Metaphor

Language is an essential aspect of our everyday lives, as it is the most effective way to communicate ideas and emotions.  Figurative language has proven to be an important subcategory of language, consisting of a concept that is arguably the most thought-provoking communicative device: the metaphor.  Metaphor is extremely powerful, and unfortunately its power can be unintentionally utilized to make a particular aspect of a person’s life much worse than it already may be.  Often times, this occurs when metaphor is connected to illness, and this is exactly what will be explored in the following texts.  In Susan Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors numerous metaphors are fastened to cancer, a disease undeniably made worse by the language which surrounds it.  Similarly, in “An Interesting Metaphor for Eating Disorders and the Journey of Recovery” by Ingrid M. Middleton, the figurative language that surrounds eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia only serves to worsen the already negative aspects of such conditions.  Although two completely different texts, both Sontag’s novel and Middleton’s short piece serve to emphasize how any medical condition can be made to seem exponentially worse when attached to metaphor.

In Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors, the most damaging of metaphors associated with cancer seems to be that which makes having the illness a combative experience.  Sontag states in her piece: “Punitive notions of disease have a long history, and such notions are particularly active with cancer.  There is the ‘fight’ or ‘crusade’ against cancer; cancer is the ‘killer’ disease; people who have cancer are ‘cancer victims’.  Ostensibly, the illness is the culprit.  But it is also the cancer patient who is made culpable” (Sontag 57).  This chunk of the text indicates that a patient dealing with cancer is actually a person at war, and thus as there are always two sides in a war, the patient is responsible for their own “victory”.  Essentially, Sontag claims that this metaphor associated with cancer makes a patient feel as though they are indeed in battle, and it is up to them to prosper and “defeat” the illness.  Thus, if at any point the conditions of a victim worsen, they are losing the battle to cancer and are thereby failures.  The doctors who aid the patient in battling the illness have also failed in their duties as protectors.  Sontag evidently claims that the war-based language associated with cancer is by no means encouraging to either the patient or the doctor, but rather damaging to their mindset and  hope.

In Middleton’s “An Interesting Metaphor for Eating Disorders and the Journey of Recovery” eating disorders as a whole are compared to the Sirens Odysseus encountered in his journey.  The Sirens were female, bird-like creatures whose voices could seduce any person who was within range of their island.  Typically, someone who heard the Sirens’ singing would stop at nothing to get closer to the creatures, and eventually when they would get close enough, they would be eaten.  In her piece, Middleton states, “This reminds me so much of what it feels like to be “called” by an eating disorder.  Initially, it promises escape, avoidance of pain, dissociation from self, a slimmer body, being able to eat what you want without obvious consequences and sometimes a complete shut out from the environment.  By the time we hear and follow the eating disorder song, it’s almost too late” (Middleton 1).  As evident from the quote, Middleton is claiming that comparing an eating disorder to the nature of the Sirens is quite degrading.  Such a metaphor makes it seem as though a victim of anorexia or bulimia is working towards a body image that they will never achieve, and essentially any and all efforts they are making towards maintaining their skinny frame is simply useless.  Middleton also states in her piece: “In my work and personal experience with anorexia and bulimia, I have learned (the hard way) that having an eating disorder is no different from being in an abusive relationship. I know how difficult it can be to have made significant progress into a healthy life, dealing with issues head-on and finally feeling alive again to suddenly be triggered by something, someone or simply an alluring voice which lures me back into a dark place where the abuser is waiting” (Middleton 1).  Thus, while it may be true that a person with an eating disorder will never reach the perfect perception of themselves, this does not take away from Middleton’s point that associating the sirens with a condition such as bulimia makes the victim’s case bleak and hopeless.  Dealing with such disorders is unhealthy as it is, but knowing that in the end it is all for nothing makes the condition exponentially worse.

Cancer and eating disorders are drastically different, and yet the effect that metaphor has on both conditions is incredibly similar.  As previously stated, the battle-like nature that has involved itself with cancer is ultimately degrading to both doctors and cancer patients because they feel like they are at fault if the “battle” is being lost.  Similarly, the association of the Sirens with eating disorders is quite degrading as it makes a victim feel as though they are chasing a meaningless goal.  In both cases, metaphor empowers disease and consequently weakens the mind.  Nowadays it is known that a large part of dealing with an illness stems from a victim’s mental state.  If a patient is not healthy in the mind, the recovery process will be significantly harsher.  Illness-related metaphors make it very difficult for patients to maintain positive attitudes towards their conditions, especially when it is made to seem that there is no hope for the future.  Both of the metaphors previously explored imply an antagonistic relationship between the body and some sort of external controlling force.  In the case of cancer, this force is the war that is being fought.  In the case of eating disorders, it is the calling of a seemingly beautiful and intriguing voice.

As discussed, Sontag’s cancer metaphor puts heavy dependence on cancer victims to heal themselves by comparing the disease to war, while Middleton’s eating disorder metaphor emphasizes a sense of helplessness by comparing the illness to the encounter of the deceivingly beautiful Sirens.  The effect of metaphor on illness is undeniably degrading to the victim and empowering to the disease, something which only serves to worsen one’s ability to deal with disease.  In the modern world, metaphor in the medical field is truly dangerous, and for that reason its use should be limited.

 

 

Work Cited

 

Middleton, Ingrid M. “An Interesting Metaphor for Eating Disorders and The Journey of     Recovery.” Recovery Warriors, 27 Sept. 2016, www.recoverywarriors.com/story-recovery-break-free-eating-disorder/.

 

Sontag, Susan.  Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors. Picador, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.