Death's Own Naivete Research Paper

“Mommy, when will I die?” I can still hear my 4-year old’s little voice asking me this question from the backseat as I am driving. How do I answer her? Do I tell her the truth? Do I lie to her? How do I explain death to a 4-year-old? For her, this question was out of curiosity not fear. For me, this was the most gut wrenching question I had ever been asked. Holding back tears, I gave her the best answer that I knew at the time. “Everyone dies sweetie. Nobody knows exactly when they are going to die. Sometimes it just happens when you least expect it. We all hope to be here for a really long time. And there will always be

Death at any stage in life is personal and holds different meanings to different people. Society places a great deal of meaning on death based upon age, situation, and their personal experiences and beliefs. The viewpoints of death and dying in early childhood are limited; however, children have a basic understanding of death by the age of two through their own observations of family members (Berger, 2008). Children who are dying often fear death as they do not have a fully developed concept of dying and associate death with abandonment (Berger, 2008). At this life stage, it is important to have guidance from his or her parents to gain a better understanding of death and dying.

People die everyday all over the world. In United States, people use hundreds of different words to describe death. Generally, people that grow up in the United States tend to view death as a taboo subject and are seen as a topic that should be kept behind closed doors and contracted with an individual or family. A belief system that so many individuals hold to be true has been shaped over the past century. In this culture, death has become something that is enormously feared and as a result, some people stop living their lives to his or her highest potential because of their fear of dying. The effect that death has pertains to individuals of all ages, gender and ethnicities. But unfortunately, how death is viewed it has become more and

Life has many lessons in store for us. Often times, one of the most terrifying and traumatic lessons a child can learn really has nothing to do with life--but rather, death. Unfortunately, it is a lesson that we all must encounter at some point. No matter the age or circumstance, it is hard to understand how something so dark and mystical can impact our lives so much. It is even harder to cope with the loss of a loved one and to come to terms with knowledge that each day we live, we become one closer to dying.

There is huge difference between Death and Dying. Death is the end of life, while dying is the process in which you death, also including the choices and actions involved in that process. In “On the Fear of Death,” by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross she describes the different aspects of dying, the final days of individuals who are terminally ill, the grieving process, and how children are treated during the time of death. The dissimilitude in “old-fashioned” death and “modern” final days are presented. Sometimes one has to consider the circumstances surrounding the end of life.

Children do not understand death in the same manner as adults. Adults understand death as a natural part of the cyclical nature of life, but children cannot grasp this. There are four subconcepts which create this difference between adult and child: irreversibility, finality or non-functionality, causality, and inevitability (Bonoto 2013, page 48).

Death is inescapable. Praise God for the life he has blessed his children with. In Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ novel “On Death & Dying” she effectively explains the dying process in five steps: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. The impact of her novel, if given the chance, on the medical field would be tremendous in the attempt of allowing individuals to die with their dignity while also remaining in peace throughout the majority of the process. In reality a funeral should not consist of mourning over what is lost. A funeral should be a celebration of the life the individual was blessed with and the impact they had on the people around them. Truly in the end, death is a blessing to those that believe and a frightening silence to the many that do

Death is going to happen to all living creature regardless of anything else. Death is a natural process and it out of the control of humanity. The final and fourth factor, causality, is where casual relationships are often misunderstood because children do not realize the depth of things caused by natural factors such as death (Shortle et al., 1993). For example, the death of a pet, could lead the child feeling guilty and remorseful when they actually had nothing to do with the cause of death (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2006).

When I was 11 years old, my father died. Not knowing what to do with that reality and the emotions that came with it, I turned to my mother. My mother has always been my rock, so I was confident that she would put this entire situation into perspective. She explained to me how my dad had been sick for a while, and how god did not want to see him suffer any longer, so he called my father home. When I attended the funeral, it occurred to me that this would be the last time I would see my father. As the time of grieving progressed, I grew unmotivated, uninterested, and depressed. In middle school, I joined an after school program called Teen Hype. Teen Hypes's goal was to empower youth to be their very best self. After joining this program, my

Throughout my many years of living, I have experienced many near death experiences. Today, I will be sharing one of these experiences that I have been through. First of all, it was the March 23, 2012. It was a Friday. I, young Daryl, was still learning his basic math with a bowl cut on his head at the age of 11. School ended. My sister Gerryl and I were just picked up around 3:20 p.m. and arrived home approximately at 3:25 p.m. My sister Gerryl suggested with eagerness, “Mom, Dad are we able to watch that new movie that just came out today, The Hunger Games?” My father, then replied, “Sure, let me just get my computer and reserve the movie for the four of us.” The time was then reserved at 4:30 p.m. in the afternoon. We

This book is very straightforward about death and how children can view it. Its makes mention that “In books and movies, often times the bad people die, but in real life good people die too. It explains that some people die of different things like old, sick and unexpected. Also, explaining what death means, it means when someone or something stops breathing, and their heart stops beating. They cannot eat, drink or think anymore. After the person dies usually there’s a ceremony called a funeral, where friends and family can talk about the person that has died. Also, it goes further what happens after the funeral and how you might feel about the person who died. Sad, Regretful, Angry?. Regardless, of how you feel you didn’t cause that person

Death and dying is a normal part of life; however, in the recent past it has become a remote process and is often viewed as something unnatural that should be feared; it is “an unwelcome visitor” (Callanan & Kelly, 2012, p. 37). John is an eight-year-old who is terminal due to an inoperable liver tumor. His parents are having a difficult time accepting that John’s illness is incurable. John’s grandmother died two years ago, but John tries to tell his parents that he will see her soon. John’s parents do not take his conversation seriously. Furthermore, they do not allow any discussions regarding John’s prognosis and have limited the amount of staff that is allowed into his room.

I’d never given much thought to my mortality. Sure, it had crossed my mind on rare occasions when I heard a tragic news story involving a young victim. I have never had such a moment of clarity though, where I saw myself as the real victim. What if I had been hit head on? What if I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt? What if I had died just like that? One moment driving, talking to my mom and the next I’m gone forever.

In order to understand me, or the moment in which I learned that I was meant to be here, I have to show my past trials, my pain. A little over a year ago, I lost my mother due to ovarian cancer. A few months after that, I lost my cousin’s husband due to suicide on October 17, 2016. Then I lost my neighbors Michael Woodard, his father Lewis Woodard, then his mother, Bobbie Woodard, who passed away on August 29, 2017. I used to go over to their house almost every day after school, sometimes they would help me with my homework. And my teacher Mrs. Erwin, on September 12, 2017, due to a heart attack. Death is a part of our existence, a part of our lives. For some people it happens all at once, for others it is spaced out over their lifetime. There have been many times in my life when I should have died—some due to my own hand, others not so much. I was born on September 23, 1999, at seven-thirty a.m. I was due to be born somewhere around the sixteenth of December, that year, I was born three months before I was supposed to; I wasn’t supposed to live past that day. When I was born, I weighed two pounds, ten and half ounces. My father was the first one to hold me, his hand covered my entire body as I layed on his chest. I have always been a fighter; I am a survivor. From what I was told, when I was little, my dad’s girlfriend was giving me a bath when I fell over and started choking on the water, as she was on the phone with my mom. Another time, I was locked in a hot car,

As a child, I was always a thinker, never quick to believe what others say. When my parents reminded me of my Jewish faith, I was always skeptical as to why I had to blindly follow something. As I got older, bigger and even more morbid questions came to mind. The thoughts of death and the concept of it always made me curious, especially with the news of one of my closest teacher’s diagnosis of ALS. Since Mr. Coleman had to retire due to the disease taking over, I often had talks with him of what he expected.