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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page research paper that concentrates on summarizes and analyzing Susan Sontag's remarks on AIDS as a metaphor for illness in Illness in Metaphor and AIDS and its Metaphors. The writer examines Sontag's argument and then looks at how her points are reflected in the media. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khsontag.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
as a sign that the individual so afflicted somehow deserves his fate, offers reassurance to those not similarly afflicted; however, while this makes people feel more comfortable, more in control,
of their own fate, it also causes misconceptions and creates situations that are unjust. Susan Sontag makes this point, among others, in her text Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and
its Metaphors (2001). First of all, Susan Sontag (2001) informs her readers that, as a cancer survivor, she believes fully in the power of metaphorical language. However, her experience
has also taught her that "metaphors can kill," when disease is comprehended by employing a metaphor that blames the victim. The modern understanding of disease is predicated entirely on
seeing illness in terms of a military metaphor. The body is viewed as being invaded by microorganisms. This metaphor, while accurate in its own way, forces the responsibility for the
illness onto the individual, where, previously, illness was viewed as a community problem (Sontag, 2001). The responsibility of victims for their own illness is perceived as greater for sexually transmitted
diseases (Sontag, 2001). Sontags perspective on AIDS endeavors to change the way in which the public thinks about AIDS and to free both AID victims and the general population
from the plethora of emotionally-charged meanings that unnecessarily increase the suffering of those stricken with this disease. Examining the complexity of meanings associated with AIDS, Sontag shows how they only
serve to obscure and falsify medical reality, as well as providing obstacles to humane social response. In short, Sontag calls for an end to the tyranny of metaphors. Sontag
points out that AIDS is a disease that can expose those stricken with it to shame, disgrace and persecution. She goes on to eloquently argue against the words that support
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