Polls for Our Souls discussion

I'm looking for stories where the main character has a slow descent into madness or questions their own sanity more and more over the course of the story. Any recommendations?

Crime and Punishment and The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr., The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, The Shining by Stephen King are the first ones that comes to mind.

Catherine wrote: "Crime and Punishment and The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Requiem for a Dream b..."

Thanks!

Lord of the Flies and anything by Edgar Allan Poe, specifically his short story "The Tell-Tale Heart". A Tale of Two Cities and Moby Dick feature characters who lose their sanity as well, according to a friend of mine.

Jordan wrote: "Lord of the Flies and anything by Edgar Allan Poe, specifically his short story "The Tell-Tale Heart". A Tale of Two Cities and Moby Dick feature characters who lose their sanity as well, according..."

Thank you!

Jordan wrote: "Lord of the Flies and anything by Edgar Allan Poe, specifically his short story "The Tell-Tale Heart". A Tale of Two Cities and Moby Dick feature characters who lose their sanity as well, according..."

I've read Tale of Two Cities and it touches this topic only lightly and doesn't go much into it. Otherwise as a classic I would highly recommend it, but if you want a book specifically on the topic Descent into madness, then Crime and Punishment would be a much better choice (or basically anything from Edgar Allan Poe).

MM, tell tale heart is less a descent into madness and more a freefall that began with madness and ends somewhere in misery

A couple modern YA recs, both dealing with mental illness: Challenger Deep and The Wicker King

High-Rise might also fit - it's not "madness" in the sense of mental illness, but just a downward spiral of people acting crazy, and the systemic breakdown of civilized norms. It's thematically similar to Lord of the Flies (though admittedly less realistic).

The Yellow Wallpaper absolutely! One of my all-time favorites.

Elyse wrote: "The Yellow Wallpaper absolutely! One of my all-time favorites."

Ohhh! I read that a few years ago and it gave me chills!