The measurements of our world strive to quantify the quality of our lives. The scales we use to measure ourselves and how we feel, fail to understand the concept of life itself. The tears of joy felt by a mother; the symphony of silence held by a survivor; the loudness of a murmur spoken as a prayer. Life is a composition, led by a melody, woven piece by piece, tied by our hopes and colored by our sorrows. Like darkness is the absence of light, $#$#0$#$# is measured by the absence of happiness. Throughout the essay, “The Pain Scale” by Eula Biss, she attempts to give her pain some logical meaning. A logical understanding of an illogical sensation. She tirelessly uses the scales of measurement known to her to quantify her pain. This essay embodies
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Everyone has a different tolerance for pain; people are usually proud of their so-called high pain tolerance. As subjective as it is, how can someone’s pain be condemned because it can be denied by a scale? This is exactly the wall of uncertainty Biss faces; she can feel her pain, and yet she is alone in her pain. Her own father says “Three is go home and take two aspirins” (Biss 11). He undermines her pain and has been doing so since she was young. “Any portrait of my mother should include a blue-black fingernail” (Biss 22) says, Biss when speaking of her mother. She follows by thinking, “Her existence, like my father’s, pains me” (Biss 22). Our family is who we turn to at the time of hardship, they are the ones who support us through thick and thin. In Biss’s case, her family is more of a token of pain rather than a message of encouragement. She hides her pain from others, especially family, for the embarrassment it causes her. The scales of pain used by her family are not inclusive of her pain. The scale is based on the values of her parents’ perception of pain which do not acknowledge her …show more content…
Although the ending can be seen as an all-embracing rubble, “Devastation occurs” (Biss 25), I believe there is beauty in her struggle, and for that reason the ending, as I perceive it, is cruel yet beautiful. As we journey up and down a confined scale of our own making, we tend to forget pain is relative, knowledge is relative, and an even truth is relative. Something I learned from her trail of thoughts filled with contradictions, is that in the end, we depend on ourselves for courage. Inner faith is far more important than the faith shown outward. Biss meets disappoint each step of the way because she is searching for answers in a world made of inaccurate scales focusing on nominal standards. Laura Miller, in her article—Tyranny of the happy ending, she talks about how happy ending are a means to an end. She says, “By not embracing the tragic aspect of life, we not only lie to ourselves, we also begin to lose our ability to see the significance of a human life that transcends mere happiness.” Biss’s courage to continue her journey is beautiful; her conviction of endless hope is beautiful. This is a tragic end, but I believe tragedy doesn’t make an ending less meaningful or low-spirited. Tragedy, in this case, pain, is a part of our lives, whether we like it or not. We cannot control it pain; it is out of our hands. However, how we face our adversities is completely up to us. It can be ugly; it will you may not even succeed in the
Everyone has a different tolerance for pain; people are usually proud of their so-called high pain tolerance. As subjective as it is, how can someone’s pain be condemned because it can be denied by a scale? This is exactly the wall of uncertainty Biss faces; she can feel her pain, and yet she is alone in her pain. Her own father says “Three is go home and take two aspirins” (Biss 11). He undermines her pain and has been doing so since she was young. “Any portrait of my mother should include a blue-black fingernail” (Biss 22) says, Biss when speaking of her mother. She follows by thinking, “Her existence, like my father’s, pains me” (Biss 22). Our family is who we turn to at the time of hardship, they are the ones who support us through thick and thin. In Biss’s case, her family is more of a token of pain rather than a message of encouragement. She hides her pain from others, especially family, for the embarrassment it causes her. The scales of pain used by her family are not inclusive of her pain. The scale is based on the values of her parents’ perception of pain which do not acknowledge her …show more content…
Although the ending can be seen as an all-embracing rubble, “Devastation occurs” (Biss 25), I believe there is beauty in her struggle, and for that reason the ending, as I perceive it, is cruel yet beautiful. As we journey up and down a confined scale of our own making, we tend to forget pain is relative, knowledge is relative, and an even truth is relative. Something I learned from her trail of thoughts filled with contradictions, is that in the end, we depend on ourselves for courage. Inner faith is far more important than the faith shown outward. Biss meets disappoint each step of the way because she is searching for answers in a world made of inaccurate scales focusing on nominal standards. Laura Miller, in her article—Tyranny of the happy ending, she talks about how happy ending are a means to an end. She says, “By not embracing the tragic aspect of life, we not only lie to ourselves, we also begin to lose our ability to see the significance of a human life that transcends mere happiness.” Biss’s courage to continue her journey is beautiful; her conviction of endless hope is beautiful. This is a tragic end, but I believe tragedy doesn’t make an ending less meaningful or low-spirited. Tragedy, in this case, pain, is a part of our lives, whether we like it or not. We cannot control it pain; it is out of our hands. However, how we face our adversities is completely up to us. It can be ugly; it will you may not even succeed in the