Below, you should respond to one or both of the Death-themed essays:
How to Know if You're Dead by Mary Roach and/or
On the Fear of Death by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. You should not write formulaically, and we should be able to hear your own unique voice in your response.
58 comments:
Kayra Reyes: When it comes to death, all one wants to do is to save their loved one and do anything to keep them alive despite risking the possibility of having them die in the rush of lengthy and unsuccessful efforts to revive them. Authors, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and Mary Roach, both discuss different aspect of death and how others react to the one dying in their essays. Kubler-Ross focuses on the fact that in other areas where medical support is not as advanced, people see death as something that is very common and natural, undisturbed by the idea of a loved one passing away. In these communities, children are even allowed to be present and say their goodbyes. However, in newer times, people are immediately rushed off to hospitals to have to endure constant efforts to revive them, not allowing them to speak or determine whether they even want to continue these methods, leaving the family to decide their future for them. Mary Roach focuses on organ transplants and different types of deaths. According to Roach there is heart death where the person in inevitably dead, yet when brain dead, one’s brain is no longer alive despite the body continuing to function. In this case, patients can donate their organs to others who are the verge of dying if not receiving an organ transplant. When it comes to organ transplants, though, there is three different reactions from others towards the body of the dying as doctors are not emotionally affected by the beauty of the human body, patients receiving the donated organs claim to experience a change of personality, and most importantly, the person’s loved one’s typically come to refuse the organ donation in fear of ending their familiar’s life. Though feeling they are preventing this process out of love for their familiar, it is truly out of the selfishness of knowing they have not been the ones to end their life. Both of these essays by Roach and Kubler-Ross demonstrate the frequent situation in which those are dying are no longer treated like human beings and owners of their body as those around them decide what will be done to them without listening to their opinions or allowing them the freedom to enjoy their last moments how they choose. Personally, I see the purpose of attempting to save one’s life if having the opportunity, yet there must also be the awareness that these decisions ultimately are up to the one that is facing death.
Death has fascinated humans for a long period of time. Most of them reside in rituals that keep the dead preserved as a hope for them to wake up and return to their loved ones. Kubler-Ross view on death is one that has many secrets and psychological meaning in order to cope with ones death of a family member. Kubler-Ross guide has fascinating aspects that make others wonder the reality of death and how one views it. She tend to describe death as an eternal sleep that causes stern in family members dating back long before modern civilization. Death has struck mamny individuals and many tend to take death as different meaning as a comfort for oneself. One can view death as an eternal good bye or as a hope to see ones family member in the everlasting life. Despite beliefs humans have to underground phases that help cope with the reality of death. But one opinion remains strong and is the fact that death marks and end of a life or a beginning of a legacy that could be forever remembered. Despite the beliefs many still see death as a short fare well and yet many individuals fail to realize that we die twice in our lives one is out actual death and the other is our spiritual death whenever family members forget who you were or that you were once part of their family.
Alejandra Perez: On the fear of death by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross,1969 focuses in expressing the reality of life although medicine has increased and allowed cures for many deadly sicknesses to exist, but emotional pain and suffering has increase in those people experiencing terminal illnesses, and death . Death in many cases bring depression and different types of feelings due to the fact that the fear of dying exists in everyone ,since is a natural process of life. Elisabeth Kubler expresses how many times individual's dying cannot make their own decisions of their way of dying. I feel that is really heart broken, and unpleasant to see that people who are close to dying cannot die the way they want because their family members take those decisions for them . After reading this article I learned that in times before all this medical inventions were created family members saw death as a natural process of life, and accepted the idea that their loved one passes away. However today when all these new inventions were created family members rely in hospitals, and medicine and do not put as many attention to reality of the process of terminal illness, and take decisions they and, the doctors think are the best. Death is a really depressing thing but I think people should be able to choose the way they would like to spend their last days, and choose the way they want to die.
“On the Fear of Dying” the author explains the research and perspective people have fearing death. Throughout this essay Elisabeth explains how the reason why many people are afraid of death is because they can’t avoid it. A person can have everything handed to them or they have the opportunity to change things around as they please but not with death. One cannot choose when or how we die, it is something that we cannot control. It is even more difficult to think about how your loved ones will react and the thought of leaving everything you have done behind and not being able to bring it with you. The thought of building yourself up as a person and not knowing what death is like runs fear through people’s body. The author is the next essay begins with describing her visit with a female cadaver who is a dead woman in which the staff on the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center was keeping alive for organ harvesting. While on this visit the author studies in when exactly someone can actually be pronounced dead. The main concern for her is where and when does the soul actually leave ones body. Throughout this essay she continues to talk about how the organs are still functioning and the different amount of time organ have until they stop functioning. Mary Roach makes it clear that your body can still be alive while you believe your soul is dead. The essay ends with Roach’s opinion on organ donation and how instead of letting organs rot you can donate your organs to somebody who really needs them. The topic of death does really scare me, I know that my time will come but these two essays have really opened my eyes to other ideas about death and the thoughts that race through peoples head when thinking about death and the afterlife. The idea of someday me dying races through my head and I panic to think that I will not be able to live a normal life with my loved ones, it’s not that my loved ones will miss me which I assure they will. It is the thought of being alone or being in a place where I have nobody to talk to, having no communication with the real world because you are really gone for good.-Ann Perez
H. P. Lovecraft states, "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." The idea of death mystifies us as humans because, for the majority of us, we grow up believing we are invincible, oblivious to the possibility of thr sudden death of either a loved one or ourselves. Kubler-Ross perfectly described the innate fear of fading away through hypotheticals of a child who lost their mother. When we first become aware of someone's passing, we become confused, unsure if the information is correct, becoming angry at the thought of never seeing them smile or interact with you. We plead for them not to leave us and hope they'll come back, growing lonely and depressive until we accept the truth that they will never be seen again. Personally, being fascinated with depression and the factors that play into one's suicidal tendencies, I believe these stages of grief fit into play on the growing emotional problems. In social media, this can be seen all the time with the suicide of Amanda Todd and Leelah Alcorn, who were victims of bullying until their drastic actions. All over the internet, people flocked to remember Leelah and Amanda yet while they were alive, not one person stood up to protect them and convince them that everything would be alright. They, much like the child in Kubler-Ross' chapter, resent those around them and believe they are completely alone. As a society, we tend to talk about death and depression in hushed voices and behind closed doors until another life is lost. This, like Kubler-Ross mentions, raises the question of becoming more or less human in the face of death. While all cultures and past societies have dealt with this idea in different ways, we are certain that death does not always mean the end whether a culture remembers and honors the dead or simply buries the body. We will all one day die, all we can do is ensure that we impact the lives of those around us in some way or another and live on in their memory. -Andres Olvera
Death is an inevitable part of life. Life must end so that new life can begin. Death and dying are two totally different things and in my opinion fearing death and fearing dying are things that are not tied together. Even though both end in nonexistence, one is always worse than the other. Death and dying belong to two separate categories. Death is for the dead and dying is more for the living. Death is for the dead because it bring them peace and an ending pain, but dying is for the living because it gives them time to get use to the idea of losing a loved one and it also gives them time to say goodbye. Even though everyone knows that their lives will end one way or another, people are still scared when it is their time. I believe that people are more scared of what happens after a person as died or what happens to them when they have passed. People who have gone through the process of losing someone still try to satisfy the dead even after death. Whether it is to show respects by placing flowers on a grave or saying nice words at their grave, the living try to make the dead happy even in their afterlife. Could it be because it is out of guilt or obligation? That is the question for the living. As for the people who have actually passed, there are certain things that must be done. As a social norm, the dead are buried 6 feet deep in their best clothes and then marked with a tombstone saying “in loving memory.” Even in death, everyone wants to be remembered and loved. The real fear lies in that truth. People fear the “what if” and the “what happens” after they have died. People fear being forgotten and lost throughout time. People don’t actually fear dying or death. They fear being forgotten that they have died.
