Kirk Wu, University Writing

Progression One Assignment

The Chinese philosophy of yin and yang is about the interconnectivity of seemingly

contradictory forces in nature and everyday life. Oliver Sacks, from the perspective of a scientist,

takes that philosophy and applies it to humans in his essay “A General Feeling of Disorder” by

examining, on a fundamental level, the dualities present in humans: sickness and wellness,

objective and subjective, mental and physical, and perception and reality. Specifically, the

author, Oliver Sacks, elucidates the typical symptoms and patterns of migraines—a “general

feeling of disorder” characterized by opposite and alternating nervous system functions—and

describes his personal migraine-esque experience after he undergoes embolization for his liver

cancer.

The literal problem the author seems to be confronting is his personal struggle with liver

cancer, embolization for the cancer, and the aftermath of the treatment. However, upon deeper

inspection, the problem seems to be the author’s acceptance of this “feeling of disorder” given

the burst of creative energy immediately following. As he describes in his patient who is Case

#68 in Migraine, the mathematician “elected … to keep both” the migraine and its resolution

because it “was always followed by a burst of original mathematical thinking.” This willingness

to place work above well-being, to accept damage upon one’s own body for the sake of creativity

is what the author seems to be embracing as he describes the “sheer joy of writing” in his

“transformed state and feeling.”

 Problem: long descriptions and examples of negative experiences of general feelings of

disorder are followed by their after-effects of creativity and energy (illness vs.

convalescence?)

o Element vs. element

 Project: through the lens of a scientist/physician

 Claim (?): Achieving balance in the body is the key to living a healthy life (probably have

to phrase this differently)

o Most of the essay is about (heavy real-estate is invested in) the negative effects of

illnesses

 With migraines, feelings that are “often very unpleasant but transient, and

self-limiting”

 The author “felt worse than [he] had ever felt in [his] life” after

embolization

o But the following paragraph is an example or description of the positive after-

effects

 Mathematician with “a burst of original mathematical thinking,” so he

didn’t want to cure the migraines and kept the creativity burst

 Author was “full of physical and creative energy and a euphoria”

 Formal or rhetorical pattern: repetition of the mental vs physical / perception vs reality

o Constantly pains a dichotomy of how “one is” vs how “one feels”

 Specifically relates the first page to the epilogue, how the author “hope[s

he] may feel really well” but knows he is definitely not well at all
  Both an acceptance for the future and an embracing of the experiences of

the present day

 Oliver Sacks knows he has terminal cancer

o Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/opinion/oliver-sacks-on-learning-

he-has-terminal-cancer.html?_r=0

o If we can use it, the purpose of the text might be to advocate for a survivorship

narrative

 That despite these “general feelings of disorder,” people still need to live

their lives to the fullest

 Also makes sense with the Nietzsche quote at the end

 Despite knowing that he will die, he is embracing/welcoming it

and trying to live his life to the fullest / carpe diem type attitude: “a

reawakened faith in a tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, of a

sudden sense and anticipation for the future”

 Perhaps another claim the author is making is to always look

toward that silver lining despite illness

 Goes back to the idea of the present vs. future – that readers should

accept their uncertain futures with illnesses by enjoying and living

in the present