Hunter Patch Adams is the main character of the film Patch Adams. Hunter was lost and confused when he checked himself into a psychiatric hospital after attempting suicide. Plagued by life's uncertainties, he realized he needed medical help. Over the course of the film it is easy to see how his character grows and uses the process of discernment to bring meaning to his life and the lives of others he comes into contact with. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay At the mental hospital Patch can take the time to make a clear choice about what he will do with his life with his head and his heart. Arthur Mendelson, one of the hospital's patients, shows Patch how to look beyond the problem to find his answers. Later that evening he helps his roommate Rudy kill the imaginary squirrels. That's when Patch realizes the answer he was looking for. He realizes that he wants to help people, know people, and listen to people. Rudy and the other patients at the asylum helped him help himself. He was able to forget his own problems while helping others forget theirs. He retires from the hospital to realize his dream. The discernment process consists of four fundamental principles; incarnation, giving of oneself and abandoning oneself, universality and communion. The principle of incarnation and death reminds us not to waste time but to manifest our love here and now because there may not be another possibility. (Wolff 125) Giving and being abandoned is exactly that, giving all you can to improve the human condition by accepting others and being able to serve them with truer love. (Wolff 125) Universality is being able to view all human beings as equal, regardless of race, ethnicity, and background. The final principle of communion embodies unity. When we as human beings come together, that's when we can love everyone. Revealing Patch's unique characteristics throughout the filmPatch clearly shows us how he managed to incorporate the four criteria of the discernment process. Patch was able to accept the people around him as they were. In the hospital and with his classmates he treated everyone with respect and dignity. He gave help to everyone in need even when he needed it. He opened the clinic with Arthur's help, but sacrificed his pay, his sleep, and his study time to help the sick. This helped Patch to be in communion with his world. He was able to feel part of something special. Patch clearly demonstrates the principle of agape. He was doing and working indirectly for the good of others and himself. When he begins visiting patients in the medical school hospital, he helps sick patients feel better by helping them forget their illness and pain. Patch's passion for helping people leads him to decide that, as a doctor, he wants to improve the quality of life for patients while under his care. His time in the asylum and experience with the doctor showed him that there was a need for a doctor who truly cared and listened to his patients. He knew that after helping Rudy he had the ability to help people. He then decided to attend medical school to begin his journey. Listening to his heart is also something Patch did well. He demonstrates this when he goes to the hospital and sees the woman being denied seeing her daughter because she has to fill out medical forms. This encounter makes Patch imagine Gesundheit, a hospital where treatment is free and humor is used to cure pain and.