Analyzing Mary Roach's Book 'Stiff'

Alan Soderberg Dexter Gore English 1021 8 March 2024 Rough Draft In the early 2000’s and even now, human cadavers are seen as useless, and disgusting to most people, and the same can be said about donating one’s body to science. Some may not see the purpose and the many advancements that cadavers have had in science, medical research, forensics, etc. In Mary Roach’s book “Stiff” Roach argues the fact that people should donate their bodies to science to further develop research and technology in, but not limited to fields she has spoken on, such as forensics. She constantly conveys human cadavers as the key to advancing research; however, the overarching problem of human cadavers is the scarcity, and lack thereof.

Even though being very questionable, cadavers have made great additions to the evolution of car safety. Roach examines the way cadavers are used in research involving weapons and ballistics. Although communities look down on this, the author sees that such study can be initiated for humane reasons. She is less impressed with cadavers used to advertise religious publicity, such as the studies initiated to prove the effectiveness of the Shroud of Turin. At UCSF medical center, Roach is disturbed and alarmed by the sight of a "beating heart cadaver" having its working organs taken out by doctors.

While spring is a time for growth, newlife, and awakening, in the spring of 1692 a rotten presence (both figuratively and literally) swept over Salem Village, Massachusetts when a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. Not only was this the spark of a religious uproar in the quaint, puritan town; but a spark that lit the match which eventually convicted over a hundred innocent people and claimed 20 lives. While the true pain of these trials cannot be seen in photographs or videos, it can be experienced through the words that have been written. In Marilynne Roach’s novel, “Six Women of Salem”, she tells the untold story of six women who underwent the grueling Salem witchcraft trials, and she evoked a strong sense of empathy for the victims through her use of first person narratives and factual evidence. Through these devices Roach successfully highlighted the twisted, prejudice, and uneducated society that America was, and, in some ways, still is today.

Weirob was given the chance to do body transplant; however, she rejected because to her, identity of herself is her body and without her own identity is not survival. On “The Third Night” Weirob argued that she agree the survivor of the operation involving Julia’s brain was Mary, and the survivor of her brain is the other patient not her. Her arguments are right because even though the court says the person that’s living is Julia, it doesn’t mean it is Julia from the way identity is identified. Survival isn’t just based on words from the jury. She continues to support this with her the aspirin example. It shouldn’t concern Weirob if aspirin upset the other person’s stomach since the jury say the survivor is the other person. Two, Mary or Julia

Personally, I feel that the film ¨Cry in the wild¨ uses different details to explain the book ¨Hatchet.¨ A few reasons I believe this since , in the book “Hatchet” it tells the reader that he sees the tornado, but in the movie, it says he hears the tornado. In the movie, it says he got attacked by the bear twice, instead in the story, it says that he wasn't attacked by the bear at all. It also says that in the movie he helps the two bear cubs, only in the book he didn´t find two bear cubs,he found one bear cub. Those are some of the reason’s why I consider that the movie ¨Cry in the wild¨ explains the book ¨Hatchet¨ in a different details that in the book actually uses. One more statement,

I the book Freak the Mighty, Max's father has been in jail since Max was little. Whenever someone mentions Kenny (Killer) Kane's name, Max covers his ears because he doesn't want to hear it. Max has grown up with his grandparents and he doesn't want anything to do with his dad.

Theologically and scientifically the concept of death has remained unopposed for centuries, however the idea of how do we conclude what is the true essence of living continues to be widely debated. A curveball case would be one regarding brain-dead patients. In December 2014, patient Jahi McMath of Oakland California – a state in which one who is brain dead is classified as not legally alive - was declared brain-dead by three doctors, thus lawfully ordered to be removed from life support. Valiant disagreement ensued upon her parents refusal to accept this judgement and till today Jahi is on life support. (Drummond, 2015). Fieser (2008) argues that the neurological theory holds the most rational denotation of death, in which absence of any form

Ramona, is a novel that follows a half Native American and half Scottish orphan named Ramona. The nova is mainly a love story between Ramona and a Native American man from Luiseño tribe called Alessandro. They both fall in love, get married and have kids. Throughout the novel Ramona gets exposed to several different Native American groups, such as the Luiseño Cahuilla, Diegueño, and Cupeño. The novel gives us insight at the time of each group through Jackson. Jackson portrays the Luiseño tribe throughout the novel in several different aspects: 1. Lifestyle of the members independent of the whites, 2. How they interact with the European whites, and 3. How they lose their land. Within the few pages of the novel, Jackson introduces the Luiseño tribe. Jackson highlights the lifestyle of the group to be lazy, as well as, being Christian, ignorant, and having a farming/herding system for food. She breaks down the lifestyle through three different Luiseño tribe members in the book. In the introduction we get a comparison of Alessandro and his tribe members. Jackson introduces Alessandro and wrote, “No wonder Alessandro seemed to be the more ignorant and thoughtless young men and women of his village, a cold and distant lad. He was made old before his time. He was carrying in his heart burdens which they knew nothing” (Jackson 53). She is reinforcing the point that Alessandro is different from the normal ignorant and thoughtless members of his tribe. Not too long later, she

A patient is lying on a hospital bed hooked up to several machines regulating his bodily functions. The doctor has informed the family that the patient is brain dead. His spouse makes the decision to pull the plug but his mother argues against it. It is the mothers opinion that her son is still alive, and deserves to be treated like a person, even though his brain is no longer functioning. The spouse holds the opinion that any trace of her loved one has left with the death of his brain and only his body remains. Suddenly, both remember the patients wishes to not be sustained on life support, and they collectively decide to pull the plug. This example illustrates the central debate

Brain- death humans are difficult to classify as either dead or alive because of their conflicting states. For one part, brain- death humans have working internal regulatory functions, such as the ability for homeostasis, but lacked the complexity for external and high cortical functions. This includes the ability for thought, communicate and other survival functions Thus, one ethical dilemma is whether internal somatic functions are enough to consider a brain- death human alive, despite lacking the qualities that makes them “human”. To answer this question, Bragger juxtaposes the views of Dr. Alan Shewmon, a professor of pediatric neurology and a leading critic of the whole- brain argument and the 2008 White Paper on Brain Death, published by the President Council of Bioethics. Dr. Shewmon argues that despite lacking high-cortical functions, many brain- death mediated patients demonstrate qualities of living organisms, such as maintaining homeostasis and eliminating

Thesis: I believe that…whole brain death is the best definition of death suitable for the use of organ transplantation.

A. Each week in America, paramedics arrive on the scene of an accident where the victim has crossed the barrier between life and death. There is no heartbeat. Breathing has stopped. All the vital signs of life are absent. But the paramedics do not accept this death as final. They begin CPR; perhaps inject a drug that stimulates the heart. For a few frantic moments, nothing happens. Then, the victim begins to cough, taking a few ragged breaths, and the heart begins to beat, pulsing life through the body. And instead of sending a corpse to the morgue, the ambulance takes a patient to the hospital. Was the victim dead? Without getting too theological or technical, we would have to answer, yes. If not for the expert care of the paramedics, the

Analysis of Volume 1 Chapter 5 of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley This passage is set at a point in the story where Dr. Victor Frankenstein is creating and making his first descriptions of the monster. Frankenstein at this time has been driven to work more and more to complete his aim, making him seem madly obsessed with his work. During this passage, the Dr. and the monster are constantly described in the same ways, “how delineate the wretch”: the monster “I passed the night wretchedly”: Frankenstein This could show how the monster is being conveyed as the Dr’s doppelganger, of the reflection of his subconscious.

The need for organ donations creates another ethical dilemma for Emergency Room Physicians. “Obtaining organs from emergency room patients has long been considered off-limits in the United States because of ethical and logistical concerns” (Stein, 2010). The shortage of organs available for transplant has caused many patients die while waiting. A pilot project from the federal government “has begun promoting an alternative that involves surgeons taking organs, within minutes, from patients whose hearts have stopped beating but who have not been declared brain-dead” (Stein, 2010). “The Uniform Determination of Death Act

Rachels’ first example is Baby Theresa, who was born an anencephalic. Her parents wanted to donate her organs, as she was likely going to die within days anyway. However, Florida Law prevented the taking of organs from anyone “alive”, and by the time Baby Theresa died, her organs were no longer useable. Rachels goes through the arguments of both the pro