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Death and dying in differnet religions and cultures
Representing death theme in poetry
Cultural influences on end of life
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The Dark Behind the Light 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 …show more content…
From the cookies and presents, to the break from school, there are many factors that bring glee to the heart of any child; however, one aspect of Christmas has this affect more than any other, and that is Santa Claus. Being the bringer of presents, the symbol of Christmas, and the spreader of joy, his character is iconic, and known by all. With this, though, comes the eventual realization that this man we so adore, does not exist. It is soul crushing to say the least, as in essence, one of our idols has died. For a child, this death is perhaps the beginning of their maturation; once the realization has come, there is a part of the child that grows up. In the poem “The Death of Santa Claus” by Charles Webb, he writes, “he (Santa Claus) can't breathe, and the beautiful white world he loves goes black,” (line 13). While he is discussing Santa, and his passing, this line could also be in reference to the child. The beautiful white world is the whimsical fantasy that is childhood; our imaginations are the very thing that bring that world to life, and when we begin to learn that the things we believed so strongly are not real, the once illuminated, endless world goes black. This goes along with the way we view death as children. In the shows we watch, books we read, and movies we see, death is portrayed as someone ‘seeing the light.’ Naturally, due to our lack of understanding of such a topic, this …show more content…
It seems as though medicine is constantly improving, as is our understanding of terminal illness, making it easier for us to live beyond what even our grandparents have. However, this ability to almost cheat death is changing our perception of death; it seems unreal. In the article Denying and Defying Death: The Culture of Dying in 21st Century America by Deborah Waldrop, this exact complex is discussed. Although we are less expecting of death as a society, it is still at large. Modern medicine may improve by the day, but many things remain unsolved. Diseases grow resilient to medication, many are left unanswered, and some of the remaining illnesses we suffer from are simply ruthless. We have yet to find cures for cancer, for HIV/AIDs, for multiple sclerosis, and yet we believe we, as people, are cheating death. Young people are especially negatively impacted; at the age of 17, I had only experienced the death of two family members. While this is a blessing, it is also extremely influential on my perception of death. Not 50 years ago, it would have been likely that I would not have any grandparents, and that my parents’ health would be declining. Death would be normal, and expected. So naturally, when my grandmother passed away in the spring, I was taken aback; I knew she was sick and that she had spent years suffering through multiple sclerosis, however, death was not something I anticipated. The advancements of medicine
The sub-title of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ book describes her audience as doctors, nurses, clergy and the family of dying patients. Because of her target audience the book is written on a more emotional level, citing examples of both positive and negative death experiences. There are no detailed descriptions of what happens to the body as it dies, just discussions of how the dying person might feel and how they might want to experience their last moments of life. Sherwin Nuland takes a much more scientific approach with his book “How We Die”. In chapter seven, Accidents, Suicide and Euthanasia, Nuland describes in great detail the pathophysiology of why a person dies from sepsis and pulmonary infection. His book is targeted more towards the health care professional who is familiar with long drawn out discussions of the pathophysiology of a certain disease process. The choice of target audience by each author correlates to their discussions regarding who controls the death experience. Kübler-Ross argues for patient input and control and so...
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...
The history of Christmas has a exciting history and everyone should know how it originated. At Mary’s annunciation, she was told she was going to have a very special baby that would soon rule the world, with this in mind, her annunciation was also on March 25th, about nine months before December 25th. Although Christmas wasn't always celebrated on the 25th, for this purpose some people believe he wasn't even born in December, but in the spring or autumn. There are many pieces of evidence pointing to this conclusion, too. Including Jesus’ birth, when the shepherds kept the sheep on the hills, it would of most likely been too cold due to the snow, and as well as the timing of Passover, which would need many lambs. Christmas actually used to be
Many people usually never think about the way they will die or how they will be remembered. No one will ever exactly know what to expect but creative writers help readers understand the inevitable path everyone will eventually take. In the poem “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” by Dylan Thomas, he explains how death will happen to everyone but the memory of those dead will be remembered. Similar to the powerful poem by Thomas, Michael Robbins’ recent poem “Not Fade Away” reminds the readers about the music artists whom have died and their legacies that carry on through different generations but in the end he is afraid to die. Both poems are inspired by older works of literature and share the common theme of death with their use of imagery despite not having similar characteristics like rhythm and rhyme scheme.
...tempt to abstain from discussing demise as well as sadness, however much as could reasonably be expected, however being in a position that tested me to confront the individual trepidation of death and sorrow and really dissecting the five phases of misery in some routes, By breaking down phases of how we see passing, profound, and the development of mindfulness. Acknowledgment of this development can manage us in having the capacity to conceivably discover why we are here in this world otherwise called life.
Charles Dickens is often credited as the “man who invented Christmas,” and his persistent and well-adapted tale, A Christmas Carol, has proved a valuable addition to literature that uses the Christmas season as a central theme. “Dickens, of course, did not invent Christmas, but he successfully reintegrated earlier traditions and memories of traditions, and repurposed the Christmas season” (Bloom, 16). The combination of Dickens having reached a low point in his personal life and the harsh social and economic conditions in England, led to the birth of the beloved Christmas classic, A Christmas Carol. Dickens’ experiences with Christianity and the class system also work in coloring his depiction of Christmas.
