This
essay looks at nonfictional disease narratives in contemporary
America. It explores narrative strategies in works like Richard
Preston's The Hot Zone, John Waller's The Discovery of the
Germ and Thomas Hager's The Demon Under the Microscope. It
isolates three principal modes. The first mode is that of
the exploration and discovery narrative, where the quest for
causes, cures and safety measures are elaborated. The discovery
mode is launched with what can be termed the `cartographic
moment.' The second is the heroic narrative, where the biomedic,
the laboratory assistant and scientist are transformed into
heroes with the dangerous, self-sacrificing work with highly
infectious pathogens. The heroic emerges in the doctor's battles
with the pathogen, the patient and often the institution.
Finally, the essay suggests that all disease narratives shift
from the individual to the community in their focus. The communitarian
narrative demonstrates how the work of the medical profession
helps large numbers of people, and how the community itself
is drawn into the biomedical circle.
This essay attempts to read select American disease narratives: Richard Preston's New York Times bestseller The Hot Zone (1995), John Waller's The Discovery of the Germ (2002) and Thomas Hager's The Demon Under the Microscope (2006). It analyzes how popular writings on disease represent pathogens, the progress of the disease (aetiology, diagnosis, deterioration/improvement and survival/death), the search for cures (vaccines, therapeutic medicine), the laboratory work, the patient-family role and the cast of doctors/administrators/hospital staff/media. |
