Sontag's "Against Interpretation" Theory In Illness As Metaphor

Susan Sontag is a well-known contemporary critic in the United States.In response to the abused critical theory in the field of literature in the 20 th century,Sontag puts forward the theory of “against interpretation” in Against Interpretation and Other Essays and comes up with a “new sensibility”.This theory is always a research hot spot in academic circles at home and abroad.As a result,the relevant researches mainly focus on theoretical researches with the keywords of “against interpretation” and “new sensibility” or single analysis of her literary works.However,the academic circles have not fully studied the specific realization of her critical thoughts in literary works and its values and meanings in reality.The application of the theory in her works is the key to understanding her theory.Illness as Metaphor is an important work of Sontag.It is a concrete practice of the “against interpretation” theory in the field of culture.It intends to strip away metaphors attached to disease,get rid of the over-interpretation of disease,and restore the true face of disease.This thesis mainly analyzes the concrete realization of Sontag's theory of “against interpretation” in Illness as Metaphor in order to have a better understanding of the theory and its realistic values in real life nowadays.This thesis consists of three parts: the introduction,the main body,and the conclusion.The introduction includes literature review,research questions,methodology,and organization of the thesis.The main body consists of three chapters.The first chapter specifically discusses the theory in Illness as Metaphor that opposes the over-interpretation of diseases.Metaphors attached to disease transform disease that is a normal physiological state into moral kidnapping,cultural ranking,and even political persecution.Therefore,Sontag opposes the single concept interpretation.The second chapter specifically analyzes the theory from the perspective of the objection to the binary opposition.The absolute dominance of rationality makes us lose the direct experiences of sensibility.With the interpretation of traditional criticism,disease is imposed on various metaphors,and is completely opposite to health.Moreover,the patients bear the mark of shame,even are considered to be “the other” and rejected by society.The third chapter specifically analyzes the concrete implementation of “new sensibility” in Illness as Metaphor.From the perspective of aesthetics,it opposes the pursuit of ethical meanings in traditional criticism and seeks the balance between ethics and aesthetics.Sontag aims to liberate the direct feelings of the suppressed body and cultivate the sensibility of body to directly feel disease and eliminate the metaphor of disease,thus restoring the original appearance of disease.Then people can face illness squarely and accept illness consequently.Based on Illness as Metaphor,through the specific application of the theory in the field of disease,this thesis concludes on the basis of the main part's argument: Sontag's “against interpretation” theory actually opposes traditional criticism of single concept interpretation and the traditional thought of binary opposition.Nowadays,in the fast-paced life where rationality is prevalent,Sontag aims to restore and rebuild the subjective status of human beings in order to save the suppressed emotional feelings of people,thus revitalizing people's sensibility.At the same time,the “against interpretation” theory expands the horizon of the literary criticism and provides a new methodology for people in understanding the world.Sontag emphasizes that all social and cultural phenomena can be viewed in a direct,sensual,and diverse “new sensibility”.