Susan Sontag Illness As Metaphor Analysis

Susan Sontag, in her book Illness as Metaphor, describes illness as being a “kingdom” where each person must eventually reside. She first states that each person has “dual citizenship” to the nation of the well and the nation of the ill, then explains that each person must acknowledge himself as a part of “that other place”. She finally states that as a person living in the “kingdom of the sick”, she has learned that the best way to confront illness is without the use of distracting metaphors, since they commonly do not convey the truth. The use of extended metaphors of illness is done to ironically display the author’s attitude of disappointment in the stereotypes of disease.
As Sontag begins the book, she makes various comparisons. She first
This is ironic because… The situational irony she uses within this excerpt makes the reader contemplate and rethink the author’s original message. Sontag displays her underlying disapproval by stating “illness is not a metaphor, and the most truthful way of regarding illness… is one… most resistant to metaphoric thinking.” Here, Sontag cautions her readers of the “lurid metaphors”, which makes it obvious to the reader that she is dissatisfied with the way illnesses are viewed. Essentially, the writer is implying that the main danger in these stereotypes is that they are so easily accepted and unquestioned.
Within the passage, Sontag effectively displays her disappointed attitude towards metaphors of illness. She although she begins the passage by using metaphors to describe sickness, she then ironically states that “illness is not a metaphor,” and thus should not be treated as one. She refers to stereotypes of illness as being “lurid metaphors” and that we must be “liberated” from them. Through her use of metaphors and irony, the writer is able to reveal the inaccuracy of the common stereotypes of illness and encourage the reader to rethink the way he views