The first thing Death said to me was: “I’m sorry.” His voice was like an old man that had outlived his children, and when I heard it, all the courage that I had built up since I had gotten the call from the doctor drained out of me. I fell to my knees and started crying. “Why me?” I blubbered as Death walked towards me. He was a large man, but the shadowy cloak he dragged across the floor was even larger. I was sniveling now. “I just graduated, I was going to backpack across Europe, I was gonna... I was gonna... Why does it have to be me?” “It had to be someone,” Death answered. “And it turned out to be you.” Eventually, I calmed down. “Damn it, I promised myself I would put on a brave face when it was time to... time to go. But I guess everyone …show more content…
I think I was like you once, a long time ago; before cities, before governments. As the years passed, my memory began slipping away.” “Wait, are you saying that you used to be human?” “I am human.” “Well then, after all this time, how are you still alive? “I wouldn’t describe my existence as truly living. My memory wasn't the only thing to fail with time. My sight became cloudy, my skin became cracked and rough, my bones began to creak and ache, and sometimes I fear I’m losing my mind.” He turns, and even though I can’t make out the face beyond the hood of his cloak, I can feel him staring intently at me. “But some things remain, like my hunger and my thirst; two things that, no matter what I do, I can’t seem to sate. I’m not sure what he means but I steel myself for what comes next anyway. “Do what you need to do. I’m not afraid to die.” “Neither am I.” Death says, and with that, he turns away from me and throws off his cloak. As I take in his form, I gasp and stagger back. His skin is pale and flakey, he is stick-thin; his arms and legs are like fleshy rods and his ribs are almost sticking out of his chest. And then, as if he were made of dust, he gets blown
We all deal with death in our lives, and that is why Michael Lassell’s “How to Watch Your Brother Die” identifies with so many readers. It confronts head on the struggles of dealing with death. Lassell writes the piece like a field guide, an instruction set for dealing with death, but the piece is much more complex than its surface appearance. It touches on ideas of acceptance, regret, and misunderstanding to name a few. While many of us can identify with this story, I feel like the story I brought into the text has had a much deeper and profound impact. I brought the story of my grandmother’s death to the text and it completely changed how I analyzed this text and ultimately came to relate with it. I drew connections I would have never have drawn from simply reading this story once.
Death is sometimes considered unthinkable. People do not wish to think of loved ones dying. When someone close to us dies we are over come with sadness. We wish we had more time with them. Their death shows us the importance of that person’s role in our lives. We begin to think of how we will live our lives without them. We think of all the moments we shared with them, they live again in our memories. Perhaps death is considered unthinkable because we fe...
Sadly, life is a terminal illness, and dying is a natural part of life. Deits pulls no punches as he introduces the topic of grief with the reminder that life’s not fair. This is a concept that most of us come to understand early in life, but when we’re confronted by great loss directly, this lesson is easily forgotten. Deits compassionately acknowledges that grief hurts and that to deny the pain is to postpone the inevitable. He continues that loss and grief can be big or small and that the period of mourning afterward can be an unknowable factor early on. This early assessment of grief reminded me of Prochaska and DiClemente’s stages of change, and how the process of change generally follows a specific path.
As a natural phenomena that occurs frequently yet is still not completely understood, death has confounded and, to a certain degree, fascinated all of humanity. Since the dawn of our species, people have tried rationalize death by means of creating various religions and even attempted to conquer death, leading to great works of literature such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Cannibal Spell For King Unis.
The funeral was supposed to be a family affair. She had not wanted to invite so many people, most of them strangers to her, to be there at the moment she said goodbye. Yet, she was not the only person who had a right to his last moments above the earth, it seemed. Everyone, from the family who knew nothing of the anguish he had suffered in his last years, to the colleagues who saw him every day but hadn’t actually seen him, to the long-lost friends and passing acquaintances who were surprised to find that he was married, let alone dead, wanted to have a last chance to gaze upon him in his open coffin and say goodbye.
