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Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Chapter 16: Another Lisa
Explanation and Analysis—Susanna's Diagnosis:
When describing her character disorder diagnosis in Chapter 16, Kaysen uses a simile to compare herself to a defective household object:
Cynthia was depressive; Polly and Georgina were schizophrenic; I had a character disorder. Sometimes they called it a personality disorder. When I got my diagnosis it didn't sound serious, but after a while it sounded more ominous than other people's. I imagined my character as a plate or shirt that had been manufactured incorrectly and was therefore
useless.
In comparing herself to a defective plate or shirt, Kaysen reveals the true depth of the dehumanization she has faced as a result of her diagnosis. Because of her diagnosis, she feels not only subhuman but entirely useless.
Though Susanna and her fellow patients all have different diagnoses and life experiences, they are unified by a feeling of alienation from a society that deems them useless—or even threatening. Throughout the book, Kaysen recalls struggling with feeling like a social outcast because she wasn't performing expected social tasks like having a job, buying a home, or starting a family. When she compares herself to those who are doing these things, like the young nurses in the ward, she feels as though there is something is essentially wrong and unfixable about her, much like if an item were assembled incorrectly.
Related Themes:
Chapter 23: Bare Bones
Explanation and Analysis—Wall of Water:
When Susanna starts gnawing at her hand in Chapter 23, Valerie, one of the nurses, administers her Thorazine to calm her down. Kaysen recalls the experience using a paradox and a simile:
“Oh, Valerie,” I said, “you promised—” Then the Thorazine hit me. It was like a wall of water, strong but soft.
Thorazine is a powerful antipsychotic given to many of the girls in the ward when they are deemed to be "acting out." Kaysen writes often about how the drug had a habit of sapping patients of their personalities, reducing them to shells of themselves.
Susanna feels betrayed and powerless when Valerie gives her Thorazine despite promising she wouldn't. The simile "like a wall of water" describes the uncontrollable, all-consuming power of the drug and how she feels as though it threatens to drown her. "Strong but soft" is a paradox, communicating that the drug is both harsh (because it acts as an unstoppable force) and gentle (because it makes the world and one's thoughts less sharp).
These devices work together not only to describe the patients' experiences with medicine in the ward, but also to emphasize the overall feeling of powerlessness Susanna and her fellow patients feel. Just as Thorazine can take over the body, McLean and Susanna's diagnosis have taken over her life.
Related Themes:
