"The Sound of Hollyhocks" by Hugh Garners: character analysis - William Cornish Radson, Insane or just Desperate?

William Cornish Radson: Insane or just Desperate? Insanity in society is generally described as a person's inability to reason logically. In an acclaimed story, "The Sound of Hollyhocks" by a Canadian writer, Hugh Garners, the protagonist William Cornish Ranson (nicknamed Rock) displays qualities of a psychotic person in a desperate attempt to avoid reversing his chronological lifestyle patterns of returning to the dominance of his mother. This is effectively conveyed through Rock's speech and actions.…

…you'll be much better off at home..." It was this visit, much less this simple statement that drives young William to his suicidal death. The unsuccessful attempt of displaying psychotic characteristics in order to avoid returning to the "Bitch of Belsen" is the concept behind the character of William Radson Cornish, in Hugh Garner's short story, "The sound of Hollyhocks". Rock was not completely insane-he new what he wanted, and more importantly what he didn't.