Exploring Mechanism In R. Gwynn's The Bells

The parents came out of Grandma’s room by one by one, bags under their eyes, makeup running down their face, and bright red noses. By that time, I could almost predict what happened. As my mom and dad approached us with their heads down, I prepared myself to hear exactly what I never wanted to hear. “The doctors are turning off the life support machine. She isn’t suffering anymore, and she will be looking over every one of you guys. She said she loves you all so much,” Mom told us while my dad didn’t hide his tears back.

Rhonda, a friend of Andy’s, writes about her most frightening moment for her English homework. She chooses to write about the accident, stating, “I thought we’d all come back for our reunions and then we'd get old, and then, when we're so old it doesn't matter anymore, we’d die. But he's dead already. I didn't think it was possible. And that's why it's so scary.” Like many people, Rhona has likely never experienced the death of a close one before in her life. So when death strikes, it’s overwhelming and people often don’t know how to react. Before my grandmother passed away, only distant relatives I barely knew had died, so this became the first time I lost someone I truly cared for. But, like Rhonda, I could never prepare myself for when she did die. It’s incredibly scary to lose someone you love, and it’s especially hard when you aren’t sure of how to deal with death. The author included this section to relate to the readers, because most of them know the scary and confusing feelings after someone you care for dies and you’re struck with the reality of mortality.

Sometimes in life things just happen and we have no control over them but we learn to move forward in spite of everything we face. When Nick receives his diagnosis for cancer, it frightens him greatly to the point where he begins to see death everywhere. He becomes adamant that his life could be lost to the same disease that took his father’s life. Not knowing how to deal with the news, he asks the

Cancer has one of the biggest effects on the patients mental health but also the patients loved ones and friends. It is one of the hardest things to get a grip on when the doctor tells someone that they have cancer and a fifty-fifty chance of making it. "The disease can bring many changes-in what people do and how they look, in how they feel and what they value" (Dakota 4). It makes people look at the world and their lives in a different way, valuing now what they took for granted and seeing the bigger picture in every scenario. It is something that no one can actually brace, even after the doctor tells them. Through it all though, the person must remain strong and optimistic because the cancer can affect the person's moods and in return affect the outcome of the person and the chances of their making it

My friend fought a long and tiresome battle. She didn’t just lay back and succumb to cancer. She fought against the odds to undergo chemotherapy (something that can potentially cause more harm than it’s worth).

We had dinner, we laughed. Unsuspecting of what was to come. We went back to that place only a few weeks after she died. Again, my mom handed my brothers and I ten dollars for a souvenir. The walk to the restaurant took forever. We had parked in a different place, so we took a longer walk. Dinner was full of remembrance. We hid our sad memories with forced smiles, choked laughs, and unswallowed bites. And, after an era, the torture was over. We forgot which way our car was, so we chose a path. It was the wrong one. We walked further and further away from our car, until we realized we had went the wrong way. Just as we realized, I noticed the man. The same man from the night with Nancy. He was awake, and sitting against the wall. He didn't beg, he didn't cry. He was still. I turned around with my family, getting ready to walk back the whole way. As I turned, I had a glimpse of something shiny on the man’s face. There was a single tear, frozen, sitting on his

Taylor Has been through a lot her grandfather died and so did her uncle, he died at the age of 29. She never had the chance to say how much she loved them. She always thought “What if I had said something, anything, What if I had the chance to change his outcome but I didn’t, I did nothing I just let it happen.” Now she is afraid of losing her grandmother that would be the end of the 4th of July parties, the christmas get-togethers, the Easter parties, and swimming in her lake when it's burning hot in the summer. But what breaks her heart the most is that her father has cancer. Taylor’s father mean the world to her, He means everything.

Andy was embarking on his second semester of his junior year in college. After a long bout with a cold and the sudden emergence of a protruding mass on his chest, he knew something was not right. Within a week, he received devastating news - a diagnosis of an aggressive form of bone cancer. The treatment regiment included two years of chemotherapy and radiation. The extensiveness of his cancer made surgical treatment impossible. After just his first dose of chemotherapy, he became septic and spent six weeks in an intensive care unit followed by weeks of rehabilitation. Although he had been optimistic about continuing to attend classes and staying involved with campus organizations throughout the treatment course, a disabled immune system and countless days in the hospital prevented this. His friends and peers became distant because his appearance and prognosis made them uncomfortable and speechless. He eventually relied on his mother and closest friends to take him to appointments because of increasing weakness and chronic pain. When his world was virtually turned upside down and he eventually lost much of his independence, Andy started to display symptoms of major depressive disorder.

