Dance, Laugh, Drink. Save the Date: It’s a Ghanaian Funeral. By:Sam Dolnick
Death is being symbolized as a happy moment in life. In the Ghanaian culture they have a big party or celebration for the death of their loved ones. Instead of crying why don't we rejoice this moment in life? They raise money to help out with funeral expenses and overall have a good time.
In the Ghanaian culture they don't see death as a bad thing. They want to spend the time laughing enjoying life like we should. The funerals are portrayed as parties for their culture unlike the social dominant practices we usually are known for. We have sad and people crying at funerals while the Ghanaian are celebrating this death. It said "The parties are a direct import from Ghana, where funerals are world-renowned for their size and extravagance. Coffins there sometimes resemble Mardi Gras floats; an athlete’s might be shaped like a soccer ball, a fisherman’s, like a canoe". This isn't your typical funeral. Different countries take death in many different ways.
The Empty Chair in the Dining Room by Patrick Egan
They talk about death more in the senior housing facilities so they become more comfortable with dying because of their age. They have become less terrified and more accepting to dying.
I find it interesting by the fact they have “Dearly Departed” table where there is a person picture there of who died. The people at the senior homes are being able to cope with their turn of death knowing that it will be coming soon. I believe that since the reason the older people are placed there that is why they bring up death so much. “It helps move away from the notion that these places are just warehouses for the elderly,” said Dr. Schumacher. “It’s a community, and the residents contribute in a lot of ways.” Referring the book that i read "The Curtains" it said that society believes in life after death which kind of reminds me of this article because the people at the homes put so much emphasis on comforting the elderly so they can die happy or not terffied.
As Facebook Users Die, Ghosts Reach Out by Jenna Wortman
Not only does death take place right in front of us but also facebook. People are being allowed to have tribute pages to others who have passed away and to take that person alive even though they are dead. It is kind of like an "afterlife" in the virtual world.
Looking at all three texts, they have all provide a way to grief with death. Facebook has provide a way to keep people alive by having deceased person be recongized for their acknowlegement even though they have passed. It allows other people who have know them to cope with their feelings and see their face everyday with the memories that they have cherished. "But death, of course, is unavoidable, and so Facebook must find a way to integrate it into the social experience online." We as a society i feel make things bigger than what they are already are to have this importance in life if its either death, birth, or afterlife.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
HW#52 - Third Third of the COTD Book
Precis
What happens after you died? Is there any life there? Society has been altering the whole life after death situation. We want this as a "forever" thing that is why funeral homes and other death related concepts keep the traditional going. Change how people understand death. Like religion used to do.
Quotes
The point of Fernwood is fantasy, a dream of pushing up giant redwoods from below, feeding them with your own hard-won carbon atoms, the afterlife as compost.
If people will pay a million dollars to be buried in a family mausoleum what will they pay to be buried under a three-hundred-year-old oak tree?
The reason funeral homes cant make a connection with their community is not that the community is scared to talk about death, it's that the funeral home is scared to talk about death. That's why funeral homes embalm people, put make-up on them and pretend they're alive. Here we're very realistic. Dead people should look dead.
Death and destruction made more life possible.
The idea of forever works as a sales tool, but in reality, of course, it's a myth.
I think the funeral industry is ahead of the curve, they're at the level of Disney.
Analysis
After reading the book Curtains, i see death is many different ways now other than the mindset i already had on two things. Everybody wants to believe that there is life after death but we never really knows what happens. I think that one of the reason we go all out for funerals and such things because we believe that there is something besides the human life to prepare us in the after life. This relates back to the birth unit becuase we grew up with all these social norms on how the baby should be born it was c-sections vs. natural and hospital vs. home births. In the death unit it was burying someone vs. cremation and then everything else in between. Both of the units display the the existent of permanence.
What happens after you died? Is there any life there? Society has been altering the whole life after death situation. We want this as a "forever" thing that is why funeral homes and other death related concepts keep the traditional going. Change how people understand death. Like religion used to do.
Quotes
The point of Fernwood is fantasy, a dream of pushing up giant redwoods from below, feeding them with your own hard-won carbon atoms, the afterlife as compost.
If people will pay a million dollars to be buried in a family mausoleum what will they pay to be buried under a three-hundred-year-old oak tree?
