A person’s ability to stick to the things they cherish, the things that make them who they are, and the things they would never want to forget is called memory. Consciously storing memories is becoming more difficult as people age. Additional factors to consider include the inability to interact vocally and identify familiar locations or people. This disease causes persons to experience fear, discouragement and their lives to deteriorate significantly. Alzheimer’s by Kelly Cherry explores the interaction between the human mind and the resilience of the environment. As for the poem’s setting, it emphasizes the validity of family and friend-provided explanations for people with Alzheimer’s disease. When the lyrical hero of the poem, an Alzheimer’s patient, returns from the hospital, he is shown confused and psychologically absent. This “crazy old man” with memory loss (Cherry, line 1), as the author writes about him, does not even recognize his wife greeting him. In Alzheimer’s, Cherry describes what changes occur to a person who is struck by illness. This analysis explores the performative contribution to the discursive aspects of this poem through personality, imagery, and setting.
To show how diagnosis profoundly affects memory, cognition, and decision-making, Cherry uses several examples of powerful imagery. The poet discusses the main hero’s life before Alzheimer’s disease: “He remembers himself, / A younger man, in a tweed hat, a man who loved / Music” (Cherry, lines 19-20). This individual had turned to music to express his innermost thoughts and feelings. As Alzheimer’s restructures his memory, he loses touch with the passions that he had in life. Therefore, the author draws attention to the sociological discourse of Alzheimer’s disease through numerous performatives.
Alzheimer’s disease is known to impair concentration, language, and motor skills, all of which lead to poorer quality of life. The protagonist’s quality of life declines as his brain fights against this disconnection. In order to cover up his flaws, the man pretends to participate in everyday activities. The hero has “a book he sometimes pretends to read,” a description Cherry gives of a man’s attempt to preserve his memory (line 5). His memory deteriorates along with his house as he suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. When a man’s memory begins to fade, he loses his will to live. It is hard to remain optimistic when the wife one once loved is now a stranger (Cherry, lines 26-29). Alzheimer’s patients are characterized by forgetting their loved ones, including spouses, children and parents (Grabher 338). The man’s forgetfulness shows that the diagnosis had an impact on his cognition and memory, even if it was unintentional.
Kelly Cherry’s skillful use of imagery in numerous parts allows the reader to see the man’s triumphant return to his own land. The guy may be clinging to these things, both literally and psychologically. As a case in point, the luggage that includes shaving cream, a piggy bank, and his clothing clearly indicates the tiny things familiar to him and objects he appreciates. Seeing this brings back memories of a happier and safer period in his life. As a result, the audience may form an image of him in their minds. However, the “fiddling with emotions” and the “peculiar screaming of strings” (Cherry, lines 21-22) let the reader feel the turmoil in his head as he attempts to make sense of his circumstances. He keeps going, trying to figure out how to make sense of his new surroundings, yet he cannot even recognize his wife.
Cherry depicts the difference between life before and after this man received his Alzheimer’s diagnosis with visuals and setting. The poem’s frantic and disorganized pace reflects the man’s feelings about his dwelling. As a metaphor for this man’s history and the memories that have left him, this house reflects the few details he holds close to his heart. Standing at the familiar doorway, he refuses to acknowledge that much has changed. He once owned it all, and he remembers it that way. Cherry focuses on the main character’s actions, his attempts to come to terms with change. He is perceived by readers as a real person, so the performatives contained in the text are also taken seriously.
Despite his inability to recall specific memories, the old man can piece together pieces of his identity inside the confines of the brick walls. It is easy for him to remember many things because there are numerous clues around the protagonist. These include the path between the front room and the garage, the rhododendron he once planted, and his car. Returning to his childhood home, the hero confronts his terror at the passing of time and his need for security. Distress starts to permeate through the “white wood trim” of the home, which can protect the man from the chaos outside (Cherry, line 14). However, even though the man remembers his tweed hat, ability to grow plants, and love of music, he cannot recognize the white-haired lady in the doorway as his wife.
Colors and settings help convey the man’s deteriorating mental and physical abilities and his diminishing quality of life. The effects of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis are best shown when comparing the situation before and after the diagnosis was made. The man’s self-esteem and the respect of others are both eroding. This change reflects the decline in a man’s physical and mental abilities due to Alzheimer’s disease. The poem’s main character is a man, but Cherry does not place much emphasis on this. This notion is explained by the fact that Alzheimer’s disease can affect anyone, male or female. Because of how the character system is constructed, readers can see themselves or their loved ones in the main characters. Such an intimate and vibrant connection forces readers to reevaluate their values. Poetry now has a definite audience focus — the cultural meaning of verse is found in discourses and institutions that lie outside of literature.
The performative utterances in this poem emphasize the importance of considering the gift of memory and acknowledging the experience that defines humans. Kelly Cherry’s Alzheimer’s uses various types of imagery and portrayals of specific locations to highlight the difference between one’s existence before Alzheimer’s and after. Cherry explains the change in values that occurs after receiving such a diagnosis: other issues become important. Moreover, as follows from the performative model, the text of Cherry’s poem becomes an act, meaning that readers can discover new meanings in the poem. As Alzheimer’s disease causes people to reevaluate their responsibilities and priorities, Cherry encourages her readers to see life for what it is and create memories they will cherish forever.
Works Cited
Cherry, Kelly. Death and Transfiguration: Poems. LSU Press, 1997, p. 20.
Grabher, Barbara J. “Effects of Alzheimer Disease on Patients and Their Family.” Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology, vol. 46, no. (4), 2018, pp. 335-340.
Gruters, Angélique A., et al. “Neuropsychological Assessment and Diagnostic Disclosure at a Memory Clinic: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Patients and Their Family Members.” The Clinical Neuropsychologist, vol. 35, no. 8, 2020, pp. 1398–1414.