Mindset of Escaping
When one wants to emphasize something or an emotion, what would be the most optimal way to do so? It would most likely be the tone of voice or the selection of words that the speaker chooses to use. But what if the message that is being conveyed can only be limited to pen and paper, how would one express their thoughts and feelings about anything the world has to offer? A metaphor is one of the most optimal ways for an author to represent their thoughts on certain constructs in the world. A metaphor is defined as “A figure of speech in which a name or descriptive word or phrase is transferred to an object or action different from, but analogous to, that to which it is literally applicable”. This is critical for expression, rather than saying “he is a mean person” one can say “his words cut me deep into my soul” which can further convey the idea, normally an abstract concept, that the person the narrator is referring to is mean. Metaphors work even better in the medical field as patients are able to connect more with their doctors and can represent their pain and illnesses much better, thus clarifying how they feel. Throughout history there have been plenty of pieces of literature that explore this form of figurative language in order to express illness and how illness affects patients. Two of the most notable texts being The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman and Illness as a Metaphor by Susan Sontag. The metaphors from Gilman and Sontag provide great clarity to the abstract idea of “escaping” as plenty of patients display a desire to escape from their illnesses.
The Yellow Wallpaper is a feminist piece that highlights the struggle sick women went through in the late 1800s, they were often neglected and mistreated to the point where they would go insane and the protagonist of this story is going through those negative mental shifts. Gilman utilizes a metaphor of the shadow figure in the wallpaper to represent isolation of the ill. Gilman wrote, “I kept still and watched the moonlight on that undulating wallpaper till I felt creepy. The faint figure behind seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get out.” (Gilman) and in this section the figure is meant to be a projection of her inner desire to escape the nursery. The figure is the woman, though she is not aware of this fact, and highlights her desperation to leave the nursery that she feels trapped in as the figure shakes the pattern as if they were bars in a prison cell. Another example of Gilman using an object to display the abstract idea of escape is when she wrote, “Behind that outside pattern the dim shapes get clearer every day. It is always the same shape, only very numerous. And it is like a woman stooping down and creeping about behind that pattern. I don’t like it a bit. I wonder – I begin to think – I wish John would take me away from here!”(Gilman). Similarly to the previous excerpt, the figure she sees inside of the wallpaper is creeping about which is meant to represent her mental deterioration inside of her “prison” and the extremity of her desire to leave the room. Gilman utilizes the shadow in order to explore a theme of escaping that the sick character is feeling, furthermore, this usage of figurative language also clarifies the mindset of sick women in these times and the severe mental changes they tend to go through. It is evident that she is clarifying as there is a clear sign of mental deterioration and desperation to leave the room therefore, the metaphor aids in telling the narratives of patients who simply wish they could “outrun” their illnesses.
Sontag’s text, Illness as a Metaphor, uses descriptive metaphors to help convey the idea of how some cancer patients desire an escape from their illness. For example, the text states “ It is not naming as such that is pejorative or damning, but the name “cancer”. As long as a particular disease is treated as an evil, invincible predator, not just a disease, most people with cancer will indeed be demoralized by learning what disease they have.”(Sontag). The words “evil” and “invincible predator” are used to represent cancer’s effect on people which is similar to being preyed upon. Sontag is trying to convey the idea that it is like we are below cancer in the food chain displaying how serious the illness is and showing why people take it seriously and are afraid of it. When prey is hunted in the wild, they do everything they can to escape the predator thus displaying Sontag’s attempt to highlight the mindset of escape with cancer patients. Additionally she stated, “Contact with someone afflicted with a disease regarded as a mysterious malevolency inevitably feels like a trespass; worse, like the violation of a taboo.”(Sontag), which further exemplifies the idea of trying to convey the thoughts of sick cancer patients and of people who don’t have cancer. The usage of describing cancer as “evil” and a “mysterious malevolency” to target the idea of fear that cancer instills onto the public is the most optimal way as it provides emphasis onto the idea of escape. The people who are not struggling with cancer all do their best to avoid the disease and they villainize it in hopes of never having to deal with it, this in itself displays the “escape mindset” that illness can bring upon people as people are indirectly trying to escape cancer. The metaphors provide great clarity onto the emotions that cancer patients face, which is fear and the feeling of wanting to run away from illness like a gazelle trying to escape a lion.
In the two texts, there’s an observation of metaphors used to clarify the inner feelings of the ill. The metaphors simply help provide a voice for the ill and their desire to escape their pain, whether it is the voice of 1800s women or modern cancer patients, there is great clarification on what someone is going through. The theme of wanting to escape is evident through Sontag’s descriptive metaphors about cancer and Gilman’s usage of metaphors that project the inner feelings of the protagonist which is a desire to escape her nursery. Both texts intended to share the inner thoughts of a great number of patients around the world who don’t want to stick around and fight, nor do they want to have hope but rather they want to flee from their illness as if it was a ghost haunting them; the idea of escaping. The voice gained from these metaphors can also lead to reform as authors like Gilman wrote these narratives in order to cause change in the world but as previously stated the voice would not be loud if not for metaphors. Metaphorical language is the method that authors utilize in order to help convey their messages, in the same way as tone may be used when talking to one person to help convey one’s emotions. The clarification gained is surreal and unparalleled thus making it a great method that ill patients can use to help clarify how they feel about their pain.
Works Cited
- Simpson, J. A. (n.d.). Metaphor . The oxford english dictionary.
2. Sontag, S. (1991). Illness as a metaphor: AIDS and its metaphors. Penguin.
3. Gilman, C. P. (n.d.). The yellow wallpaper. Full Text – The Yellow Wallpaper – Owl Eyes. https://www.owleyes.org/text/yellow-wallpaper/read/yellow-wallpaper#root-422327-1
4. Cabral, C. (2019, December 8). Understanding the yellow wallpaper: Summary and analysis. Understanding The Yellow Wallpaper: Summary and Analysis. https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-yellow-wallpaper-summary-analysis#:~:text=%22The%20Yellow%20Wallpaper%22%20details%20the,country%20estate%20with%20her%20family.