The reason funeral homes cant make a connection with their community is not that the community is scared to talk about death, it's that the funeral home is scared to talk about death. That's why funeral homes embalm people, put make-up on them and pretend they're alive. Here we're very realistic. Dead people should look dead.
Death and destruction made more life possible.
The idea of forever works as a sales tool, but in reality, of course, it's a myth.
I think the funeral industry is ahead of the curve, they're at the level of Disney.
Analysis
After reading the book Curtains, i see death is many different ways now other than the mindset i already had on two things. Everybody wants to believe that there is life after death but we never really knows what happens. I think that one of the reason we go all out for funerals and such things because we believe that there is something besides the human life to prepare us in the after life. This relates back to the birth unit becuase we grew up with all these social norms on how the baby should be born it was c-sections vs. natural and hospital vs. home births. In the death unit it was burying someone vs. cremation and then everything else in between. Both of the units display the the existent of permanence.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
HW#51 - Second Third of COTD Book
Precis
I have learned that the undertakers take the dead very seriously. The deceased are being well respect and treated as if they are alive. Everybody has their own conclusion to their death meaning having funerals or cremation. The people working in the business have these different roles in which they play to deal with the affliciton with death. Also we had build a certain wall that with these social norms of dominant practice religion also plays a role as well. The dead is very much respected and worried.
Quotes
1.)Funeral director fatigue syndrome:
Exhaustion and loss of energy
Irritability and impatience
Cynicism and detachment
Feeling of omnipotence and indispensability
2.)We're trained to take care of the body, not sell the product.
3.)We do this for the families, we treat the dead like we'd treat our own fathers and aunts, each ease handled with respect and dignity
4.)The idea that dead bodies, unless they're embalmed or shrink wrapped, pose a health risk is undertaker propaganda Finally, please write an analytical paragraph that BOTH says something either funny or sad about the text AND demonstrates that you really read it and thought about it.
Analytical
While I was reading one part that I found kind of funny was when the narrator and another worker were in a preparation room basically disinfecting the body while listening to music and the woman was having fun doing her job. I thought it was weird but funny. You don't usually people cutting up bodies, taking out organs and what-not while blasting music and lip-syncing the lyrics. It's unheard of to me. The narrator was very new to this environment which I also that was humorous because he didn't know how to react to the situation. There was one part where Neil and his wife were actually dancing during a funeral session that was funny. Since they experience death everyday they just detach themselves and do what they can do to stay happy. It's too natural for them I think.
I have learned that the undertakers take the dead very seriously. The deceased are being well respect and treated as if they are alive. Everybody has their own conclusion to their death meaning having funerals or cremation. The people working in the business have these different roles in which they play to deal with the affliciton with death. Also we had build a certain wall that with these social norms of dominant practice religion also plays a role as well. The dead is very much respected and worried.
Quotes
1.)Funeral director fatigue syndrome:
Exhaustion and loss of energy
Irritability and impatience
Cynicism and detachment
Feeling of omnipotence and indispensability
2.)We're trained to take care of the body, not sell the product.
3.)We do this for the families, we treat the dead like we'd treat our own fathers and aunts, each ease handled with respect and dignity
4.)The idea that dead bodies, unless they're embalmed or shrink wrapped, pose a health risk is undertaker propaganda Finally, please write an analytical paragraph that BOTH says something either funny or sad about the text AND demonstrates that you really read it and thought about it.
