The Philosophy of Care Giving in Graphic Memoir

Abstract

Special Exits is a poignant graphic memoir by Joyce Farmer about her ageing parents and Alzheimer’s disease, a disease connected with loss of memory. The title Special Exits symbolizes serious issues faced by the narrator in caring her aged parents. The carer has to bathe, dress and feed her mom, thus taking up the responsibilities in an unfamiliar direction finally leading to personal loss. This paper will explore by close reading the graphic memoir and by applying theories of care giving, how comics can be used to inculcate ethics of care giving and investigate issues such as What are the ethical and social implications of care taker turned life writer? What is the relationship between Life writing and Graphic narratives? What is the role of Graphic Memoir in Medical humanities?

Keywords: Graphic Medicine, Care giving, Ethics, Ageing

JEL Classification: 114