Death is a different experience for the living and for the dying. People who are dying handle their grief in a different manner, eventually they learn to accept it. However the living copes in a manner that is somewhat selfish. For example questioning what is going to happen to them now that the dead cannot complete their deeds. The living also has guilt that is associated with the loss of a loved one. In order to rid of this guilt they give flowers, visit the grave constantly, and in some cases talk to the dead. They do these things because it is a way to keep the dead living. By keeping them alive in spirit it rids of some of the guilt they previously had. Therefore the dead are not forgotten. As a person who has not dealt with the loss of a loved one I do not completely understand all of these actions and stages to get through grief. To be honest I do not believe that dealing with dying involves stages; this view point comes from heavy influence from a man named Harry Proudfoot. If you look up this man on Google you will see that he has created an organization called Walking with Jane. In my journalism class at Boston University Harry explained that his wife had died due to a rare form of cancer. Despite the emotional turmoil Harry turned it around an made a website to help others who have the same cancer because many websites and doctors are uninformed about this type of cancer. He also is in the process of writing a book that helps people who have lost a loved one push through grief. When explaining that his book would not include stages, Harry went into to detail why. One point that I came to my self was that people deal with grief in a different way, much like people deal with marriage, child-birth, or anything else in a different way. Meaning that one may not even be able to make it through their grief and that is something I did not notice in “On the Fear of Dying”. However Ross did make the distinction between the grief people experience when they are dead, dying, and living which are all to be dealt with differently. This difference is the main reason why I personally do not believe in stages, much like Harry himself. With this passage however it does highlight why people go through different experiences and how it dates back centuries into time.
Both the living and those dying fear death. Death is a part of life and there is no way of escaping it. Any living thing will at one point come to the end of their journey on earth, although, some may come to an end much sooner than others. Even though there has been evolution and progress, death can not be cured. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross made me view death from a different perspective. As humans we tend to be selfish and think about how the outcome may effect us but not others. When we are given the news that someone is going to die, we completely disregard their wishes. The people dying should have the right to enjoy their last moments on earth. I also think that what she said about people not being able to picture themselves dying very true, someone else dying is completely different than out own death. I also never considered how children experience death. Parents try to do what is best for their children, however, when they come to realize what has happened they end up with so many unanswered questions and begin to blame themselves. Even though we continue to experience the loss of loved ones, the pain does not get easier. No matter how many times death is presented before us, we continue to grief and blame God or others for taking them from us. "Our strongest wishes are not powerful enough to make the impossible possible," things happen for a reason.
Death is inevitable, but how we choose to experience it and accept it are different. In Kubler-Ross' article on the fear of death, I found it interesting how he explained the evolution of the death experience. He explained a story of this farmer he use to know as a child and how it impacted his view of death ever since. He died with family and friends surrounding him and inside his home in peace the way he wanted to go. However, nowadays most people tend to die alone and isolated from family in a hospital surrounded by beaming hospitals lights and the sound of chaos, never peace or dignity as if would be to die in your home next to your loved ones. Death as Ross described it, to me it almost seemed like he was trying to see the beauty behind death. You can choose to accept it or live in guilt and denial for the rest of your life. Ross also points out death experiences during childhood. Most children do not know the concept of death of a family member indicating that they will never that person again. Most parents like to sugar coat the whole idea for the kids as they see they will not understand or it will be too much for them to handle because of their innocence. However, that is wrong for the children to not know the true meaning of death, they should learn now instead of being deceived. Death should never be treated lightly. Ross is not saying that death is easily accepted or easy to get through emotionally, it is just there is a different way and reactions of dealing with those emotions properly that will benefit everyone. Also just because you are dead, does not mean you should still be treated like a person. In respect to the body, that person deserves a proper burial or cremation based on their death wishes. Everyone should die or be buried wherever they wish to be, it all depends if their family members owe anything back to the dead. Can one fulfill another's death wishes? This article really changed my views a little on the concept of death.
In "On the fear of death" but Elisabeth Kubler-Ross explain throughout her essay how death is something that we aren't able to avoid, it's is something that is bound to happen and we can't stop it. Humans also fear death because it is something that comes so random you never know when you expect not you can't chose or plan how you die. Humans don't like to bring up death because it's a very sensitive topic, it can bring memories of past relatives or friends who are no longer there with them. When people are told how much they have left to live they spend most of the time thinking about what will happen after i am died, worries about family and other things rather than having fun with what you have and do what makes you happy. Also she mentioned how kid take death harshly on themselves if it was there parent blaming themselves for all the things they did wrong but disregarding the fact that things happen for a reason. Children are often lied to whenever a parent or guardian has passed but the child feels that something has changed and will eventually find out of what has happen. When she discussed this it mad me realize that adults don't know that the kids will get on board with what they are trying to keep from them and eventually grief on it and blame themselves. Kuber-Ross says that we have the choice we can either be afraid of the term "death" and try to avoid it of or you can take it all in a realize to enjoy what you have in the meantime because no everything last forever. Mary Roach talks more about dead bodies and how to tell if the person is really dead. Roach defends her argument that a person can be dead but can be alive on the inside. These articles really change my point of view in death because I was one of those to not think so much about death because I don't want it to come but death is bound to happen no matter what I try to do it will still come. But know I realize I just need to enjoy what I have rather than rejecting what will happen in the future because we never know.
Death to the living brings different experiences as we as humans try not to show it, but we are all afraid of death either with a individual which has impacted your life or even your life, death is scary. In "On the Fear of Death" Elizabeth Kubler-Ross tells "Just as our unconscious mind cannot differentiate between the wish to kill somebody in anger and the act of having done so, the young child is unable to make this distinction. The child who angrily wishes his mother to drop dead for not having gratified his needs will be traumatized greatly by the actual death of his mother-even if this event if this event is not linked closely in time with his destructive wishes." this in fact shows that although something that is attached to one and then dies off that one will truly miss the presence it set. Because memories will be brought back from the good times as well as the bad, this made me realize i should in fact truly love what ever i have because some people might be having it worse than I am.
Death is inevitable. Many fear it, or many choose to neglect it and let nature take its course. Both Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and Mary Roach talk about the notion of death and the impact it has. Kubler-Ross touched upon the “stages of grief”-denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. He discusses how death has evolved over time and what the representation of a burial shows. He also talks about how the death of people all vary depending on one’s cultural. One thing that Kubler-Ross talked about that really caught my attention was the significance of a burial and the whereabouts of the dead person’s spirit. He talked about how in ancient times, Hebrew would shoot arrows up into the sky as a representation to “drive the spirits away.” This also contributed to the notion of different cultural because not every culture shot arrows into the sky to “drive the spirits away.” Another tradition, which is commonly used, is the tombstone in which represents the body along with the spirits being buried deep down in the ground. Similar to the shooting of the arrows is the well-known firing of the guns at military funerals serving as a last salute, but both rituals are performing the same action, shooting towards the sky. Although death is usually looked as something negative, Mary Roach takes something that many wish to avoid talking about into something informative that can help many stay alive. She talks about the action of organ transplants and how she was able to witness and question doctors themselves about the process which is taken while taking a brain dead patient’s organs and using them on someone who is fighting to stay alive. Ultimately, she has informed the reader that once a person is dead, their organs should not “let them rot,” for the organs can save the lives of those who need it. Mary Roach said, “an [organ donor] has no heart, but nonetheless is the last thing you’d call an [organ donor]” for they have helped saved plenty lives.
In Elisabeth Kubler-Ross' "On the Fear of Death", she brings attention to how we as a human race have always been afraid of death or unable to fully recover from the death of another. She touches upon some customs where a deceased person's belongings are buried along with the person, our persistence on keeping someone alive on machines fearing their impending death, being physically and emotionally distraught about the death of a love one or marriage, which are all very much true. We have been accustomed to holding on to the person that was there before that when they perish, it is difficult for us to let go. My mother used to always say this quote from a Shakespearean play, "Death is an unnecessary end, it will come when it will come", meaning that death is unforeseen and we have no way to avoid it or control when it will occur. Even with my mother's attempt to instill in me to not be afraid of death, I still am. Why is it that many are afraid of death? I'm afraid that if I die now at the tender age of 17, I will not be able to live out the life that I have always dreamed of. If I die now, how will my mother react, the rest of my immediate family, my family members in Nigeria that I haven't seen in 8 years, and my friends? Will I die happily or alone? All the questions come to mind when I ruminate about this idea of death. From reading Kubler-Ross' essay, I have learned that death is OKAY, it's natural and like my mother always quotes, "will come when it will come". We have to be prepared to expect the unexpected and when it does occur, not let death take over our lives.
