Purpose
In his autobiography, When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi reflects on his life and stresses the importance of living to leave a legacy while never settling for the ordinary. After being diagnosed with lung cancer, Kalanithi spent the rest of his conscious days writing his life story in order to inspire people to pursue their passion and “calling”. Kalanithi was a doctor, so he knew the conditions of his diagnosis, and instead of give up, he wrote to warn others that life is unpredictable. Kalanithi accounts for all his endeavors and summarizes his life through the perspective of education and striving for excellence: “You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving” …show more content…
Kalanithi tirelessly attended prestigious universities one after another in order to fill the void of intellect. He never planned to be done learning and gaining more knowledge, and as he explains this to the reader, he stresses the importance of learning to learn and becoming an intelligent part of society, rather than finding a goal and finishing its pursuit once the goal has been reached. Kalanithi did not let the cancer become him. He knew all too well what happens to patients, so he kept himself busy until it was physically impossible because he knew how he wanted to live his life: “the question is not simply whether to live or die but what kind of life is worth living” (Kalanithi 71). Kalanithi wanted to stay true to who he was and leave his loved ones with memories of his determination and courage. However, his intentions were not just in the case of death or disease, he wanted to inspire the world to work towards their dreams and then make …show more content…
Kalanithi was a surgeon, a good one, and because of this, he has an elemental trustworthiness that validates his medical intelligence: “As my skills increased, so too did my responsibility. Learning to judge whose lives could be saved, whose couldn’t be, and whose shouldn’t be requires an unattainable prognostic ability” (Kalanithi 80) His strict honesty also establishes a level of realness with the reader, and ultimately makes him even more reliable. Describing the decisions he was forced to make as a surgeon makes petty, daily decisions seem essentially irrelevant. In addition, Kalanithi describes medical procedures that sometimes took up to, “thirty-six hours straight,” including surgeries such as, “giant aneurysms, intracerebral arterial bypasses, [and] arteriovenous malformations” (Kalanithi 11). To the average person, these words are simply words on a paper, but to someone of equal credibility and schooling, they mean responsibility. The responsibility of human life is not to be taken lightly, and this level of approval for doctors is in association with a need to trust. Kalanithi inserted this level of sophistication to eliminate the possibility for the reader to feel he or she has already met their potential. It can serve as an inspiration to become
In his autobiography, When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi reflects on his life and stresses the importance of living to leave a legacy while never settling for the ordinary. After being diagnosed with lung cancer, Kalanithi spent the rest of his conscious days writing his life story in order to inspire people to pursue their passion and “calling”. Kalanithi was a doctor, so he knew the conditions of his diagnosis, and instead of give up, he wrote to warn others that life is unpredictable. Kalanithi accounts for all his endeavors and summarizes his life through the perspective of education and striving for excellence: “You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving” …show more content…
Kalanithi tirelessly attended prestigious universities one after another in order to fill the void of intellect. He never planned to be done learning and gaining more knowledge, and as he explains this to the reader, he stresses the importance of learning to learn and becoming an intelligent part of society, rather than finding a goal and finishing its pursuit once the goal has been reached. Kalanithi did not let the cancer become him. He knew all too well what happens to patients, so he kept himself busy until it was physically impossible because he knew how he wanted to live his life: “the question is not simply whether to live or die but what kind of life is worth living” (Kalanithi 71). Kalanithi wanted to stay true to who he was and leave his loved ones with memories of his determination and courage. However, his intentions were not just in the case of death or disease, he wanted to inspire the world to work towards their dreams and then make …show more content…
Kalanithi was a surgeon, a good one, and because of this, he has an elemental trustworthiness that validates his medical intelligence: “As my skills increased, so too did my responsibility. Learning to judge whose lives could be saved, whose couldn’t be, and whose shouldn’t be requires an unattainable prognostic ability” (Kalanithi 80) His strict honesty also establishes a level of realness with the reader, and ultimately makes him even more reliable. Describing the decisions he was forced to make as a surgeon makes petty, daily decisions seem essentially irrelevant. In addition, Kalanithi describes medical procedures that sometimes took up to, “thirty-six hours straight,” including surgeries such as, “giant aneurysms, intracerebral arterial bypasses, [and] arteriovenous malformations” (Kalanithi 11). To the average person, these words are simply words on a paper, but to someone of equal credibility and schooling, they mean responsibility. The responsibility of human life is not to be taken lightly, and this level of approval for doctors is in association with a need to trust. Kalanithi inserted this level of sophistication to eliminate the possibility for the reader to feel he or she has already met their potential. It can serve as an inspiration to become