Shutter Island illustrates the significance guilt and grief can have on someone's mental health. The cause of Teddy's mental health decline is his family's death. His wife struggled with mental health issues, which caused her to murder their three children, which then led to Teddy murdering her.

What is the main idea of Shutter Island?

Shutter Island is a novel by American writer Dennis Lehane, published by HarperCollins in April 2003. It is about a U.S. Marshal who goes to an isolated hospital for the criminally insane to investigate the disappearance of a patient who is a multiple murderer.

What is the deeper meaning behind Shutter Island?

In that respect, Shutter Island is a complex study of grief and trauma, and the lengths the human mind will go to in order to medicate itself from harsh reality. Guilt and hurt are what cause Andrew to invent a secondary persona — one in which he is still a war hero and a federal Marshal named Teddy Daniels.

What was the realization in Shutter Island?

During the ending scene, Andrew and Dr. Sheehan sit down on some steps for a smoke. Andrew was just told that he had made up his entire identity as US Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels in order to escape from the reality that he had killed his wife. Andrew, in short, had realized who he really is.

What is the theory of the movie Shutter Island?

The films big twist is that Teddy is infact a patient of the mental facility who killed his wife after she drowned their three children in the lake. The main character conflict of Shutter Island is the tale of one man and his refusal to accept reality.

SHUTTER ISLAND Breakdown | Ending Explained, Easter Eggs, Hidden Details & Things You Missed

What mental illness was in Shutter Island?

This condition make him always has hallucination and has delusional acute which is identified as the schizophrenia symptoms. created a new identity as Edward Teddy Daniel who as a detective that come to shutter island with the big mission to find the patient number 67.

Was Andrew faking it at the end of Shutter Island?

In the end of "Shutter Island," it's revealed that the main character, Teddy Daniels, is actually Andrew Laeddis, a patient at the mental institution. He has been experiencing delusions and hallucinations, which were orchestrated by the staff to help him come to terms with the truth of his past.

What do the cigarettes mean in Shutter Island?

When Teddy dreams about Laeddis, Laeddis sits beside the fire in an armchair. Teddy's version of Laeddis; a scarred and disfigured man, then lights a match and proceeds to light Teddy's cigarette. This act of Teddy accepting the light from Laeddis is symbolic of Teddy accepting this fantasy as reality.

Is there a mistake in Shutter Island?

Revealing mistakes

Obvious green screen images when Teddy and Warden are in a jeep coming back from the hidden cave. Obvious green screen images when on the ferry boat and when entering the island on a jeep passing in front of several buildings.

Is Shutter Island based on a true story?

In this thriller, Lehane created a fictitious hospital island with nefarious happenings. Though the later film used Peddocks Island as the backdrop, Lehane's true inspiration likely comes from other islands that have long histories in institutions and social services, such as Rainsford Island and Long Island.

Was Teddy sane at the end of Shutter Island?

Only Teddy is not a real person but a delusion created by inmate Andrew Laeddis. The ending of “Shutter Island” reveals that DiCaprio's character is a patient himself, committed to the Shutter Island facility after murdering his wife (Michelle Williams) because she went insane and killed their children.

Who is the woman in the cave in Shutter Island?

Some believe that the Rachel Solando in the cave was real; others believe that she was a figment of Teddy's imagination. It is possible that he fabricated the Rachel Solando in the cave, because what she says was everything he wanted to hear, which gives him a reason to find everyone suspicious on Shutter Island.

Why Shutter Island is a masterpiece?

First and foremost, the writing was simply great--very intelligent and well-crafted. It really makes you think and doesn't underestimate the audience's intelligence. Second, the acting is really good. DiCaprio was excellent, but having Ben Kingsley and Max Von Sydow REALLY made this a wonderful picture.

What is so good about Shutter Island?

"Shutter Island" is simply a masterpiece. The beginning of the movie suggests a very basic plot of a detective story, possibly a thriller. As the movie progresses, the plot becomes bigger and bigger with more and more complexity added to it. The way this happens is incredible.

What does water symbolize in Shutter Island?

Water in the film is used in opposition to fire, it is used to represent Teddy's sanity, the truth, reality. Water in this case often gets in Teddy's way of finding the truth. The truth of what is going on, what Teddy is really looking for.

What does the ending of Shutter Island mean on Reddit?

Can we talk about the ending of Shutter Island? So the movie makes it pretty clear that Teddy was crazy the entire time and that the whole movie was an experiment; a last effort to bring him back to sanity. All of the references point to him being crazy and it was a nice twist at the end of the movie.

Why was the glass empty in Shutter Island?

In Shutter Island, Teddy is haunted by a perpetual "rain" (i.e. emotional trauma), and so his subconscious blocks out water because it reminds him of the day he lost his three children and murdered his wife. The invisible glass woman, Mrs. Kearns, shows up again at the 97-minute mark in Shutter Island.

What did George tell Teddy while they were in Ward C?

Teddy & Chuck get into building C. Teddy finds George Noyce, He tells Teddy that the only way he can save Noyce is to forget his wife and Laeddis. Noyce tells him that Laeddis is no longer in C building, but that they have taken him to the lighthouse, where they are planning to do a lobotomy on him.

Was he hallucinating in Shutter Island?

Shutter Island is a film that shows so many evidences of hallucination experienced by the main character, Teddy Daniels. Teddy Daniels had bad experiences in the past which lead him to change his identity in order to forget his past.

What is the best dialogue in Shutter Island?

"Which Would Be Worse: To Live As A Monster, Or To Die As A Good Man?" Without a doubt, the most memorable quote of the film is something Teddy says in the final moments.

What is the law of four in Shutter Island?

The only clue is a note, which reads: "The law of 4; I am 47; They are 80; + you are 3; But who is 67?". Daniels believes that the note is a code that points to a 67th patient, when there are only 66.

Did Teddy want to be lobotomized?

Andrew's last line of dialogue, and his failure to respond to being called Teddy, has led many fans to speculate that Andrew had not actually regressed, and was voluntarily submitting himself to a lobotomy so he did not have to live with his sins and the monster he had become.

What does "teddy" mean at the end of Shutter Island?

Explaining The Shutter Island Lighthouse

Cawley explains that Teddy is actually Andrew Laeddis, their "most dangerous patient." He was sent to the island after murdering his manic-depressive wife, Dolores.

What is the climax of the Shutter Island?

Climax: Teddy/Andrew finally remembers that his wife burned their apartment and drowned their three children—and that he shot her. Climactic Moment: Teddy/Andrew speaks to “Chuck” in ambiguous terms that seem to indicate he has relapsed into his delusions—which leaves no other option for him than a lobotomy.