Analytical
While I was reading one part that I found kind of funny was when the narrator and another worker were in a preparation room basically disinfecting the body while listening to music and the woman was having fun doing her job. I thought it was weird but funny. You don't usually people cutting up bodies, taking out organs and what-not while blasting music and lip-syncing the lyrics. It's unheard of to me. The narrator was very new to this environment which I also that was humorous because he didn't know how to react to the situation. There was one part where Neil and his wife were actually dancing during a funeral session that was funny. Since they experience death everyday they just detach themselves and do what they can do to stay happy. It's too natural for them I think.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
HW#49 - Comments on Best of Your Break HW
For Bianca,
I thought that you post pulled me in a lot. I liked how you talked about the differences you sister had about cremation to you mother. The lines that stood out to were "cremation doesn’t need to be looked at negatively because “to some people, the body is materialistic while the soul is the essence of the body…Any way of disposing of the dead can be considered a human intervention if someone looks at the way to care for the dead in a way that does not manifest love.” I never thought cremation was considered negativity until i heard you mother's perpective of being as one/whole. I never really thought of it like that. The fact that you mention you didn't want to relive the past but being able to gain insight on the caring of the dead was pretty cool. I feel the same way, you never want to relive the past of deceased people. Overall i thought you post was written well. There weren't any mistakes that i found. Keep it Bianca. I really enjoy reading your post and im not just saying that. :)
For Abdul,
I enjoyed reading your post. One of your questions that i found interesting was "Is it more socially acceptable to have a funeral burial or be cremated, and is that an alternative to the dominant social practices?" I was thinking the same way also how do people in other countries deal with the care of the dead. One of the lines that stood out to me was when you said "My Uncle from my mom's side had just had us go to his house about a month or two before his death so we could help him "clean up" because lots of times when we are young we aren't always told the exact true about death because of our age and how we do not percieve it as children. Just like you i was taught to respect the dead. It's funny how you mention that because if we didn't it's kind of like we have consequences of doing so. I thought that all you questions were well thought out and i hope to find the answers to them as well. Good Job!
Leah
____________________________________________________________________________________
Leah,
I wish I could express more empathy with this post but, I have not had as many care of the dead experiences as you have had. Nonetheless, I admire your courage to describe how you felt while looking at your grandfather's dead body in line 9 of paragraph 1, "Looking at him in the coffin was so unnatural just by the fact it wasn't 'him'. When I visited him in the hospital and saw his body there, it was completely different seeing him all dressed up." I would've have liked your writing much more if you had defined what unnatural was and gave your reasoning for putting the word him in quotation marks. Why was the dead body no longer the the person you once you knew? This is an important question to ask because it puts the reader in perspective on terms of the definitions you establish, which will make your thoughts more concise.
In light of other aspects of your posts, I like the fact that you bring up several interesting questions. However, instead of listing one after another, spend some time focusing on one specific question so your thoughts are more insights than bubbles.
One thing that I must stress is Proofreading. Proofreading will do wonders to writing. Little grammatical errors will do no justice to your writing so, please watch out for those small errors (i.e. basic punctuation, spelling mistakes, and incorrect noun usage) - Clarify who you are talking about in each sentence, "then"is vague when a group of people is not mentioned before the "then." Also, work on your transitions so your writing is more coherent.
Nice work. I hope that you take my feedback to heart and I'll be glad to read your future posts.
Bianca
Leah,
Your most beautiful line was, " Looking at him in the coffin was so unnatural just by the fact it wasn't "him." I know exactly how you feel due to personal experience, I know the undertakes and funeral home people try and do their best to make the dead look as 'alive' as possible, but frankly they just don't get the job done. The lipstick, no movements, the way the skin feels is all so fake. Your post brought up several interesting points and questions which I enjoyed.
As far as improvement goes you definitely should consider proofreading more. It really can make a difference. You should try doing you blog assignments in a word document since their spell check is much better and they catch more things than blogger does.
I will be reading you blogs a lot so I will know if you didn't take my advice seriously. Good job and take advantage of the feedback.
Abdul
I thought that you post pulled me in a lot. I liked how you talked about the differences you sister had about cremation to you mother. The lines that stood out to were "cremation doesn’t need to be looked at negatively because “to some people, the body is materialistic while the soul is the essence of the body…Any way of disposing of the dead can be considered a human intervention if someone looks at the way to care for the dead in a way that does not manifest love.” I never thought cremation was considered negativity until i heard you mother's perpective of being as one/whole. I never really thought of it like that. The fact that you mention you didn't want to relive the past but being able to gain insight on the caring of the dead was pretty cool. I feel the same way, you never want to relive the past of deceased people. Overall i thought you post was written well. There weren't any mistakes that i found. Keep it Bianca. I really enjoy reading your post and im not just saying that. :)
For Abdul,
I enjoyed reading your post. One of your questions that i found interesting was "Is it more socially acceptable to have a funeral burial or be cremated, and is that an alternative to the dominant social practices?" I was thinking the same way also how do people in other countries deal with the care of the dead. One of the lines that stood out to me was when you said "My Uncle from my mom's side had just had us go to his house about a month or two before his death so we could help him "clean up" because lots of times when we are young we aren't always told the exact true about death because of our age and how we do not percieve it as children. Just like you i was taught to respect the dead. It's funny how you mention that because if we didn't it's kind of like we have consequences of doing so. I thought that all you questions were well thought out and i hope to find the answers to them as well. Good Job!
