The novel, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, explores many profound ideals such as one’s meaning and how to keep on living when you’re dying. Kalanithi, the now-deceased author and neurosurgeon, has sparked an interest throughout the literary world, with many popular newspapers and reviewers dissecting and commenting on his memoir’s themes. For instance, Paul D’Alton, a featured writer from The Irish Times, constructed a review that overall justifies the memoir’s major themes. Throughout his review, D’Alton investigates Kalanithi’s view on how one lives a meaningful life. D’Alton rightfully extends his review by correctly explaining Kalanithi’s choice to delve back into literature in a time when he was unsure of how to spend his dying
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Most people during their mid-thirties do not often wonder if they have impacted the world in any way, however, due to Kalanithi’s unfortunate circumstances, he feels forced to indulge in the thought. Justifiably so, Paul D’Alton comments that terminal diseases causes the “...veil of certainty and the illusion of permanence...” that one grows accustomed to suddenly vanish. (D’Alton) In this case, Kalanithi’s job and possible future was abruptly stripped away, leaving him feeling empty. He no longer was he the “...pastoral image aiding a life in transition...” but felt more related more to a “...sheep, lost and confused.” (Kalanithi 120) For anyone, being diagnosed with a terminal cancer is devastating enough, but to Kalanthini the pain is further compounded because he has now become to patient and felt helpless. His identity of being an accomplished and relatively young neurosurgeon dissipated, and so he thought his meaning did as …show more content…
However, Kalanithi was able to play with the unfortunate cards he was dealt and reflected upon them, producing themes that although profound, at times were too personal to be universal. Paul D’Alton explored the themes of meaning and how to spend one’s dying days and though I agreed with the analyzed themes, a writer should generalize their themes so most of their audience can relate. Despite this varying opinion, I can confidently say, as D’Alton would surely agree, that Kalanithi left the world a heartfelt memoir that will pull on anyone’s
Most people during their mid-thirties do not often wonder if they have impacted the world in any way, however, due to Kalanithi’s unfortunate circumstances, he feels forced to indulge in the thought. Justifiably so, Paul D’Alton comments that terminal diseases causes the “...veil of certainty and the illusion of permanence...” that one grows accustomed to suddenly vanish. (D’Alton) In this case, Kalanithi’s job and possible future was abruptly stripped away, leaving him feeling empty. He no longer was he the “...pastoral image aiding a life in transition...” but felt more related more to a “...sheep, lost and confused.” (Kalanithi 120) For anyone, being diagnosed with a terminal cancer is devastating enough, but to Kalanthini the pain is further compounded because he has now become to patient and felt helpless. His identity of being an accomplished and relatively young neurosurgeon dissipated, and so he thought his meaning did as …show more content…
However, Kalanithi was able to play with the unfortunate cards he was dealt and reflected upon them, producing themes that although profound, at times were too personal to be universal. Paul D’Alton explored the themes of meaning and how to spend one’s dying days and though I agreed with the analyzed themes, a writer should generalize their themes so most of their audience can relate. Despite this varying opinion, I can confidently say, as D’Alton would surely agree, that Kalanithi left the world a heartfelt memoir that will pull on anyone’s