The Sabbath tells the struggle of the author, Oliver Sacks, who learned to accept himself and the world around him. Oliver’s family and community are orthodox jews that do not accept him because he is homosexual. This leads to Oliver moving to Los Angeles to live his life as an openly gay man who wants to become a doctor. Oliver has a terminal illness that he was diagnosed with which caused him to write this essay on his deathbed. He speaks about what was most important in life and what matters when life comes to an end. He uses the Sabbath to discuss the importance of self-acceptance rather than seeking the acceptance of others.

Oliver Sacks is “the voice” in the Sabbath essay. He is a person who is reflecting on his life and times where he was rejected by others. He starts off his essay by stating where he is from and who he is. He then talks about something that perhaps has influenced him the most throughout his life, which is religion. “ I gradually became more indifferent to the beliefs and habits of my parents, though there was no particular point of rupture until I was 18. It was then that my father, inquiring into my sexual feelings, compelled me to admit that I liked boys.” (Sabbath, 1) It is important to Oliver, that religion does not accept him as a gay man because the rejection shaped him into the man he is now. He further discusses the rejection of others by telling the story of when his mom found out he was gay. “‘You are an abomination. I wish you had never been born.’ (She was no doubt thinking of the verse in Leviticus that read, ) ‘If a man also lies with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: They shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.’” (Sabbath, 2) As he is on his deathbed, he remembers his mom’s cruel words. This represents Oliver seeking acceptance from his parents when he came out. His tone throughout the story continues as a gay man being rejected by his religious family looking for acceptance.

Oliver writes this essay using his final moments alive to reflect on what was important to him during his life. He does not write this essay to share his story but he writes this essay as a teaching and a form of collective learning. He wants to pass down his knowledge of life now that he is on his deathbed to those who might be confused and feel rejected just as he was throughout much of his life. He wants them to know to live their life they want to because it is short. Oliver Sacks throughout the story is searching for acceptance of others. Once he is rejected by his family, he goes to Los Angeles where he hopes to find a place where he belongs and is accepted. One day he is called to attend his grandma’s 100th birthday party where he brings his boyfriend. As a result, he feels his sexuality would be rejected the most and fears another traumatic moment of rejection. “I had felt a little fearful visiting my Orthodox family with my lover, Billy — my mother’s words still echoed in my mind — but Billy, too, was warmly received. How profoundly attitudes had changed, even among the Orthodox…” (Sabbath, 3) He realized times have changed and that being homosexual in the orthodox was not demonized anymore the way his mom made it seem. . To add on, Sacks tells his story to inform people that if you do things out of fear of being rejected, this can lead to having regrets later on in life. He continues to make this point throughout his essay. “I found myself drenched with a wistfulness, something akin to nostalgia, wondering what if: What if A and B and C had been different? What sort of person might I have been? What sort of a life might I have lived?” (Sabbath, 4) He lived his life in so much fear of rejection when all that mattered was if he accepted himself. Once he accepted himself for who he is, things began to shift, and saw that he missed out on great life moments due to his fear of rejection

Oliver Sacks does not have one specific person or group for his audience. He writes this essay for anyone who is confused about life and has dealt with rejection in their life. Many times people are rejected and feel like their life is over, Oliver Sacks shares this experience with his readers. “After I qualified as a doctor in 1960, I removed myself abruptly from England and what family and community I had there, and went to the New World, where I knew nobody.”
(Sabbath, 2) He even moves away because of the rejection that he received from his mother and his community for his sexuality. Many people have experienced rejection where they feel in which they have to leave their environment. This can also cause them to not go through experiences because of the fear of rejection. Many of us experience traumatic experiences in which we feel we have to escape and end up running our whole life. This is what Oliver Sacks does with his family. Not until years later does he go back to his extended family and realize that he was scared of nothing as he was shown love when visiting his extended family. He recognizes that his audience is broad and tells this story to teach them based on his mistakes. “And now, weak, short of breath, my once-firm muscles melted away by cancer, I find my thoughts, increasingly, not on the supernatural or spiritual, but on what is meant by living a good and worthwhile life — achieving a sense of peace within oneself.” (Sabbath, 4) He tells his audience to not stress the little things in life but to rather live a life with which you can die at peace and not be filled with regrets. His experience with fear of not being accepted caused him to miss many opportunities with family where if he had just accepted himself it would have been avoided.

In conclusion, Oliver Sacks was trying to tell his readers his story about coming out to his parents and being rejected. This led to a series of events in which he became a doctor in Los Angeles and escaped from his rejection and traumatic experience. He tells his readers this to show them that although he was rejected when he came back to visit his family after many years, he and his boyfriend were warmly accepted. He was no longer an outcast and was embraced instead. He shows his readers to not be scared of judgment but to rather live a life in which you are happy. He also wants his readers to know that being scared of being rejected can lead to regrets. He is on his deathbed and thinks about whether he has lived a life where he is okay with dying.

Works Cited
1. Sacks, Oliver. “Oliver Sacks: Sabbath.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14

Aug. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/opinion/sunday/oliver-sacks-sabbath.html?searchR esultPosition=3

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