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More handpicked essays just for you.
The impact of loss on a child
How does family influence one's own development as a person
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Recommended: The impact of loss on a child
The concept of death may hold little significance from person to person, however, death is very real.
I remember the exact night, being woken by my mother, grandmother, and great uncle, only to be told that my father has died in the hospital post-dialysis from cardiac arrest. Arriving to his literal death bed, I shook hands with the turning point of my life, the introduction to the further years of being lost.
From birth to age 13, I always took for granted the privilege of having a caring father, who acted as a confidant, who exposed me to new ideas, thus being a catalyst for my further development. Upon losing my main bastion of emotional care, I was given the responsibility of finding myself with very little aid from my busy single mother,
Mortality, the subject of death, has been a curious topic to scholars, writers, and the common man. Each with their own opinion and beliefs. My personal belief is that one should accept mortality for what it is and not go against it.
Seventeen years ago, I came bounding into a world of love and laughter. I was the first child, the first grandchild, the first niece, and the primary focus of my entire extended family. Although they were not married, my parents were young and energetic and had every good intention for their new baby girl. I grew up with opportunities for intellectual and spiritual growth, secure in the knowledge that I was loved, free from fear, and confident that my world was close to perfect. And I was the center of a world that had meaning only in terms of its effect on me-- what I could see from a height of three feet and what I could comprehend with the intellect and emotions of a child. This state of innocence persisted through my early teens, but changed dramatically in the spring of my sophomore year of high school. My beloved father was dying of AIDS.
This is the inevitable truth which some contemplate every day. Death for many is something they
A small bit of historical information is in order to set the tone for this presentation. I was raised, as most young boys are, learning to read, write, and the other necessary evils of elementary education. My father was finally discharged from the U.S. Army Air Corp. and World War II, where he had been a Lt. Col., and taught the use of the Norden Bombsight to bombardiers and crews of the time. My early years were basically fun years, as I learned how to fish, shoot, hunt, about dogs, cats, and toys…many, many, toys. My mother believed in spoiling me, since I was the only child, and for eight years, I was the only object of me parents’ attention. In 1958, however, that situation changed forever, with the birth of my little brother, and three years later, my little sister arrived. These two events, little did I realize, would have a profound effect on my life. They would alter the way I felt about life, contribute to changes in my personality, and most of all, formed the basis for my later life in general, including my chosen profession.
Death is part of the circle of life and it's the end of your time on earth; the end of your time with your family and loved ones. Nobody wants to die, leaving their family and missing the good times your loved ones will have once you pass on. In the Mercury Reader, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross “On the Fear of Death” and Joan Didion “Afterlife” from The Year of Magical Thinking” both share common theses on death and grieving. Didion and Kübler-Ross both explain grieving and dealing with death. Steve Jobs commencement speech for Stanford’s graduation ceremony and through personal experience jumps further into death and how I feel about it. Your time is on earth is limited one day you will die and there are many ways of grieving at the death of a loved one. I believe that the fear of death and the death of a loved one will hold you back from living your own life and the fear of your own death is selfish.
Looking back at my past, I recall my mother and father’s relationship as if it were yesterday. I am only four years old, small and curious; I tended to walk around my home aimlessly. I would climb book shelves like a mountain explorer venturing through the Himalayans, draw on walls to open windows to my own imagination, or run laps around the living room rug because to me I was an Olympic track star competing for her gold medal; however my parents did not enjoy my rambunctious imagination. My parents never punished me for it but would blame each other for horrible parenting skills; at the time I did not understand their fights, but instead was curious about why they would fight.
To some death is not a physical destruction but a spiritual one. As the saying goes, one might already be “dead on the inside.” To others death is not an end but a beginning. Christians define death not as an end of one’s life,
Death is just one of the many things that are feared; however, it is inevitable. Throughout time there has been many deaths. Some might have lived a care free life, whereas others were constantly worried for their day to come. In “Masque of the Red Death” written by Edgar Allan Poe, the story shows death is a matter of time. Death comes to all those, either noble or poor. Many have come to accept death as a sign a life was well lived. However, there are others that believe their lives were not long enough for them to accept the afterlife. No matter how much a person tries to run or hide from death it cannot be escaped.
Death is inescapable for all living beings. It is the one commonality all cultures share. It is an equalizer in a world of diversity. Although death itself is absolute, the practices which surround death are varied and complex from culture to culture and individual to individual. As Mike Parker Pearson elaborates:
The afternoon was slowly fading into the evening and I had gone the whole day without the figure of my aspiration, my father. I impatiently paced the floor in front of the door like a stalking cat waiting to pounce on its prey. The thoughts of wrestling my father and hear those words of affirmation, “You got me! Mercy! I give up!” filled my head. My father was obviously faking it but there was something about his words that have such power over a young boys life. Mothers are sources of comfort and safety for a young boy but it is the father that defines the identity of a young boy, the father bestows manhood on the boy.
Death is the one great certainty in life. Some of us will die in ways out of our control, and most of us will be unaware of the moment of death itself. Still, death and dying well can be approached in a healthy way. Understanding that people differ in how they think about death and dying, and respecting those differences, can promote a peaceful death and a healthy manner of dying.
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
The importance of using the theme of death in so many books and teaching it to others is based off of two assumptions. One is that we need to learn how to face the inevitability of death and to understand that it happens to everyone. The second is that we need to be educated in order to make smart decisions about
Most children go through life with at least one parent. If they’re lucky, they have both. It seems that in our modern day society, divorce has become a more viable option and families have been split. I was in the middle of these circumstances when I was just seven years old. When my parents decided to get a divorce, I was left with my mom. My father moved to Norwalk, Iowa, which was about an hour and forty-five minutes from me. I visited him very rarely, and I came to the belief that he didn’t want anything to do with me. While now I know this isn’t true, as a child I couldn’t fully understand that my father couldn’t control how often he saw me because of his work schedule. While living with my mom, I was deprived of the attention that a seven-year-old needs. She made questionable life choices that have left us with an estranged relationship. We lived with my grandparents at the time, so I became close with my grandmother. She quickly became the motherly figure in my life. When we moved out of my grandparents’ house, I still spent every weekend with her. Then when I was twelve years old, something tragic and unexpected happened. My grandmother suffered an aneurism of the brain and died. I had no time to say goodbye, and we had n...
Death is something that causes fear in many peoples lives. People will typically try to avoid the conversation of death at all cost. The word itself tends to freak people out. The thought of death is far beyond any living person’s grasp. When people that are living think about the concept of death, their minds go to many different places. Death is a thing that causes pain in peoples lives, but can also be a blessing.