GARNER HELLEN THE SPARE ROOM
The work Spare room by Garner Hellen is a work of fiction written about Nicole, Helen’s relative, who has cancer (Brennan, 2017). Cancer has and is continuing to be a rising issue in society. The book depicts Nicola as someone who has refused to accept her condition, and tries’s all the possible treatments. It leaves Helena emotionally responsible for Nicola because she knows she will not survive the disease. Most people rich and poor are dying annually because of cancer, and no known cure can help heal or prevent the disease from spreading in the body(Van Der Plas, 2017). Cancer in the community was considered a rich man’s disease because most cases documented were of people who had considerable wealth in society. Many years have gone by, and the 21st century has seen the death toll from the disease rise tremendously. Though it was a tough topic to talk, people are no longer afraid to speak bout cancer. It is an open topic which people talk about, and the government has contributed to the sensitization of people on things they should do to prevent getting the disease. The theme of the book is a delicate topic because cancer is killing people at a high rate (Ehrenreich, 2018). As time goes by, people become more and more educated about cancer, and it becomes an easy issue to talk about, and people living with the disease are no longer stigmatized.
Writer’s resonance with the topic.
Garner writes about Nicola being cared for by a relative Helena, who does so because of cancer she has. The writer has positive hope for her relative Nicola, whom she takes care of by driving her to get treatment in the Theodore institute. It is to care for someone who has a terminal illness. Nicola is ignorant of the disease she has and does not want to confront the eventuality of death. The writer believes that even if someone has the disease, they should have in mind that at one point, they will have to accept eventually of death. The matter is close to the writer’s heart because, in the book, there is a statement that says. ’’I see you, Hellen Garner, it is not fiction.’’It shows that at one point in life, she was in the same predicament and had to endure the emotional stress that came with caring for someone close to her. Looking at how the writer presents her views, Nicola is stupid by not believing she is going to die of cancer and wants to try out all kinds of treatment. Helen bears the emotional burden because Nicola has not accepted her condition. The writer hints that those with terminal illness also have to take the possibility of not being cured. It will be easier for those giving care as emotional involvement will be minimal, and it might be more comfortable to help. Nicola eventually succumbs to her illness, and Helena knows it is not what her relative wanted, and it emotionally weighs her down.
Research method used
The author uses descriptive analysis to describe how hard it is for someone with no professional knows how to nurse a terminally ill person (Brennan, 2017). Even though Nicole is her relative, the author writes and describes fighting thoughts of resentment and pity on the relative because they are open to exploitation and financial constrain in their quest for finding a cure for the diseases they have. The descriptive analysis portrays some anger in the writer when she says Nicola is stupid through the constant complaints and visiting various centers to try and find treatment. The delivery of ideas is articulate, and someone can see the agony Helena has to go through while caring for the terminally ill relative. The objective of the book, as Garner said in an interview is to make people see and understand the implications of caring for terminally ill people. Even though the views present some negativity, it helps show the whole theme of the book. The method is reliable and preserves the objectivity of the book and makes the reader clearly understand what the character was caring for the terminally ill Nicole is going through. The reliability of the method is without a doubt because upon reading the book, it resonates well with whoever has been in the same shoes as the characters in the book (Curthoys, 2016).
Ethical issues
The vivid description of how Helena is annoyed at how the treatment her friend is taking is only making her health worse hammers home the message being passed because it helps the reader create a mental picture of the whole situation. Quotations enhance the delivery of the message to the reader. Though there are instances when a reader might feel that there should have been some sympathy for the ailing Nicole from Helena because she desperately needed to live and that’s why she was seeking all those forms of treatment. The book raises the doubts of whether it is ethical to tell a person to put the possibility of never getting cured in their minds when they think otherwise (Joseph, 2016).
Conclusion
The book gives an impression of how hard it is shouldering the emotions of caring for people suffering from a terminal illness. It is always hard for those with a terminal disease to accept there is no cure, and finding a cure is a waste of time and resources. The book gives a picture on the stains untrained people go through with handling such people and especially those they are close. The writer expresses her ideas of how it feels; she has been through and knows how it feels to lose someone you have intimate relations.
Citations
Brennan, B. (2017). A writing life: Helen Garner and her work. Text Publishing.
Van Der Plas, A. G., Oosterveld-Vlug, M. G., Pasman, H. R. W., & Onwuteaka-Philipsen, B. D. (2017). Relating cause of death with the place of care and healthcare costs in the last year of life for individuals who died from cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, and dementia: a descriptive study using registry data. Palliative medicine, 31(4), 338-345.
Ehrenreich, B. (2018). Natural causes: An epidemic of wellness, the certainty of dying, and killing ourselves to live longer. Hachette UK.
Joseph, S. (2016). Australian Literary Journalism and “Missing Voices” How Helen Garner finally resolves this recurring ethical tension. Journalism Practice, 10(6), 730-743.
Curthoys, A., & McGrath, A. (2016). How to write history that individuals want to read. Springer.