Topic of Cancer by Hitchens vs Port-au-Prince -The Moment by Berlinski - Literature review Example

Essay, English Topic: Comparison Contrast Analysis Essay The Topic of Cancer: Christopher Hitchens Introduction Death is a mysterious weapon. In the ultimate analysis it destroys one and all, but its methods of operations vary from individual to individual. It strikes one at the most unexpected moment but lingers on with another for months, sometimes years together before the final take-off. To experience the feeling of death while still alive is tortuous. “Topic of Cancer” by Christopher Hitchens is a story of “war” against cancer, and the war-front is the human body. The author is the cancer patient, as such the story is told in the first person perspective with telling effect. The author’s sterling mastery over the English language makes it a good literary creation. Cancer is the disease of the tissues of the human body but its effect on the psyche is tremendous and extremely difficult to challenge. One visualizes the gory scene of death every moment as the incurable state of health slowly deteriorates and the patient feels that he is sinking in to the quicksand, getting out which is impossibility and eventually vanishes totally One important issue to be noted is authors uses literary devices and such exercise is natural part of their writing process, in tandem with their talents. Meaning, the author does not make deliberate efforts to implant a literary device and it goes with one’s intrinsic writing style. Hitchens makes generous use of the metaphors to give vent to the feelings of his inner world. He has channelized the turbulence in his heart and avalanche of emotions through touching metaphors. Cancer diagnosis and treatment involves painful processes and only the suffering individual knows how difficult it is to tackle them. Cancer changed the perspective of his world which he cryptically conveys as the world of the well and the world of the sick. The world would be never the same again to the cancer patients like Hitchens. With another metaphor of a war the author tries to demolish the structure of bravado built around cancer. With no winner or loser in the traditional sense of the war, the one afflicted with cancer is eulogized as a veteran in challenging the disease. Hitchens thinks otherwise and articulates that many wrong things are attributed to the patients suffering from cancer. He resents such glorification and is not willing to agree with those who state that the death of a cancer patient should be termed thus. Hitchens writes, People don’t have cancer: They are reported to be battling cancer. No well-wisher omits the combative image. You can bear this. It is even in obituaries for cancer losers, as if one might reasonably say of someone that they died after a long and brave struggle with mortality. You don’t hear it about long-term sufferers from heart disease or kidney failure. (87-88) This is a good example of logos as the author appeals to logic as a way to persuade the audience by reason. To him, it is as good as any sick man dying of his failed health due to one of those many diseases that afflict humankind. Death by caner is no special death as such it need not be highlighted. Though he makes his own interpretations to develop the metaphor of war in relation to cancer to nullify the existing connotations about war in this area, as a man of literature, he makes use of the simile and writes, “You feel swamped with passivity and impotence: dissolving in the powerlessness like a sugar lump in water”. (88) This simile is a good example of pathos as the author appeals to the emotion as a way of convincing the audience of an argument by generating an emotional response. The hopeless situation in the life a cancer patient is aptly described with the help of this simile. Who likes the dark ghost of death lurking at the threshold of the cancer patient giving one the feeling that any moment could be the last breath one is endowed in life? He brilliantly pictures ethos, while describing his hopeless position as he mentions his bitter experiences of cancer treatment. Popularly known as chemotherapy it demands the “pound of flesh” from the human system, just with the promise of permitting the patient to inhibit on the Planet Earth for an unspecified number years. At the altar of cancer the author sacrifices his hair, taste buds, and above all his fond hopes of completion of his plans chalked out for some more years. The edifice of his life lay shattered in ruins. He feels utterly helpless to do anything about the advancing cancer of the oesophagus in his body as the alien is so powerful and determined. With candor, intelligence and wit he articulates that the alien had colonized a bit of his long as well quite a bit of his lymph node. The above narration is a good example of ethos as it appeals to medical ethics, and how cancer patient remains helpless facing the various stages of its onslaught. "Port-au-Prince: The Moment" by Mischa Berlinski As the earthquake rattled him, this computer-savvy author states that he saved his novel: Control+S. This indicates how important the manuscript of a novel is for an author! His smart thinking about the dos and don’ts when an earthquake strikes saved his laptop. A major calamity had stuck Haiti and the tremors arrived in waves each stronger than the earlier ones. Even in that grim situation when the lives of Cristina, Leo and Bruno, his wife, his ten-month-old-son, and his father-in-law were at stake, he describes his mental condition as “a kind of reptilian optimism.”