Somewhat on a tangent, I would like to remark on the disjointed nature of modernity at large. Certain works of art, such as the film “Brazil” (Terry Gilliam, 1985), express this well– the sense (and reality) that things can change quickly, and that sudden and unexpected shifts often happen.
It is an experience of different worlds. There is the world of the city, of the suburb, of the country. Work has its own world, and home represents one, too. The presence of others changes how this feels, and this all can become very complex.
The city itself, actually, is a good metaphor– how, moving from one block to the next, we can see extreme differences in poverty level, crime, infrastructure, and so forth.
Modern life can be disjointed, like the lines of the figure in “Nude Descending A Staircase” (Marcel Duchamp, 1912).
How does this reference schizophrenia? I would suggest that modernity propels many closer to mental illness than they would prefer. It can be a crazy world– just read the news. Further, I would attest that schizophrenia can made it harder to transition smoothly between these various worlds– it is that shock of travelling from home to work, or from one city to another, and so forth, that is so problematic.
In fact, with cell phones, the internet and other technologies, modern people can find themselves moving from world to another many times in a minute– often, doing so all day every day. The schizophrenic may find this to be especially challenging.
