Abstract
Rooted in cultural studies and critical theory, this thesis examines the portrayal of mental illness in the television series Monk. In response to popular readings of the text as a positive depiction of a character with a mental illness, which is in contrast to a history stigmatizing portrayals, textual analysis is used to explore the discursive construction of the identity of main character, Adrian Monk. Since the multiple meanings within a text are representative of the culture that produces it, this analysis explores textual insights into prevailing attitudes and beliefs about people with mental illnesses against the backdrop of continuing progress in the area of mental health. As a supportive framework, Burkean themes of motivation and struggle within a social hierarchy are used in the rhetorical analysis of representations of identification, marginalization, maintenance of the status quo, and change.