Why did Sontag write Illness as Metaphor?
Why did Sontag write Illness as Metaphor?
In the last chapter, Sontag argued that society’s disease metaphors cause patients to feel as if society were against them. Her final argument was that metaphors are not useful for patients, since metaphors make patients feel as if their illness was due to their feelings, rather than lack of effective treatment.
What is disease a metaphor for?
In the past two centuries, the diseases most often used as metaphors for evil were syphilis, tuberculosis, and cancer—all diseases imagined to be, preeminently, the diseases of individuals. Syphilis was thought to be not only a horrible disease but a demeaning, vulgar one.
What is cancer a metaphor for?
For example, cancer is often portrayed as a battle to be fought and won, but for the patient with terminal cancer, the analogy can lead to feelings of failure or not being strong enough to win the war. Another metaphor often used is cancer as a journey.
What is the metaphorical purpose of tuberculosis serve?
The disease is a metaphor for isolation, which explains why the tuberculosis also emotionally scars its host.
What is a metaphor for being sick?
To go down / fall / drop like flies. To kneel over (a disease) To pick up (= to get an illness) To sink fast (about a patient whose condition is getting worse)
What is a medical metaphor?
Doctors often use metaphors euphemistically to address high-risk conditions or procedures in a nonthreatening manner. Medical metaphors often fall into two registers—war and sports. For example, a patient is said to have “defeated” cancer, which “waged a war” on them.
Is cancer a disease?
Cancer is a disease caused when cells divide uncontrollably and spread into surrounding tissues. Cancer is caused by changes to DNA. Most cancer-causing DNA changes occur in sections of DNA called genes.
How do you describe illness?
: a condition of being unhealthy in your body or mind. : a specific condition that prevents your body or mind from working normally : a sickness or disease.
How do you express your illness?
There are a few ways to express how we feel:
- “I don’t feel well.” “I am feeling sick.”
- “I am feeling very tired today.” “I have been feeling very run-down lately.”
- “I have a bad headache.” “I have a sore arm.”
- “I’m sorry you’re not feeling well. Maybe you should go home to bed?”
- “I’m still not feeling well.”
Is cancer a virus or bacteria?
Strictly speaking, cancer is not contagious. But a fair number of cancers are clearly caused by viral or bacterial infections: lymphomas can be triggered by the Epstein-Barr virus, which also causes mononucleosis. Liver cancers can be caused by Hepatitis B and C.
What is the summary of illness as a metaphor?
Summary. Illness as Metaphor, a groundbreaking book, grew out of Susan Sontag ’s own struggle with disease. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and was given only a slim chance of surviving. Her first reaction was fear and self-blame. Perhaps her repressed personality had contributed to her sickness, she surmised.
What is ill illness as Metaphor by Susan Sontag about?
Illness as Metaphor, a book of social criticism by critic and novelist Susan Sontag, is an analysis of how people make meaning of disease and how those meanings can be detrimental. There are any number of mysteries behind the discovery of a new disease—what causes it, how to treat it, who is susceptible.
What is a good metaphor for TB?
As the ravages of TB began to wane due to advances in medical research, this illness replaced by cancer as the bearer of disease metaphors. The repression of intense emotion is again the source of the malady, according to popular conception, but now it takes the form of the malignant, cancerous tumor.
How does Sontag identify common metaphors?
Instead, to identify common metaphors, Sontag uses research, insight, and criticism; gives examples of their usage in politics, philosophy, psychology, medicine, and literature; and makes a case for their eradication.
