hearing voices theme
A character hears, and perhaps talks back to, a voice of a separate entity which the character incorrectly thinks is real. In clinical terms the condition might be classified as auditory hallucinations, or schizophrenia.
Notes
The theme does not apply when a character merely has an internal dialog with their own id. Nor does it apply in fantastical situations where the origin of the voice is understood to be through telepathy, produced by spirits, or the like. There's a variety of stories where the question of whether the voice is real or not (and thus the sanity of the character) itself is a central topic: in this case the theme applies inasmuch the idea implied in the definition is entertained as a possibility.
Examples
tz1959e5x05 "The Last Night of a Jockey", Grady was being taunted the alter ego in his head which offered to fulfill his any wish. In the end we are left wondering whether the voice was a real entity, or Grady had gone mad.
5 total · 3 major · 2 minor
| Story | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| movie: Donnie Darko (2001) | major | In one viewing of the story, Donnie was a paranoid schizophrenic who was hearing a voice in his head that told him the world was going to end in under a month. |
| tz1959e5x05 | major | Grady was being taunted the alter ego in his head. |
| tz2019e2x01 | major | Phil suddenly started hearing the voice of a strange woman. The narrator mentioned various reasons people might hear voices. We are variously made to ponder whether Phil is mad or experiencing something extraordinary. |
| pkded1x09 | minor | Foster at times questioned whether the customer service assistant might just have been a voice in her head. |
| tz2002e1x40 | minor | Grady heard the voice of what he thought was his guardian angel. |