The main character in Amy Hempel's "In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried" realizes she is a fearful person. She has a fear of death. The fear she has for death prevents her from becoming open about the topic because she is not able to speak about the topic. The narrator often uses different forms of denial to show this fear she has for death. She uses humor like when she reads the newspaper about the man who robbed the bank with a chicken as a distraction. Her fear of death hits her most when her friend asks her to spend the night. She seems to show the most discomfort by saying, "Then it hit me like an open coffin. She wants every minute, I thought. She wants my life." Though towards the end she tries to face her fear by signing up for
There is probably no one, among people, who has not considered death as a subject to think about or the events, people, and spirits that they would face after death. Also, since we were little kids we were asking our parents what death is and what is going to happen after we die. People have always linked death with fear, darkness, depression, and other negative feelings but not with Emily Dickinson, who was a reclusive poet from Massachusetts who was obsessed with death and dying in her tons of writings. She writes “Because I could not stop for Death” and in this particular poem she delivers a really different idea of death and the life after death. In the purpose of doing that, the speaker encounters death which was personalized to be in a form of gentleman suitor who comes to pick her up with his horse-drawn carriage for a unique death date that will last forever. In fact, she seems completely at ease with the gentleman. Additionally, their journey at the beginning seems pretty peaceful; as they pass through the town, she sees normal events such as children who are playing, fields of grain, and a sunset. After this, dusk takes place and the speakers gets chilly because she was not ready for this journey and she did not wear clothes that would make her feel warm. Consequently, readers get the idea that death is not a choice, so when it comes, that is it. Emily Dickinson, in her poem “Because I could not stop for Death,” uses personification, imagery, and style to deliver her positive and peaceful idea of death and life after death.
Edgar Allen Poe's story, The Premature Burial, explores the narrator's concern of being buried alive. The theme is that you simply will overcome your fears as long as you do not target the dark and dreary things in life. Throughout the complete story, the talker is consumed by his fears. He has catalepsy, that could be a wellbeing within which the person cannot move or speak. This condition will last from hours to months. The talker doesn't need to be alone however he doesn't need to be around folks as a result of he's afraid that they're going to suppose that he's dead. "No event is so terribly well adapted to inspire complete distress, as is burial before death." The talker goes through different incidents of individuals being buried alive
African American reactions to death and loss can be traced to their African roots, their centuries of slavery, their commitment to Christianity, and their post-slavery treatment in American society. Among those to explore death and dying in twentieth-century African America is author Karla FC Holloway. In her book Passed On: African American Mourning Stories: a Memorial Collection, Holloway thoroughly investigated the myths, rituals, economics, and politics of African American mourning and burial practices, and found that ways of dying are just as much a part of black history as ways of living.
In Amy Hempel’s Short Story “Going,” we take part in a journey with the narrator through loss, coping, memory, experience, and the duality of life. Throughout the story we see the narrator’s struggle through coping with the loss of his mother, and how he moves from a mixture of depression, denial, and anger, to a form of acceptance and revelation. The narrator has lost his mother to a fire three states away, and goes on a reckless journey through the desert, when he crashes his car and ends up hospitalized. Only his thoughts and the occasional nurse to keep him company. He then reaches a point of discovery and realizations that lead to a higher understanding of mortality, and all of the experiences that come with being alive.
In the contract of life, there are numerous requirements. Every living being must be able to reproduce, practice homeostasis, consume energy, and adapt. However, there is one component of life that facilitators don’t include in their lesson plans: death. While all living organisms must have the ability to perform certain tasks in order to be considered living, all life must come to an end. Death is not a matter of if, but when. Many humans share a common fear of losing a loved one, yet authors utilize death to convey a profound meaning within their novel. In the first paragraph Bill Barich’s novel, Laughing in the Hills, he uses the inevitability of death to supply the reader with insight on the theme of his writing.
For each of us, death is a subject that not only fascinates, but creates fear in our hearts as well. Death is something we avoid in our minds with the hope that it will not touch us. As a society we all fear death; especially in violent cases, which occur naturally and arise through the unusual forces in our society. When such an event takes place we want revenge. In Dead Man Walking, the parents of the murdered girl are left with so much anger that they verbally attack Sister Helen Prejean, when they find out she is still on Matthew Poncelet’s side.