Death is something that kisses almost everyone at one time in their life. Either one of your grandparents die, one of your parents die or a beloved friend dies. You are always told by your parents to wear your seatbelt when you are in a car so you don’t get in a car accident and die. Also, you are told to eat all your vegetables so you can be healthy and not die, because death is a scary thing. There comes a time when death doesn’t start to feel so scary, like when you are old. When you’re old it doesn’t feel so scary because you’re starting to hit that age that signals that it’s the end of the circle of life. You’re born, you grow old, and then you die. This is a simple fact of life. It’s expected that someone of that age is going to die soon.
Even though dying is a natural part of existence, American culture is unique in the extent to which death is viewed as a taboo topic. Rather than having open discussions, we tend to view death as a feared enemy that can and should be defeated by modern medicine and machines. Our language reflects this battle mentality, we say that people "combat" illnesses, or (in contrast) "fall victim" to them after a "long struggle." Euphemistic language also gives us distance from our discomfort with death, (Grohol, 2013). People who die are "no longer with us", have "passed", gone "to meet their Maker", “bought the farm”, “kicked the bucket", and so on.
Mortality is a moving and compelling subject. This end is a confirmation of one’s humanity and the end of one’s substance. Perhaps that is why so many writers and poets muse about their own death in their writings. Keats and John Donne are two such examples of musing poets who share the human condition experience in When I Have Fears and Holy Sonnet 1.
Frosty the Snowman waves hello alongside Santa 's reindeer that are ready to take off. Candy canes line the sidewalk and the ginger bread dolls dance in a merry circle. The trees all sparkle with thousands of red, yellow, purple, blue, and orange lights. Out back, Mary and Joseph stand over baby Jesus, Choo-Choo train’s chug in spot, stars twinkle with bright yellow bulbs, and Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause wave in the distance. Kerkhoven, MN, the location of the happiest house on the block. Every year my breath is always taken away as my eyes struggle to soak in the utter abundance of Christmas spirit. I 'm smiling and we 're not even inside yet.
I would be lying if I said that Christmas was my favorite time of year. In fact, these words have never been articulated by my tongue as it brushes past the soft palate of my mouth, producing speech. Agonizing or distressing would better describe it. Though, these banal adjectives could not begin to reach the dark depths where my illness held my shackled being in a dirty, steel cage. On Christmas day, only eight years old, I received a harrowing diagnosis; I was sick with both an autoimmune condition and a rare blood disorder.
Christmas time is a time for food. Like most people, every Christmas all of my family gets together and eats. It has always been a special event for me in the past nineteen years. It is something I look forward to every year. One key difference between my family and others is our size. Every year, roughly forty people in my family meet at my grandparents’ house. My grandparents live in south Mississippi and every Christmas after my family opens presents, we drive four hours down there. With such an abundant amount of people meeting in one place, you may wonder what everyone is going to eat. What one meal could satisfy forty different people? My Grandma, since I have been alive, has made Gumbo every Christmas. Gumbo served with Wal-Mart potato
I love Christmas Eve. Christmas is probably the time of the year where I’m the happiest. The best Christmas Eve I have ever spent was with my family and some friends in the winter of 2014. It was the greatest simply due to the factor that I spent it with the boy I was in love with at that time. The only photograph that was captured that night of us was taken right before all the festivities started. We were setting up the music for that night and we took a few seconds to snap a picture on the laptop webcam before joining the party. The picture highlighted my happiness and the joyful feelings I had that night.
Our days are counted on this earth. We start as innocent babies, grow into adventurous adolescents, and age into elderly individuals We can wish to live hundreds of years; however, we have to understand that age and death are inevitable and they will sneak up on us. It is understandable that aging and dying are two things human beings fear, simply because they are never an everyday conversational topic. We live our lives with hefty amounts of laughter, grace, and strength. We build strong relationships with those we love or sometimes we exclude ourselves from the people we love. Yet, when we least expect it, those joyous moments are forever gone. Day by day we are aging and becoming closer to the realization of death. It is hard for many to realize that one-day we’re here, and by the next we’re gone. As a result, they take life for granted and ultimately lose the real sense of life. Unfortunately, when life begins to come to an end, many people become weak and hopeless. Yet, some people grow a different perspective and begin to live life differently. Clearly, it is important for people to be ready to face adversity and challenges. Although Dylan Thomas’s “Do not go gentle into that good night” and Joan Aleshire’s “Slipping” discuss similar themes about embracing life before it’s too late, they evoke different responses in the reader by the use of imagery, tone, and form.
Death is the inevitable and unavoidable conclusion to life. Every human being in the phase of this planet is born with a death sentence. Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 73” tackles the theme of aging and death with an aging speaker who compares his late life to late autumn or early winter. The speaker goes on to explain to his loved one that he/she must express his/her love to him more than ever, as death is upon him. The song “When I Get Where I’m Going”performed by Brad Paisley also tackles the theme of death.