Death can be a touchy subject to speak upon. some people are scared to find out what the after life posses for them and while some are sure what the after life may posses for them. either heaven or hell is what comes to the human mind when discussing the topic of death, where will i go? personally there people who believe no ending meaning once we die we perish and there is no after life what so ever and while it i hard for people to believe that it is true. what really is the after life? is there a after life? or do we just become names that were one said to nothing. i personally accepted death to be a naturally occurring thing and as though it is extremely sad we can't keep constantly living in fear or being upset or scared to show emotions to the after life. its a mind tricking thing you have to wrap your head around while discussing the subject and at times yes it can seem to be extremely scary but if we learn to accept that death is okay and expected in life we can learn to become stronger people. and it may also help with valuing your life more and appreciating the time you have left on earth and being able to accept yourself and do things you always wanted to do because soon or later death comes for us all and we need to learn when to accept that and i have and i have been appreciating moments and memories to the fullest.
In the article, "On the Fear of Death", it completely made me look at death in a different way. When Kubler-Ross was explaining a story about the farmer who fell from a tree and while laying he was honest and upfront with his family and not covering up the idea of his death coming, he made the whole experience calm and peaceful which is ironic when used to describe the idea of death. He further explains the way modern death is seen today when someone ill is rushed to the hospital sirens on and how is puts the person out of there environment which makes death seem more, "Gruesome". I feel that there are both negatives and positives within the modern world when it comes to medicine and death, but by reading this article I know will look at death and get a deeper understanding on why I feel or the way my family feels when a someone is close to death.
Death is a fear many people have because the fear of the unknown and the end of ones existence. Death is something that a person cannot control and not being in control can scare some people because people want to be in charge of their life. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross explains how death is a difficult subject to talk about even though it is inevitable and is bound to happen, even though knowing when it's time will never be known. Kubler talks about five stages of grief which help with the pain of death to the terminally ill patient and the family, this is a way the family can resolve their pain when death is near them. Death is a complex notion, but it is not wrong it is natural and not to be looked at as it was the end of the world, but it should be seen as the reason to live life to fullest. These cliché's have a point because even though not knowing when death is approaching sitting around and waiting for it is no way to live life. Many people have come terms that death is the natural way of the life cycle and the way one handles it is up to them. People can not protect themselves from death, so cowering from it is no use death should be faced calmly as Kubler says in her article. However if a person is terminally ill is it just for someone to take away their humanity and, "slowly but surely being treated like a thing" no because these people still have opinions, wishes, and feelings. Death should not dehumanize anyone instead their should be respect for the life one has.
Medicine and technology is always improving because humans are afraid of the unknown. Nowadays, there isn't much that is completely unknown; some of the hardest questions can quickly be answered by just typing it up on the web. What happens after death is one of the very few things that humans have no knowledge about, which is a huge contributor to why people are so afraid of death. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross focused on how as medicine has progressed throughout the years, death has become more impersonal. In older times people died in the comfort of their own home, and now there is a huge amount of people dying in hospital beds, where doctors are so focused on saving their lives that they do not take the time to simply talk to their patients. It is important that the doctors don't waste precious time with unnecessary things because that time can be crucial to saving someone’s life, but it is also heart breaking when a patient dies a lonely death when they could've died with their family members. However, it is important for the doctors to not create a bond with their patients because then they will be affected if those patients die. Also, if they hold no emotional connection to the patient, they are less likely to make careless mistakes because they will only be focused on the medicine and with saving their lives. Mary Roach’s essay was also very powerful because it talks about organ donors, something that some people aren't comfortable with because of spiritual beliefs. It was really eye opening that the surgeons referred to the organ donor as “this” because after all, that patient did save three other strangers’ lives. Her last thought that said that people depend on doctors to save their lives and the lives of their loved ones but not the ones of strangers shows how selfish people can be. Although it can be viewed as insensitive for a doctor to ask the family of someone who is brain dead for consent so that they can harvest their organs, the doctors are just doing their jobs; they are trying to save people’s lives. Instead of thinking about it as disrespectful, the family should do everything in order to prevent someone else from experiencing what they are.
In the article, "How to Know if You're Dead", is caused me to question my current ideals when it comes to death because I always believed when the heart stops everything is gone because I knew it was the main center for the body. However, when reading this article Roach not only tells detailed experiences she has when dealing with death, but she also explains now scientist and doctors over time have classified when death is true by using countless of tools and measurements that truly never worked until recently in time. By learning the history of calculating death and seeing the improvements and different ideas from many scientist it makes me think even with modern science and machinery, death is truly a personal belief. while someone may look at death at a technical stand point, others look at it as a spiritual stand point there is NOT A RIGHT ANSWER TO THE QUESTION. Death comes with a different meaning to each person, there is not a correct answer to the abstract idea of death.
I am very much afraid to die but i have to learn and accept that it is a part of life. I was afraid of what could happen after i died, what would i miss out on when I'm gone. but the article "on the fear of death", made me realize that if i were to die it would also affect the people around me. The way they would react to my death. Would they punish themselves? Would they be angry at me because i died? well excuse me for dying. I would rather die in a hospital bed than in my home, well it depends on how i am dying. Like if i were to ever get in an accident, and i had a chance at a recovery, i would choose to be treated in a hospital rather than be left at home dying like the farmer who fell from the tree. Mostly because i know that a hospital would have the proper care for me that i would need in order to stay alive. Now that technology has advanced it would be easier for the doctor to know if the patient was brain dead or died because of heart malfunctions. It is actually hard to tell the difference of heart vs. brain dead because both the heart and the brain are important parts of the body and they cannot function without one another. When a patient is declared brain dead, they are hooked onto a machine that help the heart pump blood to the brain. Death is not an easy thing and it is also not easy to determine if someone is dead. - Giselle Garza
On the Fear of Death:
I once heard that the greatest fear among people is the fear of public speaking followed by death. This means that at a funeral a person would much rather be the one in the casket thanks the one giving the speech of remembrance. The fear of death ranks highly in my own list of fears. In a recent reflection activity I was asked wether I was willing to die for a cause, yes or no only. I leaned towards the no because I am afraid of death and can't wrap my mind around a passion so large that I give the most valuable thing I posses, my life itself. With this in mind I began to read On the Fear of Death , I first noted that with the increasing technological advances in the field of medicine and science, some problems disappeared but new ones arose. Starting from a biological and fundamental point of view, we as humans can't fathom our own deaths or distinguish wish from deed in our unconscious mind. This meaning that while we are denial about our own deaths we also feel intense amounts of grief for the death of others. I also learned that with growing age comes an understanding of permanance. This makes sense to me, when we lost our dog a couple years ago my little brother couldn't quite wrap his mind around where exactly our dog was going. Followed by guilt and fear is shame ,and anger. Love and hate are not so different at all when you consider death, you love the person but hate them for leaving you. These feelings are inherently selfish , you prioritize your own needs. I was pleasantly surprised to read that human fears about death are universal and what has changed are our responses. I found this statement to be true , the traditional approach to death encouraged acceptance and acknowledgement of the person's feelings. This contrasts with the more frigid approach to hospital healthcare. It is foreign and focuses on parts of the individual not the whole , which is dehumanizing. Furthermore the euphemisms we use to talk about death itself are detrimental in the sense that deny the dying person and loved ones of understanding. The vague patient in the conclusion of the essay is successful in putting the matter at hand in perspective for anybody. The patient can be anybody a family member, friend , loved one etc . and leads us to questions our own humanity.
Death is a scary subject to discuss because we all fear what awaits us on the other said, we question what will happen and how it will happen, and we fear the answer. Death is inevitable experience that we must face at one point and it is very scary to understand the concept of death, of not being on this Earth anymore. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross said when we experience a loved that has died we have “feelings of anger and rage” and I completely agree. Having someone that has recently passed, I can say that I felt angry with myself for not being there with her and not being able to help her. I wanted to scream and yell and just do everything I could to not feel sad or not think that she was actually gone. The first thought I had of her I thought of a time where I saw her walking around and I hid because I did not want her to see me. I just kept thinking of all the bad that we had gone through instead of all the good times we had. I was mad at myself. Death is truly a scary idea because there is no one that really knows what happens when we die. We are oblivious to how we are supposed to act and feel towards death even though we know how we feel when death occurs. When someone is severely ill we do everything we can to save them, to make them better so they can live, so we do not feel emotions for them being gone. We do not really pay attention to how they feel or what they want. We pay no mind their emotions and opinions because we are too busy trying to not feel that sadness or anger or grief.
