Is henry a sociopath

Henry's locked in his apartment and can't get out. Bless.

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SilentWren
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by SilentWren »

^Buzzkill.

You know posts like that don't do any good. Some times, you just gotta lay back and take it like a man...or something like that.
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by alone in the town »

If I let things like that stop me, I would not have lasted almost seven years at a place like this.
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SHF
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by SHF »

AuraTwilight wrote:
Example: SPOILER In Silent Hill 3, after Heather finds out that her dad has been killed, she says to Claudia, "I'll get you for this!" That's not a normal human reaction. END SPOILER
It's not a human reaction to want to kill the person who murdered your father?
As humans, we have chosen to evolve being civil, and showing more empathy.
Strip all that away, and you have the animalistic, primitive human being.
So, yes in a sense, it is a human reaction.
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by alone in the town »

As humans, we have chosen to evolve being civil, and showing more empathy.
(Thousands of generations ago:)

I SAY, CAVEGRETSON YOU OLD ROCK, A SPLENDID MORNING, WOT

INDEED, CAVEGRETSON. I HAVE KILLED THREE BISON THESE PAST SEVERAL MOONS AND EAT WELL

THAT IS FANTASTIC NEWS, CAVEGRETSON. I DO SAY, OLD BOY, THERE ARE TIMES I WONDER IF THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN HUNTING AND GATHERING

WHAT ABOUT THAT TIME WE PLACED LIVE MICE IN OUR LOINCLOTHS, CAVEGRETSON?

A BALLY MAGNIFICENT SHOW, RATHER. BUT, IT IS TO GREATER THINGS I REFER. NICE AS THIS LIFE IS, IT LEAVES A FELLOW FEELING A TOUCH UNFULFILLED, WOT?

I KNOW, CAVEGRETSON. LET US EVOLVE.

WHATEVER DO YOU MEAN, CAVEGRETSON?

IT IS MOST BLOOMING SIMPLE, WOT. OBSERVE. YOU SEE? I HAVE EVOLVED TO BE MORE CIVIL. I SHALL ASK COURTEOUSLY BEFORE I FORCIBLY COPULATE WITH YOUNG CAVEBOYS IN THE FUTURE.

AMAZING, CAVEGRETSON! WHY, THIS IS SPLENDID! I HAVE EVOLVED TO SHOW MORE EMPATHY!

RATHER! DOES THIS MEAN YOU NOW FEEL REMORSE FOR HAVING STABBED MY SISTER IN THE FACE WITH YOUR ROCK-TIPPED SPEAR?

LIKELY!
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SilentWren
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by SilentWren »

^Ok, that was pretty funny, but I think he meant to say that humanity made a conscious decision to adopt the more civilized ways of thinking after it was apparent that those would benefit them the greatest.

There's totally a chance that it happened like that, though. /lovingsarcasm

EDIT: @post below me-*sage nod, then facepalm* I haven't been exposed to your humor quite enough yet, apparently. :lol:
Last edited by SilentWren on 03 Dec 2010, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by alone in the town »

I know what he meant. It was a play on how he phrased it. |:
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by lain of the wired »

alone in the town wrote:via Wikipedia, the great and evil:
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition, DSM IV-TR = 301.7, a widely used manual for diagnosing mental disorders, defines antisocial personality disorder (in Axis II Cluster B) as:[1]

A) There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring for as long as either childhood, or in the case of many who are influenced by environmental factors, around age 15, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

● failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest;
● deceitfulness, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure;
● impulsivity or failure to plan ahead;
● irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults;
reckless disregard for safety of self or others;
● consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations;
● lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another;
● promiscuity;
● having shallow or seemingly nonexistent feelings.
It seems as though everybody who persists in believing Henry is a sociopath focuses entirely on the last bullet point relative to the scene with Cynthia. Which fails to take into account that he spends half of the goddamn game acting as Elaine's bodyguard.

Henry does not exhibit a single one of the other symptoms.
You know, normally, I'd have done this and freaked out at the person who started all this. You know, because throwing psychological diagnostic terms without really understanding them can damage the people who actually suffer from them, and because ignorance is damaging to everyone. I'm not sure why I didn't. Thank you, AITT.

Why would people suggest he's a sociopath when "stoned" would be a far better way to describe his behavior, anyway?
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by Harrys_Girl »

^Or emotionally dead inside from being forced to go to ballet as a child. I know I would be.


Is he a buzz kill, hellz yeah. A socio/psychopath. Doubt it highly. Trust lain, she is a doctor... Ok, not really but kinda. She is closer to a doctor then most of the people here.
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by lain of the wired »

Yes... trust me. *shifty eyes*

Seriously, if anything, it's just bad voice acting, not a psychological issue. Henry's such an outsider to the whole thing: does he even project his fears/psyche onto the monsters at all? I got the feeling his character was so weak, anyway, it barely affected the world around him. A sociopath would still have a stronger will than that, as evidenced by Walter.
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by Harrys_Girl »

I don't think anything in the game reflects his emotions at all. No monsters, not the environments, nothing really reflects Henry. Everything is a reflection of Walter, so I think you are on the right path. He was just a pawn, a chess piece.
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by krakalackin »

^The real main character is Walter not Henry. To me Henry is the "medium" that you use to traverse through the game. So Henry is dull because either they wanted him to be so we'd focus more on Walter or it's because they're trying to depict Henry as a person in a dream like state. (imo)
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by lain of the wired »

^Funny. I've always thought, wouldn't it be neat to play a game that's entirely from a tradtional NPC's vantage? You just sort of deal with your own day-to-day, while shit you don't understand and can't control consumes your life and mind and actions and the world around you falls apart? Suddenly you go from "Sigh, times are tough..." to "hey, what's up with [insert mission you don't really know anything about]? You should check it out" to "Iyagh! Iyagh! Cthulhu R'lhyeh ftagn! (I don't know even know if those were words, why is this happening to me??!)" with no real concept of events... and then along came Henry.

