Fight Club, By Chuck Palahniuk

It is inevitable that we will all die it is a fact that everyone must come to terms with. There comes a time in everyone’s life that they must face death; a friend’s tragic accident, a family member’s passing or their own battles with diseases. When faced with the idea of death people will act in different ways some may find it therapeutic to apologize for the negative they have done, some may want to spend time with loved ones to ease the future pain, and others may decide that their life was not what they believed. The story Death Constant Beyond Love tells us about a man named Senator Sanchez who is living a happy life with his wife and five kids. That is until he is told by doctors that he only has a short time to live. Death is

Death is inevitable. It is one of the only certainties in life. Regardless, people are often uncomfortable discussing death. Nyatanga (2016) posits that the idea of no longer existing increases anxiety and emotional distress in relation to one’s mortality. Because of the difficulty in level of care for end-of-life patients, the patient and the family often need professional assistance for physical and emotional care. Many family caregivers are not professionally trained in medicine, and this is where hospice comes into play. Hospice aims to meet the holistic needs of both the patient and the patient’s family through treatment plans, education, and advocacy. There is a duality of care to the treatment provided by hospice staff in that they do not attempt to separate the patient’s care from the family’s care. Leming and Dickinson (2011) support that hospice, unlike other clinical fields, focuses on the patient and the family together instead of seeing the patient independent of the family. Many times in hospitals, the medical team focuses solely on the goal of returning the patient back to health in order for them to return to their normal lives. They do not take into account the psychological and spiritual components of the patient’s journey and the journey that the family must take as well. For treatment of the patient, Leming and Dickinson agree that hospice does not attempt to cure patients, and instead concentrates solely

Death is a topic that unites all of humanity. While it can be uncomfortable to think about, confronting death in unavoidable. “Dying” addresses that discomfort and universal unwillingness to consider the inevitability of death. Pinsky’s use of imagery, symbolism, and tone create a poetic experience that is like death, something every reader can relate to. In “Dying,” Pinsky describes how people are oblivious and almost uncaring when it comes to the thought of death. Pinsky is trying to convince the reader that they shouldn’t ignore the concept of death because life is shorter than it seems.

he AIDS hospice reeked from disease and neglect. On my first day there, after an hour of "training," I met Paul, a tall, emaciated, forty-year-old AIDS victim who was recovering from a stroke that had severely affected his speech. I took him to General Hospital for a long-overdue appointment. It had been weeks since he had been outside. After waiting for two and a half hours, he was called in and then needed to wait another two hours for his prescription. Hungry, I suggested we go and get some lunch. At first Paul resisted; he didn’t want to accept the lunch offer. Estranged from his family and seemingly ignored by his friends, he wasn’t used to anyone being kind to him — even though I was only talking about a Big Mac. When it arrived, Paul took his first bite. Suddenly, his face lit up with the biggest, most radiant smile. He was on top of the world because somebody bought him a hamburger. Amazing. So little bought so much. While elated that I had literally made Paul’s day, the neglect and emotional isolation from which he suffered disgusted me. This was a harsh side of medicine I had not seen before. Right then and there, I wondered, "Do I really want to go into medicine?"

Facing Death is a compelling documentary on, oftentimes, the final journey patients and their families will venture through together in life. The documentary seeks to capture how the patients and their families respond to the inevitability of death. The film includes families who respond to the issue by allowing their family member, the patient, to pass through the door of death without aggressive care, while there are yet other families who insist on everything being done to delay the moment of death. This topic of fighting death is attributed with producing much debate. On one hand are those who do not see the point of fighting death, however, on the other hand, there are those who believe that delaying death and staying alive is what ought to be done. Personally, from what I understand of either party, I think that I am a part of the later party. In addition, this issue naturally delves into what one believes occurs after death, as it is an issue dealing directly with death. This also compels me to view this topic from the viewpoint of the later party.

Death is one of the most avoided topics because of the finality that comes with it and the fear of the unknown after death. However, there are quite a number of authors such as AtulGawande, Elisabeth Kubler-ross and Ira Byock who have attempted to go ahead and deal with death as a topic and other connected topics.Each of these authors have delved into one of the most revered topics that is death including related topics that come with it such as the dying process itself. Ira Byock’s Dying well: Peace and possibilities at the end of life is a book that looks at the moment prior to death when an individual is terminally sick and is at the point of death. A

Craig Bowron broaches the subject matter sensitively as much as possible striking a balance between the interests of individuals opposing his notions while at the same time emboldening the resolve of the many that support his idea. He, however, uses raw statements that are likely to irk the audience in some instances. Statements such as “once you have shoved some guy’s guts back into his stomach” can be rather upsetting to conservative audience that would rather be spared such graphic details. The next statement “everyone wants to grow old and die... but the truth is that most of us will die in pieces” also may rub readers in the wrong way. The author fails to capture the sensitivity of death as perceived by a number of people or cultures. The author acknowledges opposing argument by citing that the desire to have loved ones around would go to great lengths to use medication and technology. This goes to show that the writer understands that his opinion need not be paramount on the audience’s decisions and understanding of the article subject matter.