(6) They were safe and waiting for him at the bottom of the driveway. Earthquake is the first major shock followed by a series of aftershocks. Mischa Berlinski writes, We heard singing and drumming all night long—and high throbbing prayer like chanting, which as the aftershocks came redoubled in intensity to shouting. “T’ann prie, Jezi. T’ann prie,” they chanted. We beg you, Jesus. We beg you. Every now and again through the night there was a thud or an explosion. (7) This is a good example of pathos as the audience experiences the bitter emotional response of the earthquake victims. They have nothing to look forward to except begging Jesus to save them. Their emotional world is in turmoil. A massive earthquake had hit Haiti and in that grim situation, people prayed, prayed and prayed again surrendering totally to his mercy. Haiti was cut off from all ends. With no authentic information forthcoming, the day belonged to the rumor-mongers. Berlinski writes, “In retrospect, the chief emotion I suffered in the days immediately following the quake was a powerful curiosity; an overwhelming desire to see for myself just what had happened. This was one of the most powerful emotions I have ever experienced.”(p.8) As admitted by the author this again is an effective example of pathos that drastically affected the emotional world of the author. The practical experience of the massive tragedy like the earthquake is entirely different from reading reports and watching the scene on the television. That agonizing involvement is unforgettable throughout one’s lifetime. The ghastly sight of the collapsed massive structure, the decomposing bodies, and the injured ones with none to attend to them provided a ghastly sight. Comparison and contrast In “The Topic of Cancer” Christopher Hitchens articulates the state of his mind once he comes to know abruptly that he is suffering from cancer. In "Port-au-Prince: The Moment" by Mischa Berlinski, she was witness to the devastating suffering of the people in Haiti, though the earthquake had spared their house and the lives of Cristina, Leo and Bruno, his wife, his ten-month-old-son, and his father-in-law. Berlinski ably describes the conditions in earthquake hit area by employing rhetorical use of imagery and metaphors. The essay begins as the earthquake hits and he describes the scenario as “a series of rolling waves, each sharper than the one before.” (5) The metaphor drives home the point as many have the experience of dealing with the waves, in pools, sea or any other body of water where waves are present. The metaphor of waves has two meanings. The shockwaves in the hearts of the people experiencing the earthquakes and the actual wavy tremors and aftershocks in the secular sense of the term which has the telling effect on the land of Haiti that has caused tremendous destruction. The observation about the only official presence relating to the solitary security guard cradling a shotgun and dozing in a chair describes cryptically the hopelessness in the situation. The destruction surrounding him is so vast that he is unable to do anything about it! Next, Berlinski recalls the instant reaction of his family members and states, “Christina was in tears. The baby was collected and calm.” (8)The author intelligently depicts how the roles stand reversed in that tragic situation. The innocent baby does not react to the grim situation as it is unaware of anything. Crying is normally associated with the babies. But in this case, his wife, who is supposed to remain calm and collected, cries. To support his description of imagery he writes, “A very large woman wearing a yellow bra cradled an unmoving bloodied child in her arms.”(6) With such imageries, the author succeeds in bringing out the reality related to the acute suffering of the people in the area hit by the devastating earthquake. Conclusion Christopher Hitchens’s story “The Topic of Cancer” is the story related to mortality, but the point of view of literature it is an immortal story. Hitchens, in face of certain death, maintains his composure and does not like to be labelled as a hero” fighting” cancer. He considers cancer as one of those diseases and chemotherapy as a standard procedure adopted by the physicians to stall the progress of the disease to the extent they can. All concerned know that they are treading the slippery path and the fatal fall is inevitable. “Port-au-Prince: The Moment” by Mischa Berlinski relates to the observation by the author about the devastation caused by nature by its destructive tool of earthquake and the author can do nothing about it to mitigate the hardships of the sufferers, except to make a note of their suffering. Both the authors have handled their subjects admirably well, the former describing the internal devastation of a human being( in this case the author himself)) and the later articulating about the destruction caused by the fury of nature, which no power on earth is able to predict about the time of its arrival. Work Cited Danticat, Edwidge (Ed.) Atwan, Robert (Ed.) The Best American Essays. New York: Mariner Books, 2011.Print Read More