I have not changed my previous opinion, but I have seriously reconsidered its parameters.
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by leftshoe18 »

lain of the wired wrote:^Funny. I've always thought, wouldn't it be neat to play a game that's entirely from a tradtional NPC's vantage? You just sort of deal with your own day-to-day, while shit you don't understand and can't control consumes your life and mind and actions and the world around you falls apart? Suddenly you go from "Sigh, times are tough..." to "hey, what's up with [insert mission you don't really know anything about]? You should check it out" to "Iyagh! Iyagh! Cthulhu R'lhyeh ftagn! (I don't know even know if those were words, why is this happening to me??!)" with no real concept of events... and then along came Henry.
I've gotta get on turning that concept into a real game. :)
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by lain of the wired »

^If you ever do, seriously, let me know: I want in. I've given it much thought and have many, many ideas as to how it could work.

But anyway.
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by nothingbut3% »

I could believe it. Henry seems so unresponsive most of the time throughout the game. "Whoaaaa....what a crazy dream." It makes me question whether this was really done on purpose, or an accident due to poor voice acting. Maybe Henry has Aspergers. That's another somewhat related theory.

Although I thought he was in love with Eileen. Is that not true?
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by lain of the wired »

^Correction: COMPLETELY unrelated, seeing as that's not at all what Asperger's Syndrome entails. Insofar as I can tell, the only reason he doesn't really interact properly with others during the gameplay is because the door is locked tight and because he's unsure as to whether the events are part of a dream or reality. This is significantly different than having a lack of attachment to others... which you yourself immediately refute with your second question.

As to your second question directly, we can at least confirm that he's in lust with Eileen, seeing as playing peeping tom on her is almost integral to the gameplay. But the apparent need to protect her throughout the game despite how fucking irritating she is as a sidekick indicates that there's something beyond the mere desire to fuck her, even if we only get this information through the plain programming, rather than actual emotions portrayed through acting in the characters themselves.


Big problem with bad acting in video games- we never really know what's character motivation and what's just "this was the line that was written/this is the programming that sets up the mission of the gameplay we're doing right now." Does Henry want to protect Eileen, or are we stuck with it because it's a good game mechanic?


\/ THIS IS WHY YOU'RE BORING.
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by PIE!!! »

Nah, I think Henry is just shy and soft spoken. And just like the other protagonists, he's a little emotionally detached. You get subtle hints about Henry's personality, such as his love for photography, which means he's artistic, and his willingness to help others. Though he can't express his feelings through words, he expresses his feelings through his actions. Also, since this game was inspired by the hikkikomiri phenomenon, it's safe to say that Henry is introverted and doesn't like to speak to others very much. Which explains his silence and awkward speaking tone and composure.

I say that Henry has shown plenty of emotion, so I don't think he's s sociopath. Before you begin the final boss fight, if you pay attention to the cutscene you can clearly see his anger towards Walter on Henry's face.
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by SilentWren »

^What you said.
I think the reason Henry gets so much negativity (by fans including me :)) is because of the lack of emotion BY COMPARISON to the other protagonists.

Henry never got an "I'LL GET YOUR FOR THIS!!!" moment. His expressions and actions were more subtle, and it makes us question him more.
Then again...as a general rule, this is a series that raises more questions than it answers. They just apparently didn't stop and think it through with this particular aspect.
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by Soulless-Shadow »

^ I don't think it was laziness on the developers part or whatever. I saw a theory (and it's been mentioned in this thread before) that Henry's lack of emotion is possibly due to the Otherworld being contained in a dream (Walter's, to be exact). If anything it's just the player's interpretation (or lack of), not dodgy voice acting and laziness.
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Re: Is henry a sociopath

Post by Mephisto »

lain of the wired wrote:As to your second question directly, we can at least confirm that he's in lust with Eileen, seeing as playing peeping tom on her is almost integral to the gameplay. But the apparent need to protect her throughout the game despite how fucking irritating she is as a sidekick indicates that there's something beyond the mere desire to fuck her, even if we only get this information through the plain programming, rather than actual emotions portrayed through acting in the characters themselves.
Are you serious? Because that was kinda funny.

Looking at a peephole means nothing. The society made it look like it's some kind of a vouyer routine. If you were locked inside your house you'd look outside for help or you'd bang on the doors, windows. Just like Henry did.

As for him actually being in love with Eileen, I don't think so. Only because he protected her from Walter means nothing. Joseph was protecting Henry from Walter (he gave advices but that's a help) does that mean he was in love with Henry as well?
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