Genre
Autobiography
Setting and Context
Present day New York
Narrator and Point of View
Susannah Cahalan is the narrator and the story is told from her point of view.
Tone and Mood
Frightening and brutally honest
Protagonist and Antagonist
Cahalan is the protagonist and her immune disorder is the antagonist
Major Conflict
The major conflict is between the doctors who originally diagnose her with various other psychiatric disorders and with her doctor who correctly identifies her condition
Climax
The discovery and diagnosis of Cahalan's disease is the climax
Foreshadowing
A diagnosis of bipolar disorder foreshadows the descent into violence and seizures that the author goes on to suffer from
Understatement
The doctors state that the condition is hard to diagnose but this would seem like an understatement since almost all of those cases presented are misdiagnosed or never diagnosed at all
Allusions
The author alludes to the symptoms of bipolar disorder and relates that they mirror her own
Imagery
The image of the author's brain being on fire creates an image of a burning and an out of control feeling that is destroying all in its path which is an image of what it feels like inside Cahalan's brain
Paradox
Many people with symptoms of psychiatric disorders don't seek medical help but the paradox here is that Cahalan sought a great deal of help and was always told that she had something else. It is not until her behavior is out of control and she does not ask for help that she receives it
Parallelism
There is a distinct parallel between the symptoms of bipolar disorder and the symptoms that the author is experiencing
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The medical profession is a phrase used to encompass all of the individual doctors and researchers working within it
Personification
No examples in this book
