What time does the grave digger like to work? He likes to work the graveyard shift. This joke is told to lighten up the mood while thinking of cemeteries. Cemeteries are a place where people are buried when they die. For this reason, many people think of the graveyard as a dreary, dreadful place. Actually, it’s all about the way people decide to make it out to be. This paper will discuss the many ways individuals feel and think of cemeteries and why or why not they like them. As you first walk up to a graveyard, what do you see? Most people see tombstones that are hundreds of years old and think of it as a history sight. Others see the beautiful headstones representing the wonderful lives that people lived, and think of it as a fascinating …show more content…
You walk across the soft, grassy earth floor with the wind pushing you from behind, as it leads you to a headstone. As you run your fingertips over the top of it, the stone has a rocky, granite feeling to it. Each stone possesses its own characters, and touching each one can give you a different feeling. Many people stereotype cemeteries as a creepy place that you go on Halloween and hear coyotes howling, and see ghosts flying around everywhere. Have you ever been to a cemetery and heard a coyote or seen a ghost? No, probably not. At graveyards, you probably hear the sound of the wind, and that may seem a little creepy, but it is not always a spooky place. Driving to a cemetery, walking around, and looking at all the headstones, stop for a second and listen to the beautiful sounds the birds are making, or listen to the crickets croaking. The things you may hear could surprise you. When you go to a cemetery, what do you smell? Jokingly, people might say, “I don’t know, dead people.” Well, you most likely can’t actually smell the people buried under the ground, so what can you smell? As the wind goes in your nostrils it probably smells like it does when you’re at your home, and that is normal. There isn’t really a distinct smell to cemeteries, but maybe you can smell the scent of an old family member as you stare at their headstone and think of
This article is a narrative. It does not aim to analyse the topic. It describes the author's experiences at the mortuary and the resulting disturbing thoughts she had.
The plaque shown is a light umber in color, with a funeral scene etched out in black and white engravings into the smooth surface. The figures are very geometric in style and simplified. Even so, each figure seems to still have somewhat differentiating features from one another. How they are places in relation to each other creates a sense of rhythm within the piece. Helping guide the viewer, and lends itself to the illusion of the element of time.
In the poem “Unveiling” by Linda Pastan, the speaker's point of view is from an older woman who is walking through a cemetery and admiring her deceased family members. Pastan uses allusion, enjambment and imagery to display to the reader what the speaker is feeling and thinking, as she explores her family members’ graves.
Each person has their own reason why the work in the funeral industry. Some people find it a “calling”. Others see it as a job only they can do. I do it because I enjoy helping people during a dark time and I don’t feel squeamish or sick when I handle remains. This is an occupation that is needed. People do not like to be reminded of their mortality, and when they experience death, it is shocking. We are here so that we can help them move past that shock and understand and accept their loss. We’re here to care for the deceased with the respect and dignity that everyone deserves in death.
“In this national cemetery, the marble headstones are so close together, they almost touch. The markers appear to be one long headstone, as if one grave grew out of the other" (Roberts xi).... ... middle of paper ... ...
The beginning of the story mentions an “...odor of death...” (Allende 232). This smell, along with “...the stench of corpses.” (Allende 234), is something that the reader can bring into the story and imagine theirself. For most readers, this smell is unimaginable and brings the
...cestors and past figures of the town. People work incredibly hard on the upkeep and records of the cemetery, which brings a sense of pride and community togetherness. The oldest recorded cemetery in Nebraska certainly is a spectacular landmark to our state.
To begin in “South”, Trethewey alludes to a battlefield where the bodies of African-American soldiers are left to decompose. “Unburied until earth’s green sheet pulled over them, unmarked by any headstones.” (46) This is the only time in the collection that the speaker ever refers to an unmarked grave. This is significant as these men were intentionally left to decompose and in the present, there is nothing to serve as a reminder to them, to the sacrifices which they made. Because of this we do not remember them, and they are lost to history. The bodies are left for such a long period of time that the earth, which moves extremely slowly, has to take action and bury the dead. This same idea is articulated within “Providence” where there is “a swamp where graves had been.” (42) This is significant as it is a callback to an image seen at the beginning of the collection in “Theories of Time and Space.” In this poem, there is a man-made beach that is referred to “26 miles of sand dumped on the mangrove swamp” (1). If the reader remembers this line it brings up the idea of a person purposely dumping sand on these graves, erasing them from sight and therefore from
“In most human society's death is an extremely important cultural and social phenomenon, sometimes more important than birth” (Ohnuki-Tierney, Angrosino, & Daar et al. 1994). In the United States of America, when a body dies it is cherished, mourned over, and given respect by the ones that knew the person. It is sent to the morgue and from there the family decides how the body should be buried or cremated based on...
Thousands of headstones in the far distance create magnificent mazes against the horizon. The immense land has very little room to spare as it is overflowing with graves of heroic soldiers. The white marble graves are like oversized dominos stacked precisely in the thick wind ruffled grass. It is almost inconceivable to imagine each tomb is the physical eternal home to a once courageous and patriotic warrior of our homeland. As the fireball in the heavens slowly descends, it creates a glorious silhouette of the infinite number of tombstones.
Why do sentinels guard the tomb 24/7? Why is the tomb so sacred to America? There is no specific way to answer all these questions that so many American’s ponder, but there are many possibilities to consider. The tomb of the Unknowns has a special place in many American’s hearts. Since the remains in the tomb are unidentified many mothers, fathers, wives, and other family members feel a strong connection with the tomb. The families that lost soldiers that never returned after these wars connected with the tomb because they felt that the tomb may contain their sons, husbands, or brothers. What if you were somehow related to one of the four soldiers in the tomb? John Eisenhower wrote a newspaper article about the significance of the tomb. In his article he states, “Its significance is staggering going to the very core of how democracy defends itself in a perilous world.” This quote reveals that the tomb represents America’s fight for democracy in this dangerous world. After every war America remains a democracy even when the world around may not agree. Eisenhower thought this monument was different from any other because it honors soldiers. Most monuments honor men that are high up in the military, but this one honors those who are simply the soldiers. The soldiers in the tomb signify all the other soldiers that have lost their lives at war. The tomb of the unknown soldier is found in many other countries
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 ...
Death is a controversial and sensitive subject. When discussing death, several questions come to mind about what happens in our afterlife, such as: where do you go and what do you see? Emily Dickinson is a poet who explores her curiosity of death and the afterlife through her creative writing ability. She displays different views on death by writing two contrasting poems: one of a softer side and another of a more ridged and scary side. When looking at dissimilar observations of death it can be seen how private and special it is; it is also understood that death is inevitable so coping with it can be taken in different ways. Emily Dickinson’s poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and “I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died” show both parallel and opposing views on death.
Accordingly, a cemetery is not simply a place containing a dead body or bodies, but a defined location specifically intended to be used for burying the dead. While Curl attempts to distinguish a cemetery from a churchyard, my database takes a broader approach and includes all formal burial places (graveyards in general), including those associated with churchyards, burial mounds, and war memorials.
Most people dismiss anything having to do with death out of fear. The uncertainty some associate with death has caused Funeral Service to be a particularly taboo subject in society. One may assume funeral directors are the sketchy personalities enthralled with death, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Over the years, Funeral Service has progressed and become a larger industry. Funeral Service has changed in its history over time, affecting the education required, and the job they do today.