Death is a difficult topic for most people to discuss. Even those in the medical profession, such as doctors and surgeons, have a tough time discussing the prospect of death with patients. In Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal, Gawande delves into what really matters as life comes to an end, new ways of helping the elderly enjoy their waning days, and the role of doctors and medicine in curing diseases and dealing with patients. Sheri Fink, a reporter for the New York Times, reviewed this book on November 6, 2014 for The New York Times Sunday Book Review in “Atul Gawande’s ‘Being Mortal’”. She thinks Being Mortal is a “valuable contribution to the growing literature on aging, death, and dying”, and does a good job of introducing the topic of

By biological logic, we human beings will face death sooner or later in our life and death has its very own ways to approach us - a sudden deadly strike, a critical sickness, a tragic accident, a prolonged endurance of brutal treatment, or just an aging biological end. To deal with the prospect of death come different passive or active reactions; some may be scared and anxious to see death, some try to run away from it, and some by their own choice make death come faster. But Viktor Frankl, through his work Man’s Search for Meaning, and Bryan Doyle; in his essay “His Last Game” show us choices to confront the death, bring it to our deepest feelings, meaningful satisfaction. To me, the spirit of the prisoners at deadly concentration camps, Frankl’s Logotherapy theory of “. . . striving to find a meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man.” (99), as well as the calmness of Doyle’s brother on his last ride, like an awaken bell, remind us of how precious life is, how we should find the significance in every act of living, determine to live a meaningful life at any circumstances; hence, when death comes, we can accept it without anxiety nor regrets.

While twenty-nine years has passed since its release, Spike Lee’s 1989 film Do The Right Thing remains a tragically relevant tale of race relations, heated confrontations, and police violence. As the sweltering summer heat rises in the black Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, racial tensions escalate between the locals and the Italian-Americans. Characters sweat and scream, fight and fend, dance and die. On screen, Spike Lee depicts a 1989 Brooklyn that acts as a magnified view of what was happening politically and socially outside the theater. Coupled with Public Enemy’s 1989 hit “Fight the Power,” Do The Right Thing acts as a artistic acknowledgment of the various forces that oppressed minority groups in the 1980’s. Spike Lee uses “Fight the Power” as a musical leitmotif to bring attention a theme of racial tension and power imbalances within society. The leitmotif becomes the film’s theme song, intensifying moments of conflict and narrating dialogue-free scenes to explore abuses of power.

Larry R. Churchill in the non-fiction piece, “Embracing a Broad Spirituality in End of Life Discussions and Advance Care Planning”, identifies the concerns individuals encounter when thoughts of death flood their mind. Churchill begins by introducing readers to a web link with a provoking name, DeathOverDinner.com. He informs the readers that the idea behind the web page is to initiate tough conversations over a casual activity. In the article we are told that “These conversations must focus on the spiritual dimensions of death” (Churchill 760). Rather than just the typical worries that come to mind when dying becomes a reality.

Life is meaningless without an awareness of mortality, at least that’s what the book Chuck Palahniuk “Fight Club” tells us. Chuck discusses the ideas of how if you do not think about death, it makes you become a part of a capitalist world and live without meaning, addicted to consumerism. Without the image, or thought of eventually dying, you will not be living your life to its fullest potential, a live without taking risks and pursuing your dreams. Fight Club presents lots of imagery of death, and facing death to its readers throughout the book. Starting off with the unnamed narrator attending cancer support groups.

Life is esoterically encrypted in mystery, only to be deciphered by the properly initiated. This is the immanent fact that confronts us all. We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning. “The term ‘Simulacra is derived from the Latin word ‘simulacrum,’ which means ‘likeness’ or ‘similarity.’ The term simulacra was first used by Plato, when he defined the world in which we live as an imperfect replica of the world of Ideas” (O’shea). As Plato divulged, we live in a cave with our backs to the light, our perception is nothing more than the shadows that appear upon its walls. According Jean Baudrillard, “Our current society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbols and signs, and that human experience

At first glance, Chuck Palahniuk’s award-winning novel Fight Club gives the impression that it is a simple story revolving around a man who struggles to manage his insomnia. However, a deeper literary analysis will show readers that the novel is much more than that. Fight Club is actually a cleverly written novel that contains many elements of Marxist and psychoanalytic theories throughout the storyline. Marxism is based on the concepts of Karl Marx’s theories that focuses on class relations and social conflict. On the other hand, psychoanalytic criticism stems from Sigmund Freud’s theories of psychology. The novel is best interpreted from a Marxist point of view because Palahniuk uses Fight Club as a means of expressing his

It is with the deep condolences that I must go. It may seem shocking to the living, but the dead are wise. The dead are free. There are freedoms not granted while living. Freedom denied to few; happiness. We think of happiness as things we can touch: money, people, cars — the tangibles; but really, it is something deep inside that bellies its way up. It's the millions of cells in the body, working together, screaming “ I’m alive. I’m alive, thank God all mighty, I’m alive.”Then you have the moments in between that reminds you that you are here. The wind in your face, the sound of waves. Most people get to feel the sun on their face and know what warmth feels like. A lucky few gets to smile with their whole heart and mean it. They get to wake up, eat, sleep, on their own accord; prisoner to everyone but themselves. They may hate their job, their relationship, but even within their man-created bondage, there’s a choice. But within humanity, duality must exist, it’s how the world balance itself.Ugly and pretty. Evil and good. Light and Dark. So the unlucky ones must exist, and they exist among you, suffering in silence, robbed of choice and reason. The unlucky ones exacerbate themselves trying to run back to normal; to feel happiness and everything in between. Normal is a dream deferred. But the unlucky ones love a good lie, and when they can no longer lie, they died.There are freedoms not granted while living. Freedom denied to many; life. Life and living are trains at the opposite side of a track, carrying passengers who are either filled with so much life that they have smiles to spare or they are filled with nothing but void, just containers for sadness. There are those alive but are not living; but more so, things, going through the motion. Neither here, nor there, just moving towards an inevitable fate. An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion, with the same speed, and the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.