Lauren Slater recalls her battle in the decision to take anti-depressants that cause weight gain versus a horrific depression in, "Killing My Body to Save My Mind." The conflict between being physically healthy or mentally healthy is the main focus of this essay. The context of this essay is a middle-aged woman examining the life choice she has made to take Zyprexa, a powerful anti-depressant, that causes the patient to gain an excessive amount of weight, in return for mental stability. Slater's purpose is to inform her audience that a person's mental health is the most important aspect of his/her's life. The audience for whom the essay was written for is or people who have life-threatening health issues, or those close with these people. Slater uses Pathos, or appeal to emotion, to connect with her audience and achieve her purpose through showing the reader what it is like to be in her situation. "Zyprexa, or the experience of taking Zyprexa, moves one out of the twenty-first century and back to the age of reason. It makes clear to the patient taking it that she must choose between her mind and her flesh" (Slater 260). She shows that any person could at some point have to make the decision to take Zyprexa, and that Zyprexa will ruin a the patient's body. However, she goes on to say that that is the answer: mind over body. Hence, achieving her purpose. An allusion is used to draw reference to the 17th century philosopher, Descartes' theory of dualism: the separate realms of the mind and body. She uses this as a metaphor to achieve her purpose by showing that Descartes theorized that the body is a "delusion created by an evil spirit." Therefore, the body succumbs to the mind, achieving Slater's purpose that mental health is the most important aspect of a person's life.
Mind Over Matter: In a more extreme version of Slater's story, Hawking is without many of the basic skills Slater has, yet still is one of the smartest people in the world. Unlike Slater, he does not have the choice between mind or body.
Source: http://www.hawking.org.uk/about-stephen.html
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