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- Introduction.
Sherbourne Craig’s work-Unforgiven is a real-life depiction of a cancer patient’s (his first wife), life. He brings to light the struggle that the patient goes through in their day to day activities. It thus lets us in on the impacts of the disease towards the patient’s next of kin, right from the time of their diagnosis to their unfortunate demise. The latter is in case the laid out cancer-related medical interventions don’t work.
The essay builds up from Craig’s early boring life as a lackey in a backpacker hostel in London at the start, trickling down to his ‘unfortunate’ love story. It is an encounter with one Alexandra-an artist from Melbourne. Craig immediately falls in love with her, gets into an intimate relationship that results in Alex’s pregnancy, then afterward a split and an abortion. Sherbourne’s work shifts from this ‘unfortunate’ love encounter down to the essay’s main theme-Cancer, a dreaded killer disease back in the late ’90s to date.
Just like in his first novel,’The Amateur Science of Love’, Sherbourne Craig brings out cancer delicately as a shame. It’s a death sentence. For instance, he refers to it as a ‘death lump’ right after he discovers the egg-sized, rock hard inflation-a tumor in one of his lover’s breasts after one of their many sexual escapades. This ‘delicate’ nature of the disease is also highlighted after Alex is diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer that sees her relationship with Craig take a plunge into the deep,her hopes of one day having either a Caitlin or Richard trampled as it would speed up the cancer and her striking feminine outlook diminished right after having the mastectomy.
Craig is young and forced to live with Alex, who’s 31 years of age. After a series of misunderstandings, disagreements, threats to leave, desperate begging him to stay, she results in clinging on him. They, later on, get married, but their ‘holy matrimony’ doesn’t last as he had seized to love her completely. He, later on, he finds a liking in Janet, another woman-a widow to a renown author who had succumbed to Leukaemia. He leaves his wife for her after that, losing contact until a mutual friend-Katherine ring sometime in 2007 to relay the news of Alex’s death. He’s also told of Alex’s curse to both of them, the ‘hate from the grave’-Unforgiven.
- Research methods.
Craig uses descriptive analysis in the text to show how he, a mere upcoming author discovers the tumor-an inflation in Alex’s breast that he refers to as a ‘death lump,’ even before Alex’s official diagnosis. He describes and expresses his feeling of disbelief and rejection towards his discovery and what it would mean for both of them. This description portrays a sense of resentment, anger, and speculations on what would become of his partner’s condition. Sherborne, later on in the text, denies Alex as his wife after one of the couple’s massage routines. He further dodges the subject (marriage), thus prompting Alex to propose the idea. She later on begs him to reconsider a wedding. This was to consummate their relationship if it were the last thing he’d do to please her already fading soul. Later on, we come to see that marriage wasn’t a solution.
In the text, author-Sherborne Craig also uses observation. He does this in different parts of the essay to emphasize and bring to serious light issues. For instance, Craig observes that Alex didn’t experience her menses that month which, meant that she was expectant. He also notes how Alex begins to put on more make-up. She wears a beret as though she was balding from the chemotherapy and a silicone cup down her bra to cover up the amputated breast, later on in the text after her diagnosis. He observes her squating in the shower to count the strands that she records on a foolscarp. All these detail the signs and symptoms that are related to the disease-cancer.Sherbourne uses these observations to create an awareness in the readers and an in on the ‘red flags’ of the condition.
- Techniques of Representation.
In the essay, Craig’s extensive use of dialogue in conveying his text creates perfect scenes in the reader’s mind. He details different circumstances he’s forced to face as a man. For instance, the use of dialogue in their disagreements brings forth the drama in his and Alex’s life right after her being diagnosed with breast cancer. He goes ahead to show us how a terminal illness in those so close to us may invoke feelings of regret, anger, remorse, just as in Susan Sontag’s book,’ illness as Metaphor’ where she metaphorically addresses the ‘killer disease’-Cancer, in our culture.
The use of dialogue is extensively captured throughout the essay; for instance, when Craig was persuading Alex to have an abortion. This scene personally comes out as an emotional one for the writer. He not only has to convince his lover to terminate their baby, life but also does it in a way that doesn’t prejudice his undying love for her.
Craig’s descriptive scene of the bathroom in their home, the ‘bank,’ where Alex asks him to kiss her breast after the mastectomy, creates a vivid and clear picture of the couple’s interaction. It’s just like in his first novel,’The Amateur Science of Love.’ To me, this is one of the best parts of the essay, as Sherborne uses imagery. It creates a vivid impression in the reader’s mind of the mental strains and mental dilemma he undergoes as a man with an ailing wife-a breast cancer patient.
To me, Sherborne Craig comes out as constructive, sensitive, sensational, and a great writer in general. His work and creativity ought to not only be highly recognized but also acknowledged for its creativity and the social awareness that this text creates to our societies and cultures. In my opinion, he not only brings out cancer as a delicate topic of discussion but also as a rising health concern in our communities. It’s a death sentence that has seen lots of individual’s ‘lights’ put out on short notice. He also brings out other subjects in our culture to light. In the text, Craig touches on racism; for instance, his hotel’s restriction on the use of the word ‘Negro.’ He highlights abortion as a vice though a norm in today’s life and the text. Marriage and procreation as an essential institution in our societies and lightly touches on sex as an indispensable role player in binding a married couple together, like in Alex’s previous marriage.
His work not only draws concern on the ‘killer disease’ but also interest in key inter-dependent institutions that are the backbone of our society, our culture!
Citations.
Annie Leibovitz(1990–2005)-A Photographer’s Life
Craig Sherbourne(2011)-The Amateur Science of Love
Olson, James Stuart (2002). Bathsheba’s Breast: Women, Cancer, and History
Susan Sontag(1978)-Illness as Metaphor.