Left/Right Hemisphere (Symbol)
Although the different functions of the left and right hemisphere are (somewhat) substantiated by science, they are also used by the author as a symbol for the larger dichotomous aspects of the human experience. The left hemisphere, for example, is used by Sacks to underscore the schematic way that science organizes and categorizes neurological disorders. The right hemisphere, on the other hand, is used to represent the side of the human experience that science often doesn’t see. In the introduction to “Losses,” Sacks sides with the right hemisphere of consciousness, which he says is overlooked by neurology.
Madeleine J.’s Bagel (Symbol)
The bagel that Madeleine grabs and eats on her own for the first time is a symbol for what her hands–what she calls “useless lumps of dough”–have the potential to become in their actualization. As a form of nourishment, it stands for Madeleine’s ability to become more self-reliant, to claim agency in an area that she never had before. It also symbolizes her entry into life as a perceiving human being: “Her first perception, her first recognition, was of a bagel, or ‘bagelhood’” (62).
Gardening/Nature (Motif)
Multiple times, the author mentions the role that gardening plays in the development of his patients. Rebecca thrives in the outdoors; Jimmie G. takes to gardening as a way to ground himself in the present; José comes alive when he is able to sketch flowers in the hospital garden; Donald finds solace and therapy in gardening. This setting is an ongoing symbol for the healing qualities of the natural world, and the sense of groundedness that comes with psychological well-being.
The President’s Speech (Allegory)
“The President’s Speech” is meant to be an allegory about the three different ways that the American public receives messages from figures of political, social, and cultural authority. Like the aphasia patients, we sometimes choose to receive only the unspoken essence of a message without critically analyzing its words. Like Emily D., sometimes we pick apart and criticize the explicit words of a message without considering the spirit behind it. And even when we’re able to do both at once, this may be even less of a guarantee that we are hearing the truth.
José’s drawing (Symbol)
The author describes having the unshakable feeling that the original drawing José creates–of two fish in an ocean with a large wave approaching–is a symbol for José and Sacks. The companion fish represent José’s feeling of no longer being alone in his experiences: finally, he has someone else to play with.
