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Jada Sucuzhanay
Mr. Martin
English 101
November 4, 2023
Does it Hurt?
Many factors tie into why some people are capable of handling the pain of some things
more than others. While many people are able to handle a paper cut, that may be too much for
someone else. In “The Pain Scale”, the author is able to convey the subjectiveness of pain, how
the pain of someone else can differ from others and the implication that one may be too scared to
speak up about their pain.
“The Pain Scale” written by Eula Biss is able to give the perspective of someone who is
struggling with the ability to truly describe her pain. Throughout the text, she continuously states
that she is unsure how exactly to measure her pain using the pain scale provided to her. Biss
makes her point more with this when she says that when using the pain scale, she would say her
pain is about three when taking into consideration what could possibly be counted as a 10, which
she stated is still considered important. Despite the fact that her pain would be considered less
significant, it is still something that she is personally experiencing.
When talking about her pain to a physical therapist, they would ask her certain questions
in which she was unsure what the answer was which resulted in her lying. On page 9, it states,
“She bends my neck forward, ‘Any pain with this?’ No. ‘Any pain with this?’ No. It feels like a
lie every time.” Despite the fact that discomfort is taking place, the author found it inconvenient
to speak up about it. Eula Biss also discusses how subjective pain it is and despite that it brings
her comfort, it also leaves her devastated in the way that no one may truly be able to understand
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her pain. With subjects discussed like these, it also allows the readers to take into consideration
the complexity of pain. From reading the text, a reader is able to understand that Biss is making a
point of understanding that through the exploration of her own pain, the only one that is truly
able to understand your pain is no one but yourself.
When I had first read over this text, I had mixed reactions. At first, I was rather confused
about what this content was really trying to tell me. I feel like I was able to understand some
points of it but overall, it was a very confusing experience. After rereading it as well as taking
notes, I could tell I was able to have a much better understanding of it. This text not only
provides an outside perspective on the difficulties and complexity of pain, but is also able to
describe issues that arise around the topic as well. Eula Biss consistently states throughout this
essay how the pain scale is very flawed. A difference in how others may feel or view pain is very
significant because a three for someone may be considered a seven for the other party.
In retrospect, there is a sentence that really stood out to me which could be used as a
model sentence. On page 21, Eula Biss states, “ I had not realized that the fact that I believed
myself to be in pain was not reason enough.” To me, this sentence alone is able to reveal a lot of
what the text is trying to prove. One of the points being made here is how different one person
can experience pain differently from someone else. If everyone experiences pain differently,
there would be no need for her to feel that her experiencing the pain is not enough. Another point
shown here is again, how ineffective the pain scale truly is. Despite the fact that Biss had stated
what her pain level is using the scale, the doctor is still unable to treat her as no signs of physical
pain are present. My forged sentence of the model is that many things in the world do not need to
be proven to anyone else other than yourself, such as love.
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On another note, a metaphor in the text was really able to stick out to me. On page 11,
Biss says, “...determining the intensity of my own pain is a blind calculation.” The vehicle of this
metaphor would be a ‘blind calculation.’ When a person makes a blind calculation, that means
that an assumption of a problem was made without enough knowledge given beforehand.
Therefore, the author is stating that trying to determine how much she is in pain is not applicable
due to the fact that she is not informed enough about her own pain to make an accurate
speculation. The tenors would be many things, including confusion about one’s feelings as well
as lack of determination. The main one I would consider for this would be uncertainty. There is
great uncertainty that comes with participating in a calculation that one is not familiar with,
similarly to how questionable one may be when describing their own pain. This aspect is very
important to acknowledge, especially when taking into consideration what the worst imaginable
pain is for that individual.
The worst imaginable pain for me personally would be when I was involved in a car
crash earlier this year. The first thing I remember was the smell of gas like I was at a gas station.
I covered my nose as quickly as possible in order to not breathe in as much gas as possible. I was
unable to really comprehend how anything felt like. However, my body felt as heavy as highly
weighted dumbbells. For my face, it was numb for a bit but afterwards I was able to feel the
tightness of my face like a very fitted glove. Immediately after the crash, I could only hear high
pitched ringing like that of a baby bird. When I first opened my eyes, my eyesight was also
blurry like a camera trying to adjust, and this is because the impact caused my glasses to break. It
took a few minutes, but I was able to see more clearly. The way I found out I was bleeding was
actually because I tasted my own blood. After I tasted something as bitter as cranberry juice, my
shaky hands touched my face and that's when I was able to see the red liquid. After experiencing
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all of this in such a short amount of time, I am still unable to sit in the front seat of cars because
that is where I was during the crash. The smell of gas is also something I feel anxious towards as
well, the whiff of that is able to take me back to the event as if I am reliving it.
In conclusion, Eula Biss in her text “The Pain Scale” is able to convey the subjectiveness
of pain while also taking into consideration how inconsistent the use of the pain scale truly is and
how incomplete she felt when asked to describe her pain. In a sense, this part is able to bring a
lot of people comfort because a very frustrating aspect when going to a health physician is being
unable to pinpoint what the problem is. This text also allows readers to reassess how they may
experience or view pain as well as the complexity of it.
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Work Cited
Biss, Eula. “The Pain Scale.” Seneca Review, vol. 1, no. 32, 2007, pp 65-84. Brightspace,
uploaded by Seth Martin, Fall 2023, https://ehacc.hacc.edu.
