Analogies
In his autobiography, When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi explains his thoughts, feelings, and situations through descriptive analogies in order to demonstrate the evolution of his perspective on the importance of doctor patient relationships. He found himself struggling to separate his patients from the paperwork, but at times, the toll of emotions made it clear how much of an impact he had on so many people’s lives: “Some days this is how I felt when I was in the hospital: trapped in the endless jungle summer, wet with sweat, the rain of tears of the families of the dying pouring down” (Kalanithi 78). Suggesting their tears are the rain pouring down on him as he is the outsider, readers understand the reasons most doctors choose to resort to detachment, and the difficulty Kalanithi faces going against this …show more content…
It isn’t until he becomes the patient that he truly understands the importance of compassion and relationships. Patients and their families depend on empathetic reactions from their doctors to help them feel less alone. Being a doctor made him more aware of what happens behind the curtain, and when faced with his own losses to grieve, it makes it that much more painful. When Kalanithi heard news his old friend from medical school had died in a car accident, he was overwhelmed with emotions and the thought of her last hours: “Now those words opened a Pandora’s Box, out of which emerged all the images: the roll of the gurney, the blood on the trauma bay floor…” (Kalanithi 84). Kalanithi was a fan of literature, so comparing his experiences to those the reader can understand was his best effort at complete explanation. Analogies aided Kalanithi in describing the toll patient life has on everyone involved, and how truly devastating death can be on so
In his autobiography, When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi explains his thoughts, feelings, and situations through descriptive analogies in order to demonstrate the evolution of his perspective on the importance of doctor patient relationships. He found himself struggling to separate his patients from the paperwork, but at times, the toll of emotions made it clear how much of an impact he had on so many people’s lives: “Some days this is how I felt when I was in the hospital: trapped in the endless jungle summer, wet with sweat, the rain of tears of the families of the dying pouring down” (Kalanithi 78). Suggesting their tears are the rain pouring down on him as he is the outsider, readers understand the reasons most doctors choose to resort to detachment, and the difficulty Kalanithi faces going against this …show more content…
It isn’t until he becomes the patient that he truly understands the importance of compassion and relationships. Patients and their families depend on empathetic reactions from their doctors to help them feel less alone. Being a doctor made him more aware of what happens behind the curtain, and when faced with his own losses to grieve, it makes it that much more painful. When Kalanithi heard news his old friend from medical school had died in a car accident, he was overwhelmed with emotions and the thought of her last hours: “Now those words opened a Pandora’s Box, out of which emerged all the images: the roll of the gurney, the blood on the trauma bay floor…” (Kalanithi 84). Kalanithi was a fan of literature, so comparing his experiences to those the reader can understand was his best effort at complete explanation. Analogies aided Kalanithi in describing the toll patient life has on everyone involved, and how truly devastating death can be on so