I realize that I do fear death and I wouldn’t like to suffer when that moment comes I would like to be in peace, but as I read On the Fear of Death I realize that death is a common thing to fear but as common it is also one of the most natural thing in the world since is a stage of life that you are born and in one point die as well. As we start growing up the fear of death it supposed to decreases but in reality it doesn’t it increases more because we start to think that the only way you can die is by a diseases or someone killed you. When is not true sometimes you would die because is already your time that God had gave you in this world. It would be hard to get my head wrapped up that death would come into my life and take everything I loved away from me but that is what our life stage works we live for many years and die because is already time to give up since our body would stop in one point and would not be able to work by itself. To the people I love that I would leave behind when I die, they will be angry and guilty and hate towards me and sometimes themselves thinking that it was their fault I die when it’s just a natural way to reacted just blaming themselves that it was because of the way they treated me that I die, when it’s not true sometimes a disease could be the cause or just because it was my time already. As well when a love one or myself are in a hospital bed battling for their life my kids or siblings would be the ones trying to make the decision on how I can survive and my opinion would not matter anymore because of my illness, but sometimes being with your family would be one of the best ways of recovery.
While I was reading, "On the Fear of Death", the book As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner came into mind. When the author Elizabeth Kubler-Ross mentioned her experience as a child when a farmer "ask simply to die at home, a wish that was granted without questioning", this made me think of how people who are dying are still sometimes considered as humans and that their needs should be demanded to be into consideration. It fascinates me the idea of how people still make promises and keep wishes to those who are dying because it is all in their conscious that if they do not do it, it is wrong even if that person will no longer be alive. It all depends on the relationship between that person and the one who is dying because just like Kubler-Ross stated a person who is dying "becomes an object of great concern and great financial investment" as well as "he slowly but surely is beginning to be treated like a thing. He is no longer a person". The doctors might not care for their patient but a family member and their relationship is something that will stay with them forever no matter if they have anger or guilt. Another interesting point that Kubler-Ross made is how children view the idea of death and when they actually experience it. If children are lied to about death then they will be "traumatic experienced" and some even go through "psychotic depression". Some children believe that they are the cause for their parent's death which makes it even worse to cope with the idea of death and accepting that they had nothing to do with it. Many people treat children as what they are,children, and do not realize that lying to them is not helping them understand the reality of living and dying. I disagree with the idea of not letting a child come into the hospital and letting them visit their dying parents because it is unfair, it shouldn't be their decision if they can see the parents. I strongly go against it because maybe seeing them in their last days may help them understand death better and make them see that it is a natural thing that happens to everyone and they should not blame themselves for it. Many people fear death as it is a natural though that everyone goes through but it depends on the person and how they deal with it. In my own realistic opinion I do not fear death anymore. I have seen death in my family since I was a child its just a part of life that no one can escape and people have to realize that the fact is we are all going to leave this earth one day.
Many people have been told the phrase “live every day like its your last”, but many do not really understand this phrase until a loved one has passed or any close member around their age group. But should people just take this phrase as a meaning of being cautious of your surroundings and health to have a long life. But death is difficult to cope with and the news, whether its a doctor or family member sharing news to a patient they are dying. The essay by Elisabeth Kugler-Ross focused on the emotions of death and a family members reactions and the lack of information given to children. Many children view death as a joke, it has not affected them until a family member has passed and regret and blame has grown, when this was mentioned by Ross I was getting memories to when a young boy of 7 years old told me how he thinks about his parents passing and worries on what he would do,I heard this statement this year. Comparing this child mentality to a child in 1969, the child from know has been earthier exposed to death or probably over the years news and social media has been big on death. This child is worried about his parents death and I haven't even thought of it because the fear grows as shown in the essay that death is fearful to think about. I view death as an ending but one of probably many that believes in somehow reconnecting with my loved ones, it ma be that till this day from my family members passing over 6 years I still struggle to accept death and the reality behind it. Overtime people of all ages have died from birth or even unborn to whenever just raging all ages. But these sudden deaths have made many people think wow some of those people didn't even begin their life or get to experience one of the best moments of life. Death is frightening and scary to think about but you can never be ready for death, its just apart of the life cycle in which I question whats the point of existing if it will end. Humans tend to enter in all these beliefs to cope with human existence and the way of life but at the moment society and all are living in the moment as death is more like a surprise even though its known that one day you will be gone. -Jasmine Campuzano
Death is a scary thing. The scariest thing about it is that everyone knows is going to happen. I believe that Elisabeth kubler Ross understood that but the thing that I got from this text was the only thing that really matters is how you leave this world. One thing about death is that there is always going to be fear about dying. There is also going to be hatred towards the person that passed away. The reason why is because they leave they are never are coming back. People they leave behind feel “deserted”. They know that is was going to happen one day but aren’t always ready to let go. I think she also showed that because people aren’t okay with their loved one dying there is a history of generations trying to make it easier for themselves. For example the Egyptians when they would bring food to their dead loved ones they thought it made them happy, which would make the Egyptians happier because they helped them out. For generations there has always been people trying to make death easier but I don’t think death is something that you make can make less hurtful. I believe death is always going to be bittersweet moment to the people that really cared for that particular person.
On How to Know if You’re Dead essay gives you a new point of view on how death is seen by the eye of nurses or doctors. Roach, uses H a brain dead patient life and how their organs are being donated across the nation to people that are needing it and how she describes our gut as an organ container that holding our way on living on earth without the help of medicine or machines to keep us alive. This essay is a very powerful one on the way on how death is being seen as the form of a more morbid way and is uses to. H the brain dead patient is seen as the main donor of all the organs and how the doctors question her stage and the process and plans on how to take each donor out and put it on donation giving some much imagery to see it in our own heads and imagining the scars and her life-less body on the table ready to take her organs out of her. Even though in my head donating H’s organs seem bizarre it’s a beautiful thing that with H’s organs of H saves someone else life. Donating can sometimes be against your beliefs or what you think its right but when you die you would like to make your death and name be meaningful to someone's as they can realize that because of you they still standing with their love ones by her/his side.
After reading "On the fear of death" by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross i was amazed on how complex the human emotions are and how we try so hard to hide our feeling of sorrow and fear. The history that she included about how people would have traditions like burying their loved ones with flowers or shooting in the air to keep the bad spirits away was stunning to me. This stunned me because although it is hard to admit there will always be a time when you will die no matter what even if science try to help you cannot stop the inevitable. All these traditions that people have are for themselves to hope they do not get punished with death themselves, but all these selfish things that we do just keep our feelings tied up in a tangle and cause us to change who we are. The feeling will begin to build up if you don't express yourself and these feelings will begin to control you. The essay also talks about how when people are dying we tend to forget about the patient and we try everything we can to save them without thinking about how the patient themselves feel. Science is manmade and man believes that death is a bad thing and in order to prevent death we create all these things like drugs and transplants to prolong the death of loved one. In today’s society we censor the way we tell children about death we make stories and don't allow them to express how they feel along with the rest of the family. Although we feel as if we need to protect the children from these kind of information all we are doing is allowing the child to grow up with the idea that death is just a fantasy and that it can never happen in their family. That child will live in depression and fear that death will come to them if they cannot join the family in the time of death. We need to change the way society sees death not as an outcast that no one likes and hates, but something that everyone has to go though and we need to comfort these people and be by there sides lifting their feelings and allowing them to mourn for their lost ones.-Xavier Diaz
Honestly, I find the concept of death a little scary. Why? I honestly have no idea. I don't know if it is the fear of losing a loved one, because I have never experienced the death of a loved one before and maybe is that little detail in which my views in this topic change. The one I fund the most interesting is the reading by Mary Roach. I never knew what being an organ donor meant until I read the story about H. H is a hero because she saved the lives of three people that were sick. What I fund the most intriguing was the battle between the definition of death. Does brain-dead mean that a person is dead? Where is your soul? If the organ that contains your soul also transfers to the person whom is receiving the organ? This whole article blew my mind because I had never actually taken the time to even think about anything like that. This reading changed my views on donating, meaning that a doctor is just doing their job when they ask for their consent about donating the organs. It is uncomfortable to talk about things like that, but I feel that it is necessary because when the time comes someone will need to make that decision. The fact that Mary Roach saw someone die and it wasn't in an accident and the fact that she wrote about t and the procedure that went with it, it can be seen how donating organs can really change a life and can bring a non-traumatic life to a child that almost loses a loved one thinking that they did something wrong and because of that their loved one has left them, something that Elisabeth Kubler-Ross talks about in his essay. Both of these reading have change, in some way, te way I think about death.
