Chidobe Umeasor

Professor Geoghan

Composition for Creative Expression FIQWS 10113 MED

October 16 2019

The Power of Metaphor in understanding Illness and Suffering

               Metaphors are unconsciously used in everyday speech. It is an effective rhetorical strategy to use to get an idea across in a rather implicit way. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines metaphor as “ a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them. A metaphor has two components, the abstract, and the concrete. The abstract is what is trying to be explained, and the concrete is how the idea is being explained using ideas that people generally understand.  In Illness as Metaphor by Susan Sontag, and the hit song “Lovely” by Billie Eilish and Khalid, metaphor is used to portray versions of illness and suffering. The issues concerning the portrayal of cancer in society is highlighted by Sontag, and the lyrics to “Lovely” draw a dangerous picture of what living with chronic illness and mental health is really like, with their flawed sentiments seem to run rampant in society.

               Sontag introduces her text with common metaphors used to describe illness. “Illness is the night-side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well…and the sick” (Sontag 3). Society views and accepts illness and wellness as two parts of life that all people belong to, and will be experiencing at what point. But what happens when a specific disease is not treated as impartially as the rest? This leads to Sontag’s exploration of  society’s take on cancer. She describes how the very common use of warlike language when discussing cancer in medical practice creates a rather frightening view of the disease. “Cancer cells do not simply multiply; they are ‘invasive.’” “Cancer cells ‘colonize’” (Sontag 64). Sontag argues that in the mind of a patient, phrases like these make the patient feel as though their body is a war zone, and they are being attacked by some foreign invader, and their body’s ‘defenses’ (Sontag 64) are not strong enough to withstand the battle. The patient begins to feel fearful, bringing about a sense of debilitation and helplessness that can inhibit their recovery process when those thoughts are completely preventable. The idea that there is a need to fight cancer moves past the patient’s view of their body, and up to a point where “the disease itself [cancer] is conceived as the enemy on which society wages war.” (Sontag 66).  Sontag points out that this war-like language continues even in society’s earnest efforts to eradicate the disease. Countless movements in efforts to support cancer research and treatment use phrases like ‘the war on cancer’ (Sontag 66) as part of their campaigns, and the dangerous part is, as Sontag points out, it is working. People have fed into the narrative so much that even political and medical movements use these harmful statements as ways to garner support for their otherwise good cause.

               In recent years, there have been heated arguments around the romanticization of mental illness in society. It seems to be glorified in the media because the shows, music, and movies that do such things are always the most popular and the most talked about. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, romanticization is “to think about or describe something as being better or more attractive or interesting than it really is.” In the media, characters that have mental illness are usually portrayed to be people with money, good looks, or an overall high status, making mental health issues seem like a necessary evil to have those prized possessions. The popularity of the song “Lovely” by artists Billie Eilish and Khalid is a perfect example of how society accepts this romanticization. Billie Eilish and Khalid are popular for making music that deals with topics that society tends to shy away from, like depression and anxiety, and that talk about experiences that the average teenager faces, like being in school and being broke. We know that “Lovely” is alluding to depression in its lyrics because it was featured in a show that revolves around young people suffering from depression. In addition, the lyrics in the song that refer to depression and mental health illness include being “all alone” wanting to “feel alive” and always being in their “head space”. In the song, they sing: Isn’t it lovely/ All alone / Heart made of glass, my mind of stone / Tear me to pieces, skin to bone / Hello, Welcome home. The words being focused on here are “glass,” “stone,” and “home”. The word “glass” suggests a fragile heart, and  “stone” means that the person is also hard headed and stubborn. Since the theme of the song is trying to overcome depression, it can be inferred that their “home” is being in a depressive state. When we think of home, we think of a “lovely” place where we feel comfortable. When people hear these lyrics, it could make them feel as though it is normal to be feeling the way they are feeling. This does not encourage them to seek help, leaving them to suffer in silence. These lyrics pose a dangerous idea that mentally being at “home” is being depressed, no matter how hard one tries to overcome their “mind of stone.” 

                The warlike language that Sontag highlights in her essay are part of a metaphor that obscures the way patients and society view and treat cancer. The language has an underlying negative effect on all parties involved in the conversation on cancer. It makes cancer out to be something more than it actually is, demonizing it in a way. The lyrics in “Lovely” also obscure the way people view mental illness and internal mental suffering. Both of these metaphors highlight the ideas that are obscured in a negative way in society. They both create a dangerous perspective of the abstract ideas that they are trying to represent. The difference between the presentation of both metaphors, however, is that Sontag herself is not the one trying to impose the use of war like language when describing cancer. She is actually informing the reader of the way the language being used is wrongly manipulating our view of the disease. However, “Lovely’ seems to normalize the feelings of depression, and since it was written and sung by very famous people, it brings the normalization up to a level of romanticization. If these sentiments regarding mental health continue to spread, it can affect the way they are treated. People suffering from mental health diseases can have their feelings dismissed, and even prevent them from being open about them in the first place.

                 Although metaphors serve the purpose of making things easier to understand by relating abstract ideas to concrete examples of things we already know, the examples provided in this essay prove that metaphors are potentially dangerous in understanding pain, suffering, disease or illness. Sontag explores the effect that metaphor has on the currently held stigma on cancer, and how it creates a false reality for people with the disease and members of society. With the ever growing popularity of teen musical artists like Billie Eilish and Khalid, it is evident that a romanticized view of mental health, specifically depression, has taken over society and is especially popular among teenagers. Both of these metaphors, and others of the like, contribute the way society deals, views, and treats health as a whole.

Works Cited

“Billie Eilish & Khalid – ​Lovely.” Genius, 19 Apr. 2018, https://genius.com/Billie-eilish-and-khalid-lovely-lyrics.

“Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America’s Most-Trusted Online Dictionary.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/.

Sontag, Susan, and Susan Sontag. Illness as Metaphor ; and, AIDS and Its Metaphors. Doubleday, 1990.