Metaphors are a versatile literary tool that is used in all aspects of life to make sense of complex situations.
The use of metaphors in medicine is widespread, with studies showing that
physicians use metaphors in almost two-thirds of their conversations with patients with serious
illnesses (Casarrett et al., 2010). Doctors who used more metaphors were seen as better communicators by their patients, who also reported that they felt more assured that their doctor prioritized their understanding of their condition through the use of such metaphors (Khullar, “The Trouble with Medicine’s Metaphors”).
However, metaphors do not just help us understand, they also shape our perceptions of illnesses.
For this essay, we were asked to do a close reading of Susan Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor or Eula Biss’ On Inoculation, as well as a text of our liking, and choose one specific metaphor from each to analyze in hopes of understanding the power of metaphor to change and influence our perception of disease.
“The Impact of Framing in Metaphor Use”
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