Leah
____________________________________________________________________________________
Leah,
I wish I could express more empathy with this post but, I have not had as many care of the dead experiences as you have had. Nonetheless, I admire your courage to describe how you felt while looking at your grandfather's dead body in line 9 of paragraph 1, "Looking at him in the coffin was so unnatural just by the fact it wasn't 'him'. When I visited him in the hospital and saw his body there, it was completely different seeing him all dressed up." I would've have liked your writing much more if you had defined what unnatural was and gave your reasoning for putting the word him in quotation marks. Why was the dead body no longer the the person you once you knew? This is an important question to ask because it puts the reader in perspective on terms of the definitions you establish, which will make your thoughts more concise.
In light of other aspects of your posts, I like the fact that you bring up several interesting questions. However, instead of listing one after another, spend some time focusing on one specific question so your thoughts are more insights than bubbles.
One thing that I must stress is Proofreading. Proofreading will do wonders to writing. Little grammatical errors will do no justice to your writing so, please watch out for those small errors (i.e. basic punctuation, spelling mistakes, and incorrect noun usage) - Clarify who you are talking about in each sentence, "then"is vague when a group of people is not mentioned before the "then." Also, work on your transitions so your writing is more coherent.
Nice work. I hope that you take my feedback to heart and I'll be glad to read your future posts.
Bianca
Leah,
Your most beautiful line was, " Looking at him in the coffin was so unnatural just by the fact it wasn't "him." I know exactly how you feel due to personal experience, I know the undertakes and funeral home people try and do their best to make the dead look as 'alive' as possible, but frankly they just don't get the job done. The lipstick, no movements, the way the skin feels is all so fake. Your post brought up several interesting points and questions which I enjoyed.
As far as improvement goes you definitely should consider proofreading more. It really can make a difference. You should try doing you blog assignments in a word document since their spell check is much better and they catch more things than blogger does.
I will be reading you blogs a lot so I will know if you didn't take my advice seriously. Good job and take advantage of the feedback.
Abdul
Saturday, April 30, 2011
HW#50 - First Third of Care-of-the-Dead Book Post
Precis
I am working as a paid trainee at Neil Bardal's Funeral home. I got a tour of the cremation center. I learned the different parts and the process of being turned from a human into a complete ash. I met all my co-workers and the roles that they play at the funeral home.
Quotes
*Humans are the only creatures who know they're going to die, and even worse, they know they know it, and it's not something they can "unknow".
*This whole place is built like a theatre; a public space up front with its living room set, and a backstage where all the magic happens.
*Every former soul that comes in through the garage door is assigned a number; it's written in Sharpie on their cardboard box and the corpse's wristband , not unlike the wristbands they issue at raves and folks festivals.
*Neil Bardal says we need the ritual to know the person who's died. We need to see the body, we want the proof; we're empirical, modern, enlightened souls who benefit from looking at death when it comes, standing up to sing and pray in its presence.
*the dead are uncooperative, but they respond to gravity and brute force, a kind of mortuary tough-love.
Analytical Paragraph
After reading the first 1/3 of the book. I first thought it wasnt going to be interesting but it actually was. The main idea of it was how the whole process with creamtion and funerals is all an job and you can't really have emotions attached with your job. The whole time of the beginning of the book, the author ws in disabelief a little bit adjusting to everything while it was just a daily routine to the people around him. The whole death concept is a process the do's and don'ts. There is a price to everything we do. I feel like from the Curtains you get a better insight on people's actions and emotions on how they feel about deceased people. Neil the owner was saying that it was evolved and that the whole process of death is not what it used to be.
I am working as a paid trainee at Neil Bardal's Funeral home. I got a tour of the cremation center. I learned the different parts and the process of being turned from a human into a complete ash. I met all my co-workers and the roles that they play at the funeral home.
Quotes
*Humans are the only creatures who know they're going to die, and even worse, they know they know it, and it's not something they can "unknow".
*This whole place is built like a theatre; a public space up front with its living room set, and a backstage where all the magic happens.
*Every former soul that comes in through the garage door is assigned a number; it's written in Sharpie on their cardboard box and the corpse's wristband , not unlike the wristbands they issue at raves and folks festivals.
