Essay #2 Assignment: Illness as Metaphor

 

“My subject is not physical illness itself but the uses of illness as a figure or metaphor. My point is that illness is not a metaphor, and the most truthful way of regarding illness—and the healthiest way of being ill—is one most purified of, most resistant to, metaphoric thinking. Yet, it is hardly possible to take up one’s residence in the kingdom of the ill unprejudiced by the lurid metaphors with which it has been landscaped. It is toward an elucidation of those metaphors, and a liberation from them, that I dedicate this inquiry” (Sontag 4).

 

For this assignment, you will be applying Susan Sontag’s method from Illness as Metaphor (1978) to identify figurative language used to describe illnesses, diseases, or syndromes. You should select an illness that has no known demonstrable cause or one in which many causes are speculated.  Your essay should make a claim about whether or not the language used to discuss your disease supports, refutes, or complicates Sontag’s thesis. Consider the examples of figurative language we have discussed in class and Sontag’s models of psychological, economic, and military metaphors.  What would Sontag say about the language used to discuss

your illness? How does metaphor shape cultural attitudes about the illness, disease, or syndrome? Why does she urge us to purify ourselves from metaphors?

 

 

Recommendations:

 

•    In contrast to what we discussed in class, I’m going to widen the parameters a bit and allow you to research “disorders.”  This means that autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit disorder, and a long list of other similarly classified behaviors are possible topics.  That said, proceed with caution since it might require a bit of extra work.  You will need to spend an adequate amount of time explaining and discussing what Sontag would think about the term “disorder” and how it works with her theory.

•    Genetic diseases that are traceable to a genetic mutation or genetic “defect” of some kind don’t quite fit the model of a disease with an unknown cause or multiple causes. Still, Sontag would likely ask us to question the language of genetics. What would Sontag say about using the term genetic “defect?” What does she say about “mutation?” If you were to pick a genetic disease, you would

need to extend Sontag’s argument to genetics which I think is possible, but like choosing “disorders”

 

it really depends on the following:

 

 

1. What is debatable about these diseases? What does it mean to say either of them can be attributed to genetics?

 

2. Are they researchable?  You don’t need a lot of sources for this essay but you don’t want to get stuck with only two or three to choose from because the illness, disease, syndrome, or disorder, you have chosen is rare.

If you are not choosing a disease from the list I have provided below, please check with me about your topic before you proceed.

 

Requirements:

•      No straw man (woman) or ad hominem (against the woman) fallacies.  Remember that Sontag is writing in 1978. Don’t attempt to complicate her argument by using medical advances or knowledge that she could not have possibly known about. Don’t direct a counterargument against her. Instead, stick to her theory and text.

•         You need to apply Sontag’s method and demonstrate that you understand her points before you disagree with her theory.  Then, you can consider a potential counterargument.

•         3-5 different sources in addition to Sontag’s text. It’s the variety of sources that is important.  As we have discussed in class, reliable websites for definitions of diseases that rely primarily on scientific, medical terms can be found at the websites below.

National Institutes of Health http://www.nih.gov/ Center for Disease Control  http://www.cdc.gov/

Databases such as PubMed and MEDLINE are good, but expect to see some figurative language. These databases can be accessed through the Butler library.

Try Google Scholar for a variety of texts about your disease or illness.  Most of the time, your search will yield scholarly articles with difficult specialized language, but occasionally, other types of documents turn up as well.

Websites for the national organization or foundations about your illness or disease

Patient /Support Group websites

 

The final draft of this assignment should be 3-5 pages long in MLA format and conform to the writing guidelines explained under Essays & Research Paper of the FYS syllabus.

 

Here is a list of diseases, illnesses, syndromes, disorders with unknown causes or multiple causes. This is by no means exhaustive.  I’m happy to approve a different disease provided it meets the criteria:

 

 

Alzheimer’s                                               Lupus                                      Tourette’s Syndrome

 

Fibromyalgia                                             Type I Diabetes Chronic Fatigue Syndrome                       Erythromelalgia Endometriosis                                           Sjogren’s Syndrome

Irritable Bowel Syndrome                         Reflex Sympathy Dystrophy/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

 

Crohn’s Disease                                       Polyarteritis nodosa

 

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)      Münchausen Syndrome

 

Meniere’s Disease                                    Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

 

 

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FYS 093

 

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In Illness as At/etaphor, Susan Sontag discusses the effects of language on the public’s understanding of illness, arguing that figurative language distracts from the illness itself:” the most truthful way of regarding illness-  and the healthiest way of being ill-  is one most purified ot:most resistant to, metaphoric thinking” (Sontag 3). Still, the use of figurative language is inevitable, as are its interpretations. Although Sontag believes figurative language may distract from the illness itself, and further hinder society’s understanding of illness, it may help society’s understanding. Still, illnesses with unknown causes are particularly interpreted in my ways, as society does not know who or what to blame.