The darkness of the night is punctured by the headlights of the car. I look to my left and Violet is driving the car. I drove that day, I’ll never forget. I try to reach out for her, but I can never get to her in time. I stare straight ahead and prepare for what’s coming. To think I could prepare to be jerked through the windshield. Our car crashes the one approaching us from the other lane. I get up and run to Violet. I tell her I’m sorry. I tell her it’ll be alright. Sshe tells me to take good care of Azure. The night is only lit by the flashing emergency lights, which seemed to make Violet’s bloodstains pink and my tears appear white. Her blue eyes fade to gray and her soul leaves her body. It’s all my fault.

“’So what’s your story?’” she then then replies “’I already told you my story. I was diagnosed when-‘” He interrupts and says “’No, not your cancer story. Your story. Interests, hobbies, passions, etcetera… Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who becomes their disease. I know so many people like that. It’s disheartening. Like cancer is in the growth business, right? The taking-people-over business. But surely you haven’t let it succeed prematurely’” (Green, 32).

It was a typical day in the McDougal household; my sister was acclimating to college life, my annoying little brother was pushing my buttons, and my only worry was whether I was going to pass my next bio test. My dad was getting ready for a business trip to Singapore but decided to stop by the doctors for a quick checkup for his abdomen. Scans came back showing that the bump on his belly button was metastasized Stage IV Liver Cancer. I was completely devastated and couldn’t comprehend how my role model could have so much chaos inside of him. It took weeks before I could go a day without crying as I thought about my future without one of my biggest supporters. It seems for every glimmer of hope for a new treatment, a new, insurmountable brick wall appears when the scans show the treatment’s failure. As cliché as it sounds, every day truly is a rollercoaster; some days better than others. However, we slowly have adapted to this new reality and have truly understood that falling down is a part of life, but getting back up is living.

As she rubbed her eyes in exhaustion she remembered the adventures of the day before. When she got home she passed out from the excitement and strain on her heart. She reached down to check her leg and sighed with relief to find a replacement was already attached. She looked over at her nightstand and noticed her spare glass waiting for her to put them on. As she got out of bed all she could think about was how rude she was to Sam. She walked into the kitchen to see her mother preparing breakfast. She looked around and did not see Sam. She didn’t know why she expected to see her but she was upset that he was not here. Her mom turned a saw her disappointment and said “He seem in quite a rush to leave he left his job to help you.” She was startled by her answer and rushed out the door ignoring the cries from her mother. She hurried Sam’s farm almost throwing up because of the strain on her heart. When she reached the farm she found an old man working the fields. She rushed over and asked, “Where is Sam?” The old man replied, “I fired him because...” She didn’t let him finish She rushed to the road the taste of blood in her mouth from running. She saw a man walking on the road looking forlorn. She called out, “Sam!” The man stopped and turned it was Sam he answered her, “Joy?” She ran into his arms and started to cry. Sam confused hugged her back. She thought to herself about how a horrible incident led to her

I remember the day just like it was yesterday, the pale color and coldness of her skin. The sky was clear blue, soft, with a touch of red, and the trees seemed stiff in their bright green shade. The wind was blowing with its humid dry air. And All I could do was stand silently in disbelief, caught up in my own thoughts and calm as I ever been. Wondering what I could have done differently to change the course of time, life had taken us upon. Since that very day a chunk of my heart was ripped away, and broken into pieces… “Oh how I miss her so much.”

One of the many of the world's problems is sickness, but some diseases have no cure which can result in death. Cancer is a code we just can’t seem to crack and it has taken hundreds of thousands of lives. Everyone knows of someone who has died of or had cancer in their life. It’s a hard sickness to beat but many strong people do beat it, some being children. I have personally seen my family members go through this and of course, some didn’t make it out alive. If you have seen anyone who has cancer, you’ll see how it can take over your body, how that person doesn’t even look like themselves anymore.

Well, not quite. She doesn’t say cancer right away. Mom and Dad don’t know all the details yet, and Mom doesn’t reveal the cancer part right away. But she tells you that Henri has to have his kidney removed. And that’s scary. It’s scary to me and I’m seven years older than you are. Your little brother has cancer. You’ll cry, right there in the car, with Henri’s friend Ava in the back seat. Mom will cry a little too. Mom will cry a lot in the next year, she’s just as strong as Henri is. You get home and Henri is in the front lawn. He got to go to Burger King for lunch, in between his tests, and he got a green dinosaur toy. He’s just sitting there, playing. Happy. Looking back on that, I know now how miraculous that is. How incredible bravery is amplified by youthful innocence. You won’t understand that, and that’s ok. There are a lot of