To him, it is as good as any sick man dying of his failed health due to one of those many diseases that afflict humankind. Death by caner is no special death as such it need not be highlighted. Though he makes his own interpretations to develop the metaphor of war in relation to cancer to nullify the existing connotations about war in this area, as a man of literature, he makes use of the simile and writes, “You feel swamped with passivity and impotence: dissolving in the powerlessness like a sugar lump in water”. (88) This simile is a good example of pathos as the author appeals to the emotion as a way of convincing the audience of an argument by generating an emotional response.

The hopeless situation in the life a cancer patient is aptly described with the help of this simile. Who likes the dark ghost of death lurking at the threshold of the cancer patient giving one the feeling that any moment could be the last breath one is endowed in life? He brilliantly pictures ethos, while describing his hopeless position as he mentions his bitter experiences of cancer treatment. Popularly known as chemotherapy it demands the “pound of flesh” from the human system, just with the promise of permitting the patient to inhibit on the Planet Earth for an unspecified number years.

At the altar of cancer the author sacrifices his hair, taste buds, and above all his fond hopes of completion of his plans chalked out for some more years. The edifice of his life lay shattered in ruins. He feels utterly helpless to do anything about the advancing cancer of the oesophagus in his body as the alien is so powerful and determined. With candor, intelligence and wit he articulates that the alien had colonized a bit of his long as well quite a bit of his lymph node. The above narration is a good example of ethos as it appeals to medical ethics, and how cancer patient remains helpless facing the various stages of its onslaught.

"Port-au-Prince: The Moment" by Mischa Berlinski As the earthquake rattled him, this computer-savvy author states that he saved his novel: Control+S. This indicates how important the manuscript of a novel is for an author! His smart thinking about the dos and don’ts when an earthquake strikes saved his laptop. A major calamity had stuck Haiti and the tremors arrived in waves each stronger than the earlier ones. Even in that grim situation when the lives of Cristina, Leo and Bruno, his wife, his ten-month-old-son, and his father-in-law were at stake, he describes his mental condition as “a kind of reptilian optimism.”(6) They were safe and waiting for him at the bottom of the driveway.

Earthquake is the first major shock followed by a series of aftershocks. Mischa Berlinski writes, We heard singing and drumming all night long—and high throbbing prayer like chanting, which as the aftershocks came redoubled in intensity to shouting. “T’ann prie, Jezi. T’ann prie,” they chanted. We beg you, Jesus. We beg you. Every now and again through the night there was a thud or an explosion. (7) This is a good example of pathos as the audience experiences the bitter emotional response of the earthquake victims.

They have nothing to look forward to except begging Jesus to save them. Their emotional world is in turmoil. A massive earthquake had hit Haiti and in that grim situation, people prayed, prayed and prayed again surrendering totally to his mercy. Haiti was cut off from all ends. With no authentic information forthcoming, the day belonged to the rumor-mongers. Berlinski writes, “In retrospect, the chief emotion I suffered in the days immediately following the quake was a powerful curiosity; an overwhelming desire to see for myself just what had happened.

This was one of the most powerful emotions I have ever experienced.”(p.8) As admitted by the author this again is an effective example of pathos that drastically affected the emotional world of the author.

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