 

Tourette Syndrome, a neurological condition that is characterized by tics (ninds.nih.gov), has many ambiguous terms attached to it. Its terminology, although not exactly figurative language, may affect the way others see Tourette’s. Sontag would likely find issue with the label of “syndrome”, as the word merely means “a set of symptom s occtming together” (thefreedictionaty.com), and appears to be a “catch-all” phrase. This word usage may undermine Tourette’s as a medical condition, as it is defined by “symptoms”- which are subjective (i.e. a headache), instead of signs, which are objective and usually measurable (i.e. bl ood pressure). However, Tourette’s is defined by tics, which are sudden movements or vocalizations. Tics are often described as symptoms, but are fairly obvious to an observer and perhaps could be considered signs. The word “symptom” generates an idea that the feelings experienced in a

 

 

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An individual with Tourette’s herself writes: ” It would not be true to say that people with

 

 

TS have absolutely no control over their tics, as though it was some type of spasm; rather, a more appropriate tem1 would be ‘compelling”‘ (Peiss, “The Facts About Tourette Syndrome”). Peiss c..eates a middle te..m between “involuntary” and “deliberate’ that seems to be much needed in

the Tourette’s community.   However, there are two varying definition of “compelling”: “drivingly forceful” and “arousing or denoting strong interest, esp admiring interest”

(thefi-eedictionary.com). Comparing these definitions, one can assume she is applying the first

 

definition. Without noting these two separate definitions, though, many may assume the second instead, as it is widely used. As the second definition is denotes ” admiring interest”, one could interpret that people with Tourette’s want to executing these tics- however, most understand that executing a tic is not a wanted behavior.

 

A term often used to describe tics and uncontrollable behaviors is ..compulsive”. In

 

every-day conversation, it seems appropriate. But its scientific definition makes distinctions. In a research study on the overlap ofTourette’s and OCD, scientists explain that a compulsion is “performed according to specific rules …or  it is performed to reduce anxiety, distress or discomfort”. (Kurian and Palumbo). The figurative use of the word “compulsive” to describe a condition such as Tourette’s would therefore be considered inaccurate and, as Sontag articulates, distracts from the illness and displays the incorrect message.  Even so, these researchers admit that “some complex obsessive compulsive and impulsive behaviors may be mistaken for other symptoms, such as complex tics or psychotic behavior .. Unlike compulsions, motor tics are

often preceded by focal uncomfortable somatic sensations”; despite this distinction between compulsions and tics, obsessive-compulsive symptoms are often found in individuals with

 

 

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Tom·ette’s (Kurian and Palumbo). Although the word “compulsive” shouldn’t be used to describe the tics themselves, the word facilitates in capturing the essence of Tourette’s symptoms.

 

One mother writes emphasizes accepting Tourene’s, instead of trying to fix it, her motto being “move on from the panic ‘Now What?’  to ‘So What?'”. She says, “Acceptance of the natural waxing and waning nature of tics can help as you negotiate life with a baffling condition” (“Tourette Syndrome-Now What?”).  She describes Tourette’s to have a “natural waxing and waning nature”, infening  that tics go through phases of a cycle. “Natural” implies that the tics should be considered normal and therefore there should be no attempt to stop it, despite the fact that her main statement is to accept Tourette’s and have no shameful feelings about the

syndrome. She is advocating acceptance of the syndrome, not how to stop it. Sontag would find this figurative language to be distracting from Tourette’s itself, as she does not focus on finding the treatment tor Tourette’s Still, this mentality she has applied to cancer cannot be equivalently applied to Tourette’s, as they are very different illnesses. A person with Tourettes still can live a long and healthy life while still having tics, while someone with cancer may not. Therefore, many people of the Tourette’s community may want the emphasis to be on accepting Tourettes, not “curing” it.

 

Susan Sontag discusses the negative effects of figurative language in Illness as Metaphor,

 

stating that it distracts from the illness itself and wrongly applies the “blame the victim” mentality to those who have the illness.  Still, some language facilitates in capturing the essence of illness. Still, with Sontag’s theory in mind, one can point out many faults in the language

 

 

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used to discuss Tourette’s. However, this is an issue not because it distracts society from finding a “cure” for it, but because it incorrectly or ambiguously represents Tourette’s. As Tourette’s is not considered a deathly illness, but a socially inappropriate one, it is more important to exhibit language to further understand and accept Tourettes,  rather than to “cure” it. Still, as figmative language often misrepresents illness, along with the individuals who have an illness, it is beneficia1y to use scientific terms with clear definitions and c1iteria to accurately explain illness.