioned things such as an "asbestos problem" (Skloot 271) and some of the only records he found were autopsy reports, for which he had to rummage through "in the basement of an abandoned building," (Skloot 272) meaning that whoever put them there was hoping no one would find them. The atrocities that surely occurred at the facility would have gotten the place shut down and no official in their right mind would have granted that place permission to operate anymore. In addition to the location, the people who worked there would have gone through intensive questioning and the doctors who worked there might have gotten their licenses revoked. It was in the best interest of the staff and the future of the facility to hide the truth, regardless of the cost.
Alejandra did an outstanding job in answering this question; she fully comprehended the new racial tolerance that progressed through time. At the time the original name of this institute sounded like it wouldn’t raise much attention because not many African Americans had a say in anything, and their opinions on political or social matters were ever taken into consideration. The name of the hospital seemed to be the politically correct thing to do at the time, but then as the times progressed, they had to change the name because many things that seemed to be accepted at the time would then become a major issue in the new times, so renaming the hospital with a new “more inviting”, like Alejandra stated, name would help get more positive attention.
When the author and Deborah took a trip to Crownsville to find out more about Elsie, the author herself said that she didn't expect the former Hospital for the Negro Insane to be the "sprawling 1,200-acre campus, with bright green hills, [and] perfectly mowed lawns" (Skloot 269). Basically, the connotation that the original name has is extremely negative, plagued with racist history. Anything that was labelled for "negroes" or for "people of color" tended to be dirty and falling apart, barely standing on its foundations. The name Crownsville has a more positive connotation, making the facility sound like a royal village. The word "crown" by itself produces a more prestigious and clean image than does the whole phrase "Hospital for the Negro Insane." Also, the word "insane" is less sensitive and gives a chaotic image while a hospital for the "mentally ill" provides an image of people going through treatment and getting better. The directors were most likely trying to achieve to get more funds by changing their name to something more presentable. There would be a higher flow of money going into the hospital with something as simple as changing the name. As well as funds, the directors were most likely aiming at attracting more people to choose to attend their hospital if need be. The new name sounds more inviting and gives the impression that there will actually be quality and efficient treatment, while the original name sounds more like a prison where people go in to never come out.
ReplyDeleteWhat Alejandra has states is remarkable, and I would like to add on to her last statement on how the “original name sounds more like a prison.” The Hospital for the Negro Insane essentially was a prison. The hospital was by far overcrowded as it “2,700 patients, nearly eight hundred above maximum capacity” (Skloot 275). It was obvious that people in there would be left alone. In addition, to add on to how prison-like they were, this period of time proved to be known as the Darkest Era for asylums like these. They were run on really low budgets, and devalued those who placed in them. Not only this, but the hospital was for African-Americans at the time. This would obviously worsen the conditions, as many were discriminated against.
DeleteMad In America's Chapters. (2011, November 22). Retrieved January 17, 2015, from http://www.madinamerica.com/2011/11/chapters/
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway Paperbacks, 2011. Print.
Great insight Alejandra, especially when you stated that maybe changing the name may have something to do with receiving more funding. Upon learning more about the hospital and it's practices in the 1950's, the fact that barely any medical records were left over from that time is troubling, though the reason was stated was a pest problem. Do you think there was something more to it than just that?
DeleteThe loss of the records due to pests was also a cover up. When Deborah and Skloot walked into the main building of the facility, Deborah said that what was inside those records wasn't good, "Why else would they get rid of them?" (Skloot 269). Lurz mentioned things such as an "asbestos problem" (Skloot 271) and some of the only records he found were autopsy reports, for which he had to rummage through "in the basement of an abandoned building," (Skloot 272) meaning that whoever put them there was hoping no one would find them. The atrocities that surely occurred at the facility would have gotten the place shut down and no official in their right mind would have granted that place permission to operate anymore. In addition to the location, the people who worked there would have gone through intensive questioning and the doctors who worked there might have gotten their licenses revoked. It was in the best interest of the staff and the future of the facility to hide the truth, regardless of the cost.
DeleteAlejandra did an outstanding job in answering this question; she fully comprehended the new racial tolerance that progressed through time. At the time the original name of this institute sounded like it wouldn’t raise much attention because not many African Americans had a say in anything, and their opinions on political or social matters were ever taken into consideration. The name of the hospital seemed to be the politically correct thing to do at the time, but then as the times progressed, they had to change the name because many things that seemed to be accepted at the time would then become a major issue in the new times, so renaming the hospital with a new “more inviting”, like Alejandra stated, name would help get more positive attention.
ReplyDelete