*Neil Bardal says we need the ritual to know the person who's died. We need to see the body, we want the proof; we're empirical, modern, enlightened souls who benefit from looking at death when it comes, standing up to sing and pray in its presence.
*the dead are uncooperative, but they respond to gravity and brute force, a kind of mortuary tough-love.
Analytical Paragraph
After reading the first 1/3 of the book. I first thought it wasnt going to be interesting but it actually was. The main idea of it was how the whole process with creamtion and funerals is all an job and you can't really have emotions attached with your job. The whole time of the beginning of the book, the author ws in disabelief a little bit adjusting to everything while it was just a daily routine to the people around him. The whole death concept is a process the do's and don'ts. There is a price to everything we do. I feel like from the Curtains you get a better insight on people's actions and emotions on how they feel about deceased people. Neil the owner was saying that it was evolved and that the whole process of death is not what it used to be.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
HW#48 - Family Perspectives on the Care of the Dead
1.)When you die, how would you like to happen to your body? Why?
2.)What was your first experience with death? How did you feel?
3.)Have you ever attended a funeral/awake? If so, how many?
4.)Do you believe in after life?
5.)How do you feel about the dominant social practices of the care of the dead in society today?
My Mom
1.) I want to be cremated because i don't like the thought of being so many feet under. I just rather be cremated where my family can see me everyday.
2.)Wow that a tough one, i would have to say my grandmother's you know Mita. I felt really sad. She was really sick but i didn't want her to die.
3.)Yes i've been to alot. At least 4 or 5
4.)I do but then again i don't.
5.)I think that everybody has their perpective of treating the dead. I think that all of the techniques are good and well-thoughtout. It's whatever satifies you.
My Aunt
1.)Im on the fence. I don't know if i want to be buried or cremated. I kind of don't want to think about it. Clark can make that decision for me when the time comes.
2.)Ive experienced a lot but the most memorable one was your grandfather's. He was very close to me. I felt kind of trapped by the fact that he was gone. I couldn't believe he died.
3.)Yea a couple i dont remeber exactly.
4.)Yes i very much do.
5.)I think that they are ok.
Talking to my mom about her views on death compared to my aunt were slightly different. Being that my aunt was older than her by at least 20 years, i thought maybe she would know how she was like her body to be like unlike my moms. It seems like she hasn't put much thought in her death as you thought someone would. While interviewing my mom she became very emotional, talking about this lead to my grandfather's death (her father) to how our whole family just split apart instead of becoming closer and stronger as one. They both didn't have much disagreement on the views of caring the dead by the fact they grew up the same way in a catholic religionist background. We grew up learning only one type way and not anything else so it's hard to switch our views to something else. For all typical hispanic backgrounds religion is a big part and most of the ceremonies are in spanish because that is our culture. My mom mentioned that she doesn't want anybody to cry but be happy and laughed. I feel like its a tough situation how can you have all smiles when the one you love is deceased? Would that be considered disrespectful? I feel like that is a hard place to say.
2.)What was your first experience with death? How did you feel?
3.)Have you ever attended a funeral/awake? If so, how many?
4.)Do you believe in after life?
5.)How do you feel about the dominant social practices of the care of the dead in society today?
My Mom
1.) I want to be cremated because i don't like the thought of being so many feet under. I just rather be cremated where my family can see me everyday.
2.)Wow that a tough one, i would have to say my grandmother's you know Mita. I felt really sad. She was really sick but i didn't want her to die.
3.)Yes i've been to alot. At least 4 or 5
4.)I do but then again i don't.
5.)I think that everybody has their perpective of treating the dead. I think that all of the techniques are good and well-thoughtout. It's whatever satifies you.
My Aunt
1.)Im on the fence. I don't know if i want to be buried or cremated. I kind of don't want to think about it. Clark can make that decision for me when the time comes.
2.)Ive experienced a lot but the most memorable one was your grandfather's. He was very close to me. I felt kind of trapped by the fact that he was gone. I couldn't believe he died.
3.)Yea a couple i dont remeber exactly.
4.)Yes i very much do.
5.)I think that they are ok.