I have never actually experienced a deeply traumatic death in my life yet, nor had a near-death experience myself, so it is harder for me to imagine the intensity of the stages of grief and depression that tons of people have to endure everyday. However, that does not mean that I cannot sympathize with someone who is severely impacted by death because as humans, this variety of emotions is perfectly normal for us to go through. As you probably understand at a certain age, death is inevitable. It is a part of every living thing's life cycle, and for most, the anticipation of your death might be the worst phase in your life, but your acceptance of it and cherishing of the life you had could make your last moments less gruesome. In "On the Fear of Death," Elisabeth Kubler-Ross enforces the importance of children actually having a better understanding of death. Personal experience with death when you are younger puts you in a hopeful, yet naïve mindset where you believe that there is not a complete loss in existence in someone who is "dead" but as you grow older, that hopeful nature begins to disappear and is then replaced by a sense of guilt when you finally comprehend that you cannot do anything to reverse death. You can also feel remorse when you have not treated the person you have lost in the best way when they were alive and as a result, you feel an obligation to serve them their last dying wish. But is it justified (especially if you feel like you have wronged them) to fulfill someone's dying wish even if it means a burden and sacrifice on your part? I guess it truly depends on the kind of relationship you had with that person and your dedication to them or even how guilty you feel in your actions towards them. But Kubler-Ross also points out something I never really considered before, dying patients in hospitals are treated like objects, instead of an actual human with feelings and the right to decide what is done to their own body. Doctors do not always know what is truly best for patients. Which is why doctors must remain so emotionally-stable and only focus on doing whatever it takes to save people's lives. This strikes the question of: is this whole traditional hospital procedure a way to steer away from the emotional side of the reality that a patient is suffering internally and externally and to deny that there is a possibility that they will fail to save them?
When I was younger, I always wondered how death occurs and when it will happen. It was not until I experienced the first death in the family that I realized that death occurs at any given time and in many different ways. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross made me think a lot about grief and death in the excerpt "on the fear of death". She made me think about the way my family handled by grandmothers death and how the way we handled it correlated to the way we grieved. Every time my grandmother had a stroke, our first instinct was to call the ambulance so that she can immediately get to the hospital. We believed that there everything would be resolved and she will instantly get better. It was not until my grandmother had her second stroke that we realized that even with all these machines, death was coming. We did not want to accept this known fact because she was our only grandmother and we loved her very much. To satisfy our needs, we took her to several doctors appointments and to several hospitals in an effort to ensure she stays with us longer. Throughout this whole process, my grandmother was pleading us to stop with all the hospitals and to let her be in peace in her own home. We were so blindsided by our needs that we completely ignored hers. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross has helped me realized that our form of delaying the inevitable has only increased my grief and my guilt because we did not give my grandmother the voice that she deserved to have. Although she passed away in her home country, she was hooked up to machines and forcibly being kept alive for a couple week when in reality she would have preferred being at home where she feels the most comfortable in. As human beings we can not control when death chooses to come for us, but we can control the environment that we live in and ensure that every one including ourselves is being heard healthy or sick, young or old, every one should be given a voice because death will come, and we don't know when or how but all we know is that its coming.
I really liked the essay by Elizabeth Kebler-Ross because I like the images that she presents about the way one who dies at home has more rights and a voice in their affairs. The analogy she presents is very enlightening in the way that I realize that in our society that is what lots of people do. Many people do not want to deal with a dying person because it can be a lot for them because they were never able to really understand death. Many do not listen to the wish that comes from ones dying breath because like the author pointed out they are a "thing" when they are in the hospital. I like how she puts the rights of one dying into question because it can be an unintentional thing we do with our loved ones. We sometimes do not listen to the people we love when they are breathing their last breaths. When it comes to death, many people do not think about it. At times I feel that as humans, we feel that we are never going to die. One of things that I am afraid of is the unknown. I fear what comes after death. Death itself could be the ending, but in reality I am afraid of the new beginning that comes with death. The concept of death is one that people put into question in various forms: philosophy, psychology, religion and many other forms. Death is something that everyone will have to go through and that just puts more motivation to try and do so much more in life. The last thing I'll say Is that death is the one that comes when it is unexpected and has no forms of control. It will come when it wants to, and that does leave me with fear. But with the will to fight and achieve and live life like its my last.
The subject of death has been an irrevocable matter, since the beginning earth began to sustain the life. Many, including me, are mortified of death. We not only fear it, but we constantly think about how our death will take place. The majority of us have already planned our definition of a "perfect and calm death" and also have in mind the dreaded death which we hope never becomes likely to occur. Some nights we may fall asleep, with the thought of death in our mind, and some days we may live in the moment, not remotely thinking of the unimaginable death we will encounter one day. Global competition is in the uprise; countries fight to see who has the best technology or the best industry, but never can they compete for the cure for death. Death is an immutable aspect to the human life span that is inevitable to happen to all and to everyone, including me and you. Elisabeth Kubler- Ross' goal is to "outline the changes that have taken place in the last few decades, changes that are ultimately responsible for the increased fear of death , the rise of emotional problems, and the greater need for understanding of and coping with the problems of death and dying." Death is shared by all countries, ethnicity, color, gender and age. Age does not defy the subject of death because it affects all human beings, whether it is a known one or a loved who who has died. The more we neglect the reality of death, the more of a matter it becomes in the future, when the child grows up in rage against the adult who lied to him about his mother, father, or sibling. Parents believe that their kid are ready for the discussion of death, but I believe that they are. We are born knowing nothing; we are born with no wisdom, nor knowledge. The sooner we learn and find out about things, the better. Take the woman who grew up hating God because he "took little Johnny to heaven for example." This woman grew up in disdain, angered at God for the death of brother because she believed that God took him just because he wanted to, no fate nor religious reasons behind his approach to it. I was only four years old when I saw the reality of death. Only to me, it was no reality. I was given a white, pure rose to toss in his burial. I didn't cry, I only watched everyone, including my father cry who I had never seen cried before, cry. I truly did not know why I was wearing black, our in a grassy field with to,bygones everywhere, I just went because my parents went. When Kubler-Ross made the euphemistic comparison against death and the weak in the hospital, I remember what my parents told me. My mother reminded me once that one of the main reasons why my grandfather lost hope I recover was because he was told my the doctors he was going to die. My parents noticed a clear change in himself, he was no longer the saw. Doctors go to college, medical school, medical field training, more training, etc, they are taught to treat patients a certain way, a way that hides their human emotions, creating a impassive facade that can't express sorrow towards the patient. The job of a doctor is to keep the patient alive, not satisfy him, or become his best friend. Everything in life is about business, money, and greed. Being born costs money, going to school costs money, going to college costs money, getting marred, having kids, it all is in the expense of death. All you have feared in death will inevitable come a reality and all that you have accomplished will become oblivion. Your own death will cost you money. Although I'm scared and fret death the majority of my existence, I know that if I continue with this continual fear, I will only drive myself insane and not live the life I have right now with carpe diem.
Death is something in my point od view we all fear something we hope and pray is long down anyone's road. Everyone wants to live a happy and healthy life and to never be faced with death but no one can just dodge a life or death situation sometimes we are just faced with things that can be difficult and scary but the best thing to do is to hang tight and go through it one step at a time. As you get older death comes into play more and many thing could factor into that like diabetes, cancer, a sever accident and many others, but the truth is no one can truly see when and where you will die the only thing you can truly do is live your life with no regrets and try to do as much as you want to make your life what you wanted to be. Death is something we all fear along with many other things but we should not fear something that comes with life. In "On the Fear of Dying" Kubler-Ross states that Death has now been seen as something morbid and that we cant completely trust a child will handle the suffer and pain of death, that many lies and stories are created to hide the morbid sense of 'death'. Why? Why not tell your children the truth? Yes it will hurt but we need to show our children that death is not something to fear but better yet something that will occur no matter how old you are. Death can not be controlled or stopped but they should also be made aware that they are not alone and that death will factor later in life.