The cemetery my grandfather is buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, one of the largest cemeteries in the New York City area. It’s filled with people of all backgrounds and nationalities that came to the city and surrounding area. It has become home to many people as it was created in 1917 and it’s still active to this day, showing exactly one hundred years of progression. The location of the cemetery’s first plots is important to begin with, because New York City is an urban and central hub for lots of the world, the cemetery being outside the city in Westchester County is done on purpose. A cemetery can be a somewhat depressing sight, so it’s placed away from everyone and where they will only see it if they travel out to. It creates a separation between “us and them” (233). Because of the large number of residents from New York City are buried there, the cemetery’s origins start the progressive story of how it grew. The beginning of the cemetery tells a great deal about who was living there at the time. The original tombstones had all of the last names seemed to be
In the essay “On the Fear of Death” Elisabeth Kubler-Ross focuses on dying and the effects it has on children as well as those who are dying, while in Jessica Mitford’s “Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain” focuses more on the after fact when the deceased is being prepared of their last appearance. Both authors, point out that the current attitude toward death is to simply cover it up. A successful funeral is when the deceased looks “Lyf Lyk” in Mitford’s Essay, but in Kubler-Ross’ it is dying at a peace with oneself, no IVs attached. Both authors feel that the current views of death is dehumanizing. Mitford points this out with the allusion that the funeral parlors are a theatrical play, while Kubler-Ross comments “I think there are many reasons
In Don DeLillo’s White Noise, death is an issue that is touched upon greatly. Death is everywhere. Death surrounds every aspect of every characters’ life in any shape or form, which eventually leads to the repression or acceptance of death. However, characters such as Babette and Jack have a pathological fear of death that it hinders they from functioning properly in their everyday lives. Different characters in the novel have different viewpoints on death, and this is solely due to death being forever uncertain. In addition, Jack, the protagonist of the novel, represses death by scrounging up the materialistic possessions that he obtains such as the status he has earned. Through symbolism, motif, and characterization, DeLillo implies that
In our lives, we go through stages of mindset and maturity that naturally coincide with aging. One thing that remains the same, though, through all of these stages, is that eventually, we die; we are completely aware of that as humans. Whether because it’s due to the painful reality that is mortality, our ever-diminishing ability to be wistful and imaginative, or merely the impending coming of the Grim Reaper, our entire lives are, ironic as it is, surrounded by and flooded with death. However, as we grow older, our perception of death changes. It goes from taboo in our young ages to something that begins to surround and eventually consume us as we grow older. Between the poems “For the Anniversary of my Death” by
Is there such a thing as free will, what is the relationship between mind and body, and the true difference between right and wrong are a few questions about human existence that have plagued philosophers and average men alike since the days of Socrates and Aristotle. While not everyone may pay these questions much attention, there is one philosophical thought that has probably crossed the mind of every human at some point in time, and that is the concept of death and what happens after. There are widespread thoughts about what happens postmortem which range from the idea of immortality during the days of the ancient Greeks to the belief in reincarnation that is associated with many Eastern religions. These beliefs, along with others similar to them, provide some with a sort of safety net because they know that their essence (soul, spirit, etc.) will continue to exist after they pass. That being said, not everyone shares these opinions and for some the idea of death can be frightening. Don DeLillo’s novel White Noise examines this fear through Jack Gladney and several other characters. While the novel does not offer any answers, it does stimulate thought regarding death in modern society and how it should be handled. Although many of the characters try to do things such as ignore or embrace their fear in order to get it off their minds, Jack cannot shake his angst, all of which mirroring the various reactions people in today’s society have regarding death.
When he finds himself before the tombstone, something is different. A fresh spray of roses has been laid upon the grave. Kneeling down, he runs a finger along one rose, the blossom still curling with life. Pale petals drenched in dew, leaves like wax, thorns jagged and defiant. His eyes search the grave for a trace of this new intruder. He is curious but miffed; he had believed himself to be the only visitor here. He felt a sense of belonging with the grave, as though his own name should be scrawled beneath that of the deceased. He wishes that he had felt closer with the fleshless creature now sheltered within the grave. They had been friends and almost lovers, nearly united as one, all the fragments fitting together--but then the passing of time tore them in half. Where life has failed them, death is infinitely more skilled; it brings them unbearably close.
American authors thrived in the 19th century more than any other time in history. Two central figures of this American Renaissance were Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allen Poe. These two authors primarily wrote dark fiction about the subjects of death, love, and nature. Not only is the general subject matter between Dickinson and Poe similar, but there are also parallels between their speakers. Many of their works contain a first-person narrator who displays drastic psychological states and is aware of an overwhelming presence of death. This is most notable in Dickinson’s “I Felt a Funeral” when her speaker implies with the internal funeral that she is becoming mad and how in “Because I could not stop for Death” she shows mortality as imminent;
Notable in his relation of this story is his avoidance of discussing death with his uncle, attempting to suppress the thoughts and feelings even as his uncle attempts to communicate his concerns about dying, “He...said...he wouldn't be around to see his kids into the next school year...I told him not to talk that way”(p 15). Not only this, but thereafter Mitch states that he put a premium on the time he felt he really had to live, though unfortunately this value of life came to be predominately represented in material accomplishments rather than spiritual ones. Along a similar theme, Morrie discusses his mother's illness which witnessed as a child. Morrie describes his mode of coping with his mother's illness as also being one of avoidance, evidenced by his pretending not to hear his mother calling for medicine as he played outside the house and how this was easier than confronting the reality, “In his mind he believed he could make the illness go away by ignoring it”(p 74). Later, after receiving the news of his mother's death and going through the grieving process, Morrie is frustrated by his father's forbidding discussion of the loss and so grieves privately through religion, attending services and saying a memorial prayer for her. Looking back on the deaths of his loved ones and that of a colleague, Morrie is able to learn from these experiences how to cope with his own death: by ensuring that there are no goodbyes left unsaid and that he is surrounded by those he loves. This inspires him to have a living funeral, rather than having it be an experience of mourning in which people say nice things that he never gets to hear, he wishes to be a celebration of his life and the relationships it has fostered.
...ing a cherished loved one, that life is no longer worth anything. To the contrary, “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep” is inspiring and gives hope to the reader that death is not final. Many people think that although the physical body dies, that the spirit or soul of the dearly departed lives on and obviously Frye believes this, as well. Similar to Frye, I believe that when the physical body dies, the spirit lives on. Her poem brings a sense of comfort and hope, as opposed to Auden’s poem that leaves the reader with a sense of loss and despair.