is about his experiences there. "Report from the
Asylum: Afterthoughts of a shock patient” gives a
living account of his own experience with shock
therapy. It was written with Artaud himself in
mind who was given shock therapy by the French
government for taking his Dadaist ideals to the
extreme.
The humour and mask which Dadaism displays
through illustrating absurdity is analogous to the
ceremonial “trance”, ecstasy, soul projection and
visualisation which the shaman seeks to
composite. Ultimately Solomon and Artaud took
things too far and may have been greatly altered
for this fact. Humour, Performance, the notion of
the “wounded healer” and the Jungian notion of
“The trickster” are other concepts which apply to
both characters mentioned. In the poem “Pilgrim
state hospital” Solomon tells us “one enters
Pilgrim as though it is the death house”. Here he
is somewhat playing to the readers imagination.
He also tells us “Shock treatment is
prepared…Time asserts itself again”.
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