Death is inevitable, however many people do not realize or do not want to think about death. Death is not kind, it is harsh, sudden, even unexplainable witch makes many people scared at the thought or sight of death. Many people fear death or don't think about it, as if it would never happen to us, but death is always near and it attacks in the moments you least expect it. Many people experience pain withe death and do not know how to deal with it. Many others have rituals like burying your loved ones to cope for they're death, heaven and hell are used to rationalize the unexplainable things of what happens after death. In "On the Fear of Death," Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, she focuses on how loved ones experience death of their loved ones and how they make decisions for their dying loved ones, because it pleases them not the person dying. She also focuses on how children react to death and the fact that they do not fully understand what is going on. If adults experience death and it is a traumatic experience for them, imagine how hard it can be on a child who does not understand what happened. Death is a traffic experience and for children it can cause life long trauma. In addition many children may not understand that their loved one is gone for good and when they do not return it makes them think it was because of them and also can cause depression with children at a young age. Death will always be present and we as people can not avoid it, so we use coping mechanics to help us deal with death, busby children are less likely to understand these coping mechanisms witch makes their experience with death even more traumatic. These children grow up knowing what death is and have to deal with the fact that it will never go away.
Death is actually a very painful instance. Many people are scared of what might happen to them or what might happen to their family or even how there are going to die .In “On the Fear of Death by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross” she does describe that death is a fearful thing but we cannot avoid it. Instead how we should remember and take advantage of the time we have with our loves one, like drake said you only live once. Her essay is powerful in the instance that many people believe that death is something that we do not want to go through. But her essay made me think of the movie the book of life because the father said to his son a person is not really dead if you keep remembering and loving them, a person is dead when we forget them. That movie is right because you do not really know what might happen in the future, take the love you have for the person and keep embracing them .On the essay she is right to we do have to take advantage of what time we have with the people we love because time is precious. Time can either end or keep going ,so if a person is dead remember them if person is not then take advantage of that time and love them like there is no tomorrow.
I happen to think that death is one of those things that everyone is afraid whether they like to admit or not. To me the unknown of how and when it will happen is the scariest. In Ellisabeth Kubler-Ross’s 1969 “On the Fear of Death” chapter from his book On Death and Dying he begins by stating how our standard of living and health care has improved with new medicines and technologies being created. Rather than focusing on the patients who are dying he focuses on the loved ones of the dying the different types of grief and coping methods we use to deal with our anger, fear and guilt. The story he shares about the death of the farmer really emphasizes the point he was trying to get across, the farmer very we'll knew he was going to die and was ready for it to happen and comfortable with the idea and decided to invited all of his loved ones, children and friends over for one last final goodbye because he knew it would benefit them more than himself because he knew after his passing he would no longer exist. When Kubler-Ross goes on to talk about the patient care that occurs in a medical emergency to help save a loved ones life it sounds like such a unenjoyable experience but we never we really though about it their shoes because all we are worried about is shaving their life making sure they live we are so dependent on them, we fear losing them so we put all of our hopes and depend on technology - machines and medicine to keep the here because we are the ones afraid of losing them, afraid of death rather than it being the other way around.
Death is a topic that most people tend to stray away from often due to it's negative connotation. Also due to the fact that none of us really truly know what happens after death or where you go. Sure our religious beliefs may contribute to our idea of what happens after death, and there have been cases where people come back from the dead but we really just don't know. In Maria Roach's article " How to Know if Your are Dead," she brings up the concept of the spirit and different theories of where our spirit is located that all these theories throughout history believe it's located in the heart,liver,brain,etc. Not fully understanding death and having all these theories and beliefs is what fully complicates the idea of death. When a loved one dies we all have theories about what happens and what happens to their soul, but we all have different concepts of what happens after death. In Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's article " On the Fear of Death," she talks about the emotions that one feels when losing when losing a loved one, and it's understandable that people feel grief and have their own way of processing and dealing with death. Death is not an easy thing to deal with and it's hard to process the thought of not having your loved one around anymore. Also in the article she brings how "impersonal" dying in a hospitals are that the patients aren't even taken into consideration and increasing use of machines add to how "impersonal" dying in a hospital is. The main goal of the hospital is to do whatever it takes to prevent the patients from dying which all those work at a hospital have to deal with on a daily basis, so death is probably not an easy concept for them either. our reliance on these machines is a way of coping with the inevitability of death, but the more we avoid it the more complicated it gets to understand and cope with.
At the age of three, my mother explained to me that death was beautiful. While some found it morbid to explain to me that grandma was everywhere and that her body was being broken down but her soul would stay near in all aspects of my life, It was a major factor in developing my fascination with life and death and spirituality all through my childhood. A favorite quote that struck me while I was enjoying Kubler-Ross and Roach's essays is that of Edvard Munch that states, "from my rotting body, flowers shall grow, and I am in them, and that is eternity". I don't think I'm scared to die; maybe because i grew up so interested in the way people died and what lied after that the mystery of it was more appealing than the life I was living. One thing that I did find rather interesting was the first couple of paragraphs of "On the Fear of Death" that mention that while technology has helped helped almost eradicate fatal childhood diseases and extend the human life, depression and emotional disturbances are on a rise. We weren't meant to live forever. Perhaps this sadness and loneliness is because their souls were not meant to be stuck in the bodies of this realm because the universe (before the treatments and medications) meant for us to end at a certain time. Is depression and pain what we feel when it is past our time? A friend of my mother's, an old wealthy businessman, had his 20-year-old son go into a coma and fall victim to brain death. I guess money really can bring you life because that was 28 years ago. He's been on life support in a penthouse on Westeimer, with a private nurse, never once having any sign of brain activity for twenty-eight years. There's no doubt he's dead. Like Roach's patient H, his heart is pumping and his lungs are sucking in air but there's no one home. Just this empty vessel that makes the family feel better. But I mean what's humane? Do we just let them die? Is it our fault they were meant to die? What power do we have in changing the laws of the universe so that we feel better about ourselves? I guess when you're scared of something have have enough money and power you'd do anything to keep the nightmares from becoming a reality...
Being afraid to die or even being afraid to live after near death experiences is not something I feel people should be ashamed of. It’s okay to be scared of the thought that one day you will no longer exist on this earth. However, death is not something that anyone can run away from. You will die. It’s inevitable. Everyone can die differently with different reasons and with different results. As I read through Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ essay, I found myself agreeing with some of her claims. Next Friday will be one year since my grandmother passed away, and I still remember that day perfectly. I was 15, my birthday 13 days away, and I am still distraught over the events that took place. No one will ever know what it is like to die unless they experience it first hand. I had to watch my grandma go from being extremely healthy, to extremely sick in 28 days; I had to watch her laugh less, talk less; I had to watch her take her last breath. Every emotion you could think of is what I have experienced in my stages of grief. Ross claims that the child may be angry and blame the loved one who passed for dying which is something I have not experienced. I have never ben angry at my grandma for leaving, it was not like she had a choice. Ross makes the claim that “Death is often seen by a child as an impermanent thing” which I disagree with. I believe it depends on how that child was raised, how much of pain they have experienced in order to believe that death is real and forever. However, I agreed with Ross when she claims that “our strongest wishes are not powerful enough to make the impossible possible” because wishing death to not happen is something everyone will go through in order to diminish the idea of having a loved one gone from earth. I don’t think its a sign of weakness, but rather a true feeling of fear. This fear is understandable and real. To this day, I am still scared of death and dying. I don’t think there is anyway death can be less hurtful. As humans, it is hard to fathom the idea of our own deaths, and even when we can think about it we quickly push those thoughts away so we aren’t seen as crazy. But after experiencing a traumatic death, I think its normal for others to question the idea of their own death. I just think there is a line to questioning your own death, and becoming obsessed with knowing that you drive yourself to the brink of paranoia. Death should not be something that limits the present. Life is still wonderful, and living in the moment should be something humans strive for, not worrying when there day will come. -Bianca Carrizal
