Illness is portrayed in literature just as in real life with mysterious and frightening aspects. Illness within a piece of work can have “strong symbolic or metaphorical possibilities.” Prime literary diseases should be picturesque and the origins of the diseases are most commonly unexplained. When there is a stated illness the focus transfers from the mere symptoms of the disease to employing that there is a stronger “element of verisimilitude” and “houses symbolic or metaphorical intentions.” Illness plays a massive part in literature just like it does in reality.
In A Primer for the Punctuation of Heart Disease the narrator’s family has a remarkable family history of heart disease that the title fully announces. However the family also has a significant history of silence. These two negative characteristics define Jonathan’s family as he sees it, as well as being a Jewish family. The whole short story is dedicated to how Jonathan’s family communicates to each other. Silence dominates their conversations and the family never tells each other their true heartfelt feelings to one another. He takes every aspect of their communication and develops it into what it mainly consists of, whispers, silence, extra heated agreements, unique familiar phrases, and so on. Their exchange of chit chat most commonly directs it’s self at the heart disease which purges their good health. With a father who has suffered twenty-two heart attacks it can easily be seen that the heart diseases causes continuous worrying for the other members of the family. The illness stands as a symbol for the lack of connection within their family, they are always at a distance with each other but down deep in their heart they truly love on another thoroughly. Their illness portrays more than heart trouble physically but emotionally too. It lies between the health of a person and the health between a family.
No comments:
Post a Comment