Susan Sontag Illness As Metaphor Analysis

The h’orderves include a pleasant headache, followed by a main dish about fever heat, finished off with a nice plate of muscle fatigue for dessert; that’s illness in a nutshell. Illness is an inevitable occurrence in life, and in the excerpt of Susan Sontag’s book, Illness as Metaphor, she makes this very apparent. Oftentimes, people euphemize the concept of illness, and Sontag is completely against this. Throughout the excerpt, she establishes her perspective of illness through the application of metaphor and paradox.
Sontag’s overwhelming use of metaphor throughout her piece aided in the development of her attitude. Notably, Sontag compares being ill versus being well to being a citizen in the “kingdom of the sick” versus the “kingdom of the well.” She believes that people are born with

“dual citizenship” into these kingdoms, and there is essentially no way to escape this. This direct comparison truly shows that Sontag views illness as a truly polarizing concept. Because the possibility of becoming ill is innate, it would be unrealistic for people to always think that they will get lucky with the “good passport,” and will not have to be “citizens of that other place.” This is the exact point Sontag is trying to make through the use of these metaphors. She yearns for people to become cognizant of the fact that illness is ineluctable, and despite people’s efforts to remain on one side of the kingdom, at one point or another, they will find themselves on the darker side.
Additionally, Sontag makes great use of paradox within her piece to further develop her attitude.

Her primary focus is on the fact that she is not a proponent of “the uses of illness as a figure of a metaphor.” Consequently, she believes that the “the healthiest way of being ill is one most purified of, most resistant to, metaphoric thinking.” Initially, this may seem contradictory because how is it possible to have healthy way of being ill? Uniquely, Sontag’s paradox reiterates her point that people need to stop masking the idea of illness, and it is imperative that they just face it head on. Likewise, Sontag seems to contradict herself again by advocating against the use of metaphor while simultaneously using it herself to describe illness. Sontag does this because she is aware that people inherently think of illness in a metaphorical way, but she is attempting to make people refrain from doing this because it blinds them from their truthful selves. By building up metaphor in the beginning of her excerpt, it makes it much easier and much more effective to destroy later in her piece. Moreover, Sontag’s use of paradox actually helps reinforce her attitude regarding this

matter.
Furthermore, illness is not a concept that should be euphemized in any way, and this idea is primarily developed through Sontag’s implementation of metaphor and paradox. By describing illness in terms of kingdoms, Sontag is making a connection that her readers are familiar with. In regards to her paradox, she is intentionally contradicting herself to further prove her point, and it effectively expresses her attitude. Henceforth, the kingdom of the well and the kingdom of the sick will always live on, and according to Sontag, evading metaphors makes the journey a little more pleasant.