Asthma by Seneca: Seneca’s Purpose in Writing this Essay
Discussion Board
Analysis
Asthma by Seneca: Seneca’s Purpose in Writing this Essay
In the essay “Asthma,” Seneca writes about his suffering from asthma, describing it as the worst ailment that kept him as his one last breath. In the essay, asthma is described as “rehearsing death” because, ultimately, the breath will give in. Seneca describes his experience with asthma as terrible and oppressive because he is constantly gasping for air. It is a frightening experience and a reflection stimulus on people’s attitudes towards life and death (Hoffpauir, 2021). Seneca’s primary purpose is to describe the experience of living with asthma and the continuous thought of death to increase understanding of life and death. Seneca defines asthma comprehensively, offering a lived experience as a reference point, including his feelings during every asthma attack. He also introduces death and reflects on it, comparing life and death to a lamb when lit and when put out, respectively. Seneca posits that people are wrong when they think death follows after. Instead, he perceives death precedes as well as succeeds. Death was before us, and it does not matter as much as being alive to never being born because, in both, the result is that people cease to exist. (Asthma by Seneca: Seneca’s Purpose in Writing this Essay)
Synthesis
How Each Author Thinks about Illness and Concepts of Illness Match Mine
According to Seneca and his experience with asthma, disease postpones death, and man has always had the vision of dying, which is his salvation. In describing his experience with asthma, he considers it frightening and oppressive, and ultimately, the human body will give in and die. Seneca provides that people die not because of the illness but merely for being alive, even after recovery from illness. The ultimate place for human beings is death; it always awaits everyone. Based on this analogy, people do not escape from death by recovering from illness but from ill health. In “Under the Influence” by Scott Russell Sanders, Sanders writes about his experience with a drunkard father. Clinically, alcohol addiction is a disease that affects individuals who have developed alcohol dependence to the point it affects their functioning and relationship with others. The essay indicates the negatives of drinking and how alcoholic parents impact the life of their children. Alcohol alters an individual’s personality, making Sanders’ father excessively emotional and volatile, becoming scary and unpredictable when drunk (Sanders, 1989). The addiction was a burden to the family, and Sanders always blamed himself, trying to make his father happy. Sanders fears becoming addicted every time he tries a drink. Seneca and Sanders demonstrate how dealing with a disease, either a communicable or an addiction is a struggle, frustrating, and a fight every day to recover from it. Both authors indicate that ill health is frightening to the patient and the family, and the body can always give in to the disease or lose the battle. I think their concepts on illness match mine because I get frightened when I am sick, and I have experience dealing with ill health for a significant period. Death will always come into one’s mind because it is an outcome of ill health in some circumstances. (Asthma by Seneca: Seneca’s Purpose in Writing this Essay)
References
Hoffpauir, J. M. (2021). The Road to Freedom: Seneca on Fear, Reason, and Death. In Political Theory on Death and Dying (pp. 121-131). Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Political-Theory-on-Death-and-Dying/Dolgoy-HurdHale-Peabody/p/book/9780367437381
Sanders, S. R. (1989). Under the influence. HARPER’S, 68-75. https://sfuadadvancedcnf.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/under-the-influence-scott-russell-sanders.pdf
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