Talking to my mom about her views on death compared to my aunt were slightly different. Being that my aunt was older than her by at least 20 years, i thought maybe she would know how she was like her body to be like unlike my moms. It seems like she hasn't put much thought in her death as you thought someone would. While interviewing my mom she became very emotional, talking about this lead to my grandfather's death (her father) to how our whole family just split apart instead of becoming closer and stronger as one. They both didn't have much disagreement on the views of caring the dead by the fact they grew up the same way in a catholic religionist background. We grew up learning only one type way and not anything else so it's hard to switch our views to something else. For all typical hispanic backgrounds religion is a big part and most of the ceremonies are in spanish because that is our culture. My mom mentioned that she doesn't want anybody to cry but be happy and laughed. I feel like its a tough situation how can you have all smiles when the one you love is deceased? Would that be considered disrespectful? I feel like that is a hard place to say.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Hw#47 - Peer Perspectives on the Care of the Dead
Questions:
1.)When you die, how would you like to happen to your body? Why?
2.)What was your first experience with death? How did you feel?
3.)Have you ever attended a funeral/awake? If so, how many?
4.)When you're in that kind of environment, how does it make you feel?
5.)Do you believe in after life?
6.)How do you feel about the dominant social practices of the care of the dead in society today?
My Friend Dakota
1.)I personally want to be cremated. Just the thought of what happens beneathe the ground. I dont want to be buried. I would rather be cremated. I also dont want people crying. I want everybody to enjoy themselves.
2.)My uhm grandmother,i had seen other deaths but yea. I felt sad. i didnt understand. I didnt want her to be sick. We all are gonna have our time.
3.)Yes i have and multiple.
4.)It makes me feel sad because you reflect on the person's life and the moments you had with them.
5.)Im in the middle. I believe in it and then i dont. Im partial.
6.)I think its good.
My friend Lissy
1.)I honestly have mixed emotions right now. I dont want worms to eat me and i dont want to be burned to death.
2.)*awkward silence* My brother's death i used to day dream we could do things together. It didnt turn out that way. Everything is not how its planned.
3.)One awake, we all drank *laughs* sat around for hours. Shared funny moments.
4.)I feel sad and wish i wasnt there. *laughs*
5.)Yes,yes i do.
6.)i wish we didnt have them *laughs*
My Friend Kenny
1.)Question you never think about. Whatever easy on the family.
2.)I remeber them all. Probably my dad, started with my grandma. Each one is just important as the other. Part of your life. Grandparents are suppose to go first.
3.)Yes and about 6
4.)Uhm, well it makes you feel sad because there's a death in your life.
5.)Yes because you almost have to. Thats what you're living for. Its like you believe in Santa Claus till they tell you different same with afterlife.
6.)Whats the alternative? What else they gonna do with you? You dont wanna get zapped.
My Friend Kimberly
1.)I would like to be cremated. Not to sound stupid but because i hear when they bury you with w.e you have to steal it. And because i liked my family to feel that im still with them if they keep them or even take some ashes to places i've wanted to go.
2.)My uncle..when i i found out he killed himself. I was 7. My family told me he had a tummyache and then my aunt(who spills out all the drama) told me the truth..He was my favorite uncle. I couldnt stop talking about him. I wrote stories and stuff EVERY YEAR, the teachers had to have a meeting with my parents about it.
3.)Yea my uncles, some guy, this lady's, and my mom's aunt so 4 that i can remeber.
4.)To me it depends on the person. i went to funerals where everyone is joking around either because we didnt know them too well or because thats the only way we could take the pain away. And then i been to funerals where we just cried because that person meant so much to you. Its a scary environment because you're just imagining yourself in that coffin and wondering how people will react to you.
5.)I do but i dont. i think we all say "hes all in a better place now" because we all know they werent meant too be alive but then again where do they really go? Heaven or hell? who's the judge of that?
6.)I feel like, its the least they can do to bring everyone who loved the person all together to lrealize every moment in life is precious in their life being gone. They must do what they can before its their time, sometimes it scares me though. Like i cant look at them because it just me think of my uncle.
When my friend Dakota she didnt know either cremation or buried. I was kind of surprised looking back on it because everybody i spoke to or know have decided on how they want to be left when they die. Everybody i feel didnt know how to handle the questions very well. At one point one of them started to cry and i felt bad about it. It's a very hard topic to talk about let alone think about. You dont really want to think about your death situation until maybe till it happens. Interviewing people about this topic, i never realize how much of an impact it could have on you just as the interviewer. It makes you think a lot of about the who, what,where,when, etc on death. Is it really what it is all put out to be? Or are we living a dream?
