Selzer

I haven’t read many essays by authors that were professionals in a field other than writing composition. It was interesting to see how Selzer tied his prior profession into his writing, not only in the main medical theme of AIDS but also in the sophisticated medical terms and language he used.

Not many things stood out to me in reading, but one thing that did was his personalization of the disease. When the woman with the tumor was examined, he explained her symptoms as “a side product of her AIDS” (609). When the confused man is checked, the author describes in medical detail his condition, and calls it “an effect of his AIDS”(610). Maybe it’s a completely unimportant point, but the essay only started to seem real to me as he described the people’s individualized diseases, what AIDS meant to them. The simple use of those pronouns made all the difference to me and kept me at least somewhat interested in his essay.

Quick Clarification-- Middle of page 611 At the end of the conversation between pastor and narrator, when it is explained, “ Abruptly, the smile breaks. It is as thougha crack had suddenly appeared in the face of an idol.”

-I understood the comical (maybe even rude) comment the narrator made about his religion, but the above quote, is that describing the smile on the pastor? Did he find it funny? Or does “breaks” signify that he was offended? I couldn’t tell by the language used. It seemed like it could go either way

Anyone feel free to clarify