Both short essays allow the idea of Death to be viewed differently; a view from the inner feelings and one from the scientific and outer view. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross made me connect to similar feelings because everyone at some point has suffered a loss from someone meaningful. Death is interpret differently depending on age and maturity level. Knowing that you will die at some point is a common thing, but when you know when you are going to die or you have an illness is completely different. I believe every person has a unique way of dealing or thinking about death depending on how much they cared for that person that die. I have not have a person who I truly knew that has passed away and hopefully I never have to. But I have seen the way people react to death at times and as much as you try to comfort them, they go into the grief and guilt mode like Elisabeth Kubler-Ross explained. While Elisabeth Kubler-Ross did a good job explaining the feelings of others but also of those who know when death will come for them. Many people get traumatize by the idea and feel like there is not enough time to say their goodbyes or anything, that is why people should always appreciate life every day and thank and show their love because you never know when your day might come. Unlike Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Mary Roach focused on more of the physical way of dying and her reactions towards the procedures of a organ donor. Although she did not know the patient, the way she talked about the body made it seem she had some kind of feeling toward it, maybe because she witness the procedure of the extractions of the organs. Death too me is still a concept that I have doubts on and will patiently wait to learn it, I have no hurry, trust me.- Jennifer Gomez
Everyone dies. I personally am afraid of death, I am afraid of how I will die and I am afraid of the day I will die. I wish people could live eternally, but it isn't possible. I do not know a time I have experienced a death in the family, but there has been an instance where I lived a near death experience. One day it was very rainy and it was already night when my sister and I decided to go to the store. As we are going back home, the roads are slippery and a truck decides to stop quickly and my sister couldn't really control the wheel, so we began to spin really fast in circles and I hit my head on the window and my sister screamed but also laughed. Maybe it was her way of copping with her near death experience. I do agree with some of the points that Elisabeth Kubler-Ross such as dying is lonely, and how at times it is difficult to imagine death. One I disagree on is lying to your child about the truth, about how death will come one day. Although some children may feel the blame, it is better to let them be aware of the situation and learn to make them notice the difference. I agree with Kubler-Ross that everyone should learn to cope with death, and the idea of dying. It is not easy, but it is also possible to not be afraid of something that hopefully will come at much later time in anyone's life. -Paloma Hernandez
Kubler- Ross explains what it feels like to process death. What stuck with me most was how death will always feel like the enemy because something must be wrong if you are going to die and how it seems almost hard to believe that someone could die only because of old age. This stems from everyone's fear of dying. The fear makes them fight harder to attack any threat, but when something unfixable happens its hard to choose what to do next. To me the way I die isn't frightening but what happens before and after that is whats scary. No one religion can truly explain what happens afterwards; it could be the end or it could be the start of something else. People are always afraid of the unknown. As someone who's never lost anyone extremely close it's hard to know why people feel a certain way towards losing someone and could't really relate to it. But as everyone around gets older it's something to keep in mind. As I continued to read I realized that this was one of the few instances I ever thought about death. being young and planning for my future makes me feel invincible, as if I am entitled to tomorrow. The combination of it's element of surprise and mystery just add to the fear everyone feels. I think that fear fuels the advancement of medicine. Medicine is great because it does keep your loved ones alive and healthy, but today it seems as if people have become obsessed with the length of time we are here and have sacrificed the quality of life. That's where ethics starts to come in and we have to wonder when we should let go of the obsession of being invincible. At one point or another it is important to let go.
After reading "on the fear of death" by Elisabeth Kybler-Ross I think that everyone is afraid of death and it affects how people would think. In the passage it states that " When we look back in time and study old cultures and people, we are impressed that death has always been distasteful to man and will probably always be ". This qoute show that people has always thought the same for a long time. As we get older we realize more about death and our fear about is not fearful towards us. What I thought after reading the passage is that death can hit someone at any moment and it can cause someone to worry about death more than others.
In the article ¨On the fear of Death¨by Elisabeth Kubler Ross I realized how all humans fear of death at some point in their lives. Death is something that crosses everyone´s mind. And when it happens it brings many different emotions and feelings, such as anger , sadness. No matter how much people dont want to admit it they all get those mixed emotions. Death is something really scary, the fact that we will be gone at some point and leave everthing behind, including our loved once. Like the article said as time has passed by things have improved, such as doctors and medicine, which are things that have helped and saved many lives. Education of health has improved for us to know what things can put our lives at risk and so on. I feel that all that has also effected us humans because we depend on that so much an dont really think of death as something that is going to happen eventually, ialso do think that we need to know and ralize that death is the one thing promised for everyone, and that is when acceptance comes into play. As time goes by and we keep improving things we are also getting older and i am also scared and fear death, the way I will die, and how I will die. I really enjoyed Reading the article becausei felt that it really makes people realice how death really works out, and it is something many people will end up needing at some point.
Ashley Hernandez
My first thought of death is something dark, empty, bare, and possibly free from the world. As my dad always says, " Were all just living to die" death is inevitable eventually we will all die hopefully a lot later than sooner. When I first experienced someone died as I remember my grandmother passed away due to cancer. As a kid I was lost I couldn't understand the unfathomable possibility of losing my grandmother who always took care of me besides my parents. For days I cried confused, distraught, and disorientated. After learning about the inescapable death I did not worry about the possibility of it again until right now talking about it. A near death experience for myself happened at a very young age asleep one day and woke up sweating so I thought. Looked at myself in the mirror with blood flowing throughout my nose like Niagara falls. Yelled for my mom as I lay on the couch with constant blood. My mom attempted to stop the blood as best as possible and then I began to gasp for air as my mom ran to call the ambulance I can hear her praying every minute worried. Somehow the ambulance came and something came out of me, for all of a sudden no more blood and air blasted through my mouth and nostrils. I was cured. The doctors puzzled as to what had happened could not believe that I was alive with blood all over my favorite white shirt. Even after reading both essays I began to believe an ending to my life can happen. I don't agree with Ross's statement that the kid could blame the person who dies. Not at all do I blame my grandmother for dying. Death can take its toll with anybody and as our country progresses in the medicine field I hope that one day we don't have to experience unimaginable death.
Death is something that is inevitable and part of life. As Lana Del Rey says " we were born to die". When reading both these essays I immediately thought of this song because first of all the name of the song is so relevant to the essays that I read and actually is pretty true in my opinion. The minute we are born we have a timer that goes off as humans and approximately or at most we have 100 years to live if life goes well. As a young teen, death is not something I constantly thing about but there are days it does cross my mind. Sometimes I wonder when and how I will die and whether I will be in fear when the day comes but it has never been something that I have thought abut enough to fear it. These essays have really reminded me how short life is and as days past I just hope for a good day and a long life for it is too short. Fear of death does not cross my mind as often as it should but I should think that most people would fear death because of all the loved ones you will leave behind and if not fear maybe worry for your loved ones on how they will cope. As I continued to read more and more of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross essay " On the Fear of Death" I realize that most of things she says I agree with and it is weird to see all the things that I can relate to or some things that people I know can relate put in couple of pages. I do not know how else to react other than to appreciate and applaud how well Elisabeth Kubler-Ross delivered her thoughts about death and how it effects people.
I have always thought of death as an interesting topic, death can be seen or perceived in many different ways but it is ultimately a loss. I have always wondered what it is like to be dead and when I was little I would ask my mom, “Como se siente estar muerto?/ What does it feel like to be dead?” I made this question to my mom after she told me her father had died when she was 20 years old. Her response was “No estes diciendo o pensando en esas cosas./ Don’t think about that kind of stuff.” I was very curious as to why I couldn’t talk about death, I had never met my grandfather because he died before I even existed and I felt like I had to know something about him, what he’s gone through. As a little girl, to me death seemed like more of an experience rather than a loss. To me, my grandpa was still alive because of all the stories my mom would tell me about him and I felt like I knew him even though I never met him. He was alive through my mom, my grandma, my aunts and uncles and now he is alive through me as well. Reading the article, “On the Fear of Death” by Elisabeth Kubler Ross reminded me of this little epiphany I had when I was a little girl because of the multiple instances in which she uses child examples in describing the way of dealing with death and how children are expected to deal with death. I would have never thought that telling a kid that “god loved little boys so much that he took [your little brother] to heaven,” would lead to emotional issues when they are older. I realize now that telling this to a child will lead to them developing lifelong anger towards God for taking their little brother away. Another point that seemed very interesting to me was that people try to prevent death as much as possible and forget the true interests of the person who is about to face death. The anecdote Ross includes about the farmer having a comfortable and peaceful death in the comfort of his own home, initially made me conflicted between what I thought about this. I was upset at the fact that the family kind of just accepted his death, as well as himself, and they were not going to try to do anything to keep him alive. I was also touched by the fact that he died peacefully and died happy knowing that his family will be okay and his family knowing that he was happy. It had not crossed my mind that when we try to stop someone from dying and are so determined to keep them alive, yes it is because we love them and cannot bear to go through live without them, but that care blinds us from seeing that when facing death, we care about them being alive and not during the little time they have left to live. When they die, what last memory do we have? Would you prefer a memory of them being in their bed talking to you and enjoying their last few breaths, or them in a cold hospital bed hooked up to machines and being surrounded by strangers?