Throughout this unit i hope to gain more insight on the caring of the death and see if any of my ideas change as well. i noticed also when i interviewed my friends, there were always these pauses and constant silence like they didnt know what to say or answer the question like they were scared or something. I found it kind of weird. I didnt think they were that bad.
1.)When you die, how would you like to happen to your body? Why?
2.)What was your first experience with death? How did you feel?
3.)Have you ever attended a funeral/awake? If so, how many?
4.)When you're in that kind of environment, how does it make you feel?
5.)Do you believe in after life?
6.)How do you feel about the dominant social practices of the care of the dead in society today?
My Friend Dakota
1.)I personally want to be cremated. Just the thought of what happens beneathe the ground. I dont want to be buried. I would rather be cremated. I also dont want people crying. I want everybody to enjoy themselves.
2.)My uhm grandmother,i had seen other deaths but yea. I felt sad. i didnt understand. I didnt want her to be sick. We all are gonna have our time.
3.)Yes i have and multiple.
4.)It makes me feel sad because you reflect on the person's life and the moments you had with them.
5.)Im in the middle. I believe in it and then i dont. Im partial.
6.)I think its good.
My friend Lissy
1.)I honestly have mixed emotions right now. I dont want worms to eat me and i dont want to be burned to death.
2.)*awkward silence* My brother's death i used to day dream we could do things together. It didnt turn out that way. Everything is not how its planned.
3.)One awake, we all drank *laughs* sat around for hours. Shared funny moments.
4.)I feel sad and wish i wasnt there. *laughs*
5.)Yes,yes i do.
6.)i wish we didnt have them *laughs*
My Friend Kenny
1.)Question you never think about. Whatever easy on the family.
2.)I remeber them all. Probably my dad, started with my grandma. Each one is just important as the other. Part of your life. Grandparents are suppose to go first.
3.)Yes and about 6
4.)Uhm, well it makes you feel sad because there's a death in your life.
5.)Yes because you almost have to. Thats what you're living for. Its like you believe in Santa Claus till they tell you different same with afterlife.
6.)Whats the alternative? What else they gonna do with you? You dont wanna get zapped.
My Friend Kimberly
1.)I would like to be cremated. Not to sound stupid but because i hear when they bury you with w.e you have to steal it. And because i liked my family to feel that im still with them if they keep them or even take some ashes to places i've wanted to go.
2.)My uncle..when i i found out he killed himself. I was 7. My family told me he had a tummyache and then my aunt(who spills out all the drama) told me the truth..He was my favorite uncle. I couldnt stop talking about him. I wrote stories and stuff EVERY YEAR, the teachers had to have a meeting with my parents about it.
3.)Yea my uncles, some guy, this lady's, and my mom's aunt so 4 that i can remeber.
4.)To me it depends on the person. i went to funerals where everyone is joking around either because we didnt know them too well or because thats the only way we could take the pain away. And then i been to funerals where we just cried because that person meant so much to you. Its a scary environment because you're just imagining yourself in that coffin and wondering how people will react to you.
5.)I do but i dont. i think we all say "hes all in a better place now" because we all know they werent meant too be alive but then again where do they really go? Heaven or hell? who's the judge of that?
6.)I feel like, its the least they can do to bring everyone who loved the person all together to lrealize every moment in life is precious in their life being gone. They must do what they can before its their time, sometimes it scares me though. Like i cant look at them because it just me think of my uncle.
When my friend Dakota she didnt know either cremation or buried. I was kind of surprised looking back on it because everybody i spoke to or know have decided on how they want to be left when they die. Everybody i feel didnt know how to handle the questions very well. At one point one of them started to cry and i felt bad about it. It's a very hard topic to talk about let alone think about. You dont really want to think about your death situation until maybe till it happens. Interviewing people about this topic, i never realize how much of an impact it could have on you just as the interviewer. It makes you think a lot of about the who, what,where,when, etc on death. Is it really what it is all put out to be? Or are we living a dream?
Throughout this unit i hope to gain more insight on the caring of the death and see if any of my ideas change as well. i noticed also when i interviewed my friends, there were always these pauses and constant silence like they didnt know what to say or answer the question like they were scared or something. I found it kind of weird. I didnt think they were that bad.
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