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A Study of Disease Writing in Sing, Unburied, Sing
SU Xue-qi
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2025.05.001
Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, China
This paper examines the disease writing in Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing, focusing on its metaphorical implications at three levels. Through an analysis of three central diseases—Mam’s cancer, Leonie’s drug addiction, and Kayla’s fever and vomiting, this study reveals how Ward employs illness as a lens to critique systemic racism, social injustice, and intergenerational trauma in the American South. Mam’s cancer symbolizes emotional repression and historical wounds inflicted upon Black Americans, while Leonie’s addiction reflects both personal escapism and the destructive consequences of racial and social marginalization. Kayla’s symptoms, along with other people’s symtom of vomiting, serve as visceral expressions of psychological rejection and resistance to oppression. Drawing on Sontag’s theories of illness as metaphor, the paper argues that Ward’s disease narratives transcend individual suffering, exposing the pervasive “diseases” of racism and inequality in society. The novel’s portrayal of illness underscores the resilience of Black communities and the urgent need for collective healing from cultural trauma.
Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jasmine Ward, disease writing
Journal of Literature and Art Studies, May 2025, Vol. 15, No. 5, 357-365
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