I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing.” Lewis example of fear and not being able to swallow clearly helps us to understand that his reaction to death is that of feeling like dying himself. Chapters 1 and 2 of this book is a breakdown of the stages individuals go through when trying to deal with the loss of a close love one. We move from confusion, then to hurt and pain, all the while seeking clarity and prayerfully closure. But before closure Lewis cleverly paints the picture of not only dealing with his own pain but the pain that others might assume he is dealing with. Even more so, pain that others who loved H are going through. Lewis parallels this to awkwardness to embarrassment, “It isn’t only the boys either. An odd by-product of my loss is that I’m aware of being an embarrassment to everyone I meet”. This make you ponder the questions. Does death cause the grieved embarrassment? Does this unwanted feeling cause even more pain on those left behind? Interesting, as this thought never crossed my mind, nevertheless paints Lewis into a different perspective or adds another level to our
Death has feelings as much as any human, imagining, getting bored, distracted, and especially wondering (350, 243, 1, 375 respectively). Odd, one could say for an eternal metaphysical being. But then again, not that queer once having considered how Death spends his time. He is there at the dying of every light, that moment that the soul departs its physical shell, and sees the beauty or horror of that moment. Where to a human witnessing a death first hand (even on a much more detached level than our narrator) can easily be a life changing event, Death is forced to witness these passings for nearly every moment of his eternal life. Emotional overload or philosophical catalyst? Death gains his unique perspective on life through his many experiences with the slowly closing eyelids and muttered last words. Yet in this...
In the story “The Beginnings of grief” Adam Haslett’s protagonist demonstrate the power that grief can have in a person 's life, and one may find comfort in pain and violent encounters with another human being while one is gathering the strength to survive.
Most people view death as an evil force set out against all of humanity. In fact, in our present culture, the personification of death, the grim reaper, is one ...
I have felt the pain of the loss of a Sister; have felt the pain of the death of my Mother, and felt the death of my Father. I know how it feels. I experienced it. It is painful, looking at those old kind folks who bore you; who took care of you; went through all kinds of sacrifices and pains just to look after you for years and years, until one day the child stood on one’s own two feet, and then … there they are, the parents, helpless and lifeless in front of you.
Intro : Introduce the concept of death, and how the concept of death is shown to be something to be feared
“Death is the debt every man must pay”, wrote Euripides. Each day we are reminded about death; a report on the television about starving children in Africa or a suicide bomber in the Middle East. Headline in the newspaper about a murder, suicide or “honor killings”; News of an untimely death from a loved one, friend, co-worker. It seems that death is everywhere. Until this essay was assigned I had never really thought about how death had affected me, or how close I was to that deceased person who had died so suddenly, sometimes without even saying goodbye. Now thinking about it I have actually been around death quite a bit in my short life so far; a long with that I have sat through many sad funerals. How close I was to that person is a whole other story though. Even when it comes to my own family I wasn’t always that close to them when they passed on because they lived in another state, or my parents weren’t very close to them so I wasn’t really ever around them enough to know them or develop an attachment.
• This quote is significant because of my experiences with people passing away. The careful wording and language you speak leaves a significant mark on one’s heart. Describing the process of death is extremely agonizing even when funerals are formal and well planned out events. The ceremony is filled with tears and pain, words cannot fully describe exactly what it feels like. All we can hope for is for them to have a good afterlife.
One thing that we often hear is that “death is just a part of life.” So often in our day and age do we hear people utter these words. However, death is far more significant and impactful than some would allege. True death is not merely a time when we cease to exist; it is an entombment, a mindset in which we are dead to this world. Throughout our lives, it is true that we can all be dead in one way or another, but it does not have to be that way. When we have our eyes opened to what death actually is, it is far easier to grasp what the true meaning of life is, and to embrace it. Often, we will come across individuals who are enveloped in death and others who are immersed in true life. The shadow of death and entombment lies upon some, encompassing
Two years and four months ago I died. A terrible condition struck me, and I was unable to do anything about it. In a matter of less than a year, it crushed down all of my hopes and dreams. This condition was the death of my mother. Even today, when I talk about it, I burst into tears because I feel as though it was yesterday. I desperately tried to forget, and that meant living in denial about what had happened. I never wanted to speak about it whenever anyone would ask me how I felt. To lose my Mom meant losing my life. I felt I died with her. Many times I wished I had given up, but I knew it would break the promise we made years before she passed away. Therefore, I came back from the dead determined and more spirited than before.