How Passion Drives the Romance for Science in the essay “Uncle Tungsten” by Oliver Sacks
Oliver Sacks is a neurologist who is also known for being a storyteller ¹. Aside from his career, Sacks is a best-selling author having written twelve books up to date, all bringing together science and art ². One of his earlier pieces is his essay “Uncle Tungsten” which combines passion and the love for science. “Uncle Tungsten” is an essay that shows how passion drives the romance for science, romance being the strong fascination and enthusiasm for science, a “love affair”. Oliver Sacks uses narration to present the idea of romance for science through characters, the concept of a hero, and an ending that provides a lesson learned.
Sacks Oliver's use of the sentence “There seemed to me an integrity, an essential goodness, about a life in science, a lifelong love affair” (Sacks 219), summarizes the lesson he has attained from Scheele and also shows his enthusiasm in the subject, his romance for science. In conclusion, Oliver Sacks has successfully presented his ideas through the use of a narrative essay. The main idea being romance for science was presented through the use of characters by Oliver's observation of his uncle's passion for the metal tungsten. The concept of a hero demonstrated how passion drives the romance for science because of Scheele's complete dedication to chemistry. The ending with a lesson learned concluded Sacks's main idea with Oliver's discovery of his own romance for science. All of these techniques contribute to a narrative essay and helped Sacks to successfully present his main idea.
Works Cited
“Scientist of the week: Oliver Sack”. Pharmakon. 27 Sept. 2012. Web. 29 Jan. 2013. <http://pharmakon.me/2012/09/27/scientist-of-the-week-oliver-sacks/> Anthony, Andrew. “Oliver Sacks: The visionary who can't recognise faces”. The observer. 17 Oct. 2010. Web 29 Jan. 2013. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2010/oct/17/profile-oliver-sacks-author-neurologist> “Narrative Essay: 'How to Guide'”. Narrative Essay. Web. 29 Jan. 2013. <http://narrative-essay.org/> Sacks, Oliver. From Uncle Tungsten. The Oxford Book of
