In this piece of article about his own cancer experience, Christopher Hitchens appears to be way more humorous and positive than a normal patient with cancer would be expected. He started with how he had been through extreme pain for several times in his lifetime: “I have more than once in my time woken up feeling like death.” This sort of self-mockery sets up a relaxing atmosphere for the entire article. In the following context, Hitchens more than once compared his cancer symptom as a journey to an unknown foreign country. “ The alien had colonized a bit of my lungs as well as quite a bit of my lymph node.” Such humorous description shows Hitchen’s optimistic attitude as he stated at the end of the article: “I hope to write next time if- as my father invariably said- I’m spared.”
In this article Hitchens has his way of getting close to the readers. Firstly the article is set up to a very relaxing and hopeful tune so that the readers can get into the context very easily. Rather than describing all he suffered from cancer directly, he chose to talk about himself as a normal patient, about how he hoped he was suffering for greater good, which can reach many readers with similar experience easily.
“Against me is the blind, emotionless alien, cheered on by some who have long withed me ill. But on the side my continued life is a group of brilliant and selfless physicians plus an astonishing number of prayer groups. On both of these I hope to write next time if- as my father invariably said- I am spared.” I think this is very remarkable work as the last paragraph because he’s done a great job of connecting the whole article together and summarizing. Hitchens summarized the risks he has been faced and also the support he has to make him carry on with his life. He again referred to his interesting comparison between his sickness and travel to a foreign country by calling the disease “blind, emotionless alien”. In the end he expressed his positive attitude and will to live on by quoting his father’s words reflecting to the medical history of his father that he stated in the first paragraph.