No one knows when death is coming but everyone knows that it will eventually happen. That is a scary thing because you never know who it will happened to. It could happen to a loved one or to you but either way you will be affected. I think people are just afraid of the unknown because no one knows exactly what happens when you die. People have is hope in order to help cope with death. You never know when you're going to die or how your going to die but it's nice to have hope for the best. Death is a sad word. Many people do you death in different ways. I think it depends on the experiences you've had with it. You can't avoid death it is doing to happen if you are ready or not. I think everyone has experienced dealing with death at one point or another. In the essay "On the Fear of Death" by ElisaBeth Ross she talks about how people are trying to put off death to as far away as possible because they are afraid of what will happen after. Death is difficult to deal with after it has happened to a loved one but time heals everything.
Death is everyone’s ends goal in life and there is no way to escape from it regardless how long your life is death is part of life. Death is more of an end goal that all life achievements are completed and you are ready to rest after a successful life that you been through. Even many fear death even as trying to avoid it in the end death will come and eventually have to face it. Mainly one of the reasons why people fear death is that they lose their loved ones and had not have enough time to spend. That life is too short for one to do everything in life has to offer that life itself has an end to it. Even reading Elizabeth’s essay “on the fear of death” that is showed how she uses her words and experiences on how death can affect people in different way that her imagery in showing death in her essay is rather interesting. Thus proving the point that death is a part of life. As to this it proves that death should not be feared, it should be as a final meeting for your last breath and embrace in hoe well life has been spent among your lifespan that death is a part of life to begin with not to be feared. Eventually death will come to everyone regardless in how long you live with your life whether its happiness or sadness death will come.
A couple years back, one of my sister’s friend fell into a coma. He was left on a respirator until the doctors were able to determine whether or not the damage was reversible. It wasn't and three days later he was pronounced brain dead. I'm unaware of whether or not his family donated his organs but my sister wishes to believe they did. “Manuel was a wonderful person with a certain type of humor that made him not only likable but special. Very few people could make you laugh like he could”. Manuel’s life was unfortunately cut short, but his organs, unlike his brain, were still in healthy condition. Letting go of a loved one can be hard, especially when that person hangs in the limbo of a dead brain but a beating heart; both vital organs that compose our existence. However, with the evolving and changing technology, a person can donate their organs to someone who’s heart and brain still work but other organs could be dying. Being pro- organ donation is perhaps controversial and judge at times but it’s not until you fall under one or the other end of the scale that can you truly decide how you feel about the issue. For example, let us imagine a young mother whose only son has failing kidneys and if he doesn't receive a transplant his life will be cut short drastically. If you were to ask her whether or not she was pro- organ donation the answer would be very different than a young mother whose son’s life doesn't depend on people like Manuel’s healthy organs. The thing is, being brain dead means that the body can no longer breathe on its own and there is also no going back when a person is pronounced brain dead. So if someone like Manuel, who can no longer breathe on his own can save a life, why not give him a chance to become someone’s hero.
Reading the On the Fear of Death passage I began to think about my psych class last year. Specifically the developmental psych portion of it. Because the passage kept repeating the scenario in which a boy wishes his mother dead but then feels responsible for the death (if it occurred) kept playing through my mind. Thinking about the actual trauma that would cause a child. It would scare a child for life. Ultimately hating himself but most of all fearing death at the same time. I began to think how we are all presented death is how we grow up interpreting it. Everyone experiences it differently. For me was how I lost a pet once. On my birthday my dog was accidently let out and was struck by a car. This death put things into perspective for me and I began to pay closer attention to my loved ones. After reading this and connecting to it with my own life; I began realize that the fear of death in itself is ultimately just a more respect for life and all it holds. Making it not as bad a thing as media or people make it to be. Its really just another part of life itself .
Death is something you cant run away from. You can't stop it from coming for you but you can chose how you live your life before you die. You choose who and what is in your life so when you die that's how you are remembered because you are no longer here physically on earth. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and Mary Roach both discuss how death is always there but in different ways. Kubler-Ross explains how people react when someone dies or is dead. The only things left are memories and that's it. Once you die then you're dead. However, Roach explains how people are brain dead and the organ transplants die. She just explains death in a slower way. The process Roach explains it is slower because yes your body starts to go "bad" or "rotten" so you need to fix and adjust things. Kubler-Ross and Roach both explain how death is coming no matter what, but there are different ways it approaches someone.
Coming for a mexican background, death is not really brought up. Never once have I heard my parent’s discussing what they are planning to do when one of my grandparents passes. It seems like we feel like talking about someone’s death, even in a logistical way, can make us think that we will jinx their passing. Instead my parents push the idea aside and act like it will not happen to any loved ones or themselves. My parents seem to have a hard idea of understanding that death is inevitable and that it can happen to anyone at any moment. My dad got married to my mom when he was 24 and they had me when he was 25 and she was 21. What if, in between now and then, had he had a fatal accident? Would my mother and I be out in the streets or begging family members to take us in? No one ever knows when their time will come, yet my dad was willing to risk the well being of our family in case of an accident. My dad work with electricity on a daily basis and one severe accident can easily end his life. It took my dad 17 years to realize how crucial it is for him to get life insurance. He fears of leaving us with nothing. My dad isn’t afraid of dying; he is afraid of the effects it will have on his family. And I feel that that is what people fear more than death. Yes dying is painful, but once your dead, you don’t feel pain anymore. Instead, your family is left mourning and grieving and it left with robust medical and funeral bills to pay. The people you leave behind suffer more than you do; it affects them physically, mentally, and emotionally. And people don't want to deal with the effects of death so they fear the action that sets off a casual chain.
As I read Kubler-Ross' "On the Fear of Death," one thing stood out to me; Our minds think we can only be killed by other people, not by a natural cause or age. This is probably because of the amount of crime in the world, we do not know when people are going to decide to kill, we are in public most of the time in our lives and we do not know what is going through people's minds. Some may be killers, some may be innocent. This is why some people live in fear of dying. We are scared of dying because we probably have not lived our life to the fullest, or haven't done everything on our bucket list, we feel that there is always something more we need to do before we die. Us, humans, often take many things for granted, we may say things like "I wish you were dead" when our parents do not want to buy us something. However, if they were to actually die, we would be devastated, we do not really want our parents dead, it was just an exaggerated impulse reaction to show our anger, which really is not going to make them want to buy us that item more but it happens. Death is a selfish thing. When someone wants to commit suicide, they only think of themselves. That person may think they are doing the right thing because no one likes them or they are not noticed or whatever, but they do not realize the amount of people that do actually care for them. In order to put themselves out of their misery and pain, they commit suicide, and leave their family members and friends to grieve, mourn, and feel horrible. That person's friends may even feel disappointed at themselves for not being there for them and not being able to stop that person from leaving this world. Saying "I'd take a bullet for you any day" is not really ideal. The person you took a bullet for is probably going to feel horrible and sad and helpless that they probably cannot do anything to help you get better from your wound, or even death, if the "bullet" hits right. We do not intend to be selfish, but it just comes as natural instinct so we think we are doing the right thing.
The concept of death is a funny subject to my family. We know it's bound to happen to everyone but it's never been really something we talk out on the table. To some families there are no plans but it would be easier if there was. It would simply have to relive the responsibility of everyone. In poor countries people can't afford funerals and mostly don't strive afterwards, due to money problems. Death is always on our minds and it causes people to stop from doing many things. It's even possible to say that because of death we are taken some privileges away but also we realuze that when people are dying they tend to be adventurous and fulfill their last wishes.
Death. Something most people are afraid of but others are not. To me, death is a scary thing to think about. It's scary to think that at any day, any time yours or someone else's life could be taken away. You never know when it will be your last day so enjoy everyday. In Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's, "On the Fear of Death" (1969) she talks about how death is something that people have been afraid of and some don't completely understand the idea of it. She explains how technology and medicine has increased and has gotten better but yet not all of it can help stop death. Some think that they can escape death but they can't. I don't think about death much because its something that makes me sad. Its not fun to think about how one day could be your last with your family and friends, your loved ones. all they will have left are memories and nothing else.
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