Grief In Gary Paulsen's 'Voyage Of The Frog'

Many people define their lives by the relationships within their family. They are someone’s daughter, someone’s wife, or someone’s mother or father. The loss of a family member, especially due to death, creates a radical readjustment to people’s day to day lives and how they see and feel about themselves. Sometimes the process of grief can last over several years and how it is mentally processed and dealt with is different for everyone. “Mud” by Geoffrey Forsyth, shows an insightful view of a grieving man who had already lost his father and grandmother and is now just coming to terms with the loss of his wife two years prior. The entire story is written in first person point of view which allows for the reader to fully engage themselves in the grief and strife of the narrator’s life. Geoffrey’s story “Mud” begins in the home of the narrator where he encounters these dead family members and has to decide if he is ready to move on from his grief and say goodbye or stay behind and be consumed by it.

Abstractly, it almost seems as though the other characters in the book look down on his for this not because he is not mourning, but rather because he is not mourning in the way they are. This sheds light on the overall theme of the novel, that of people being cast out of society because their views and methods do not line up with the accepted ways of society.

The theme of parental mourning has been a universal one throughout the centuries. In the literature on bereavement, writers repeat certain themes, thoughts, and reflections; they talk of the powerful and often conflicting emotions involved in "the pain of grief and the

The book, Lament For a Son, written by Nicholas Wolterstorff talks about his pain and grief after losing his 25-year-old son (Joy, 2009). His son died while on a mountain-climbing expedition. Dr. Wolterstorff has several books published during his career as a philosophical theology professor in Yale Divinity. However, he wrote Lament for a Son with a different journal style since it is a personal thing for him. The book is similar to a journal as he narrates the events that happened before and after his son’s death. The emotions expressed in the book are common among people who lose close relatives. What matters is how a person handles the issue. Kubler-Ross invented the five stages of grief; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptancethat explain the escalation of grief when stricken by bad news (Axelrod, 2004). The paper looks into the book and its relation to the five stages of grief.

Someone who is grieving will experience “major psychological, spiritual, social and physiological” changes throughout the grieving process (Hooyman & Kramer, 2006, p37). There are many theories and models that support these words. This essay will discuss Freud’s theory of grief work (Davies, 2004), Bowlby’s attachment theory (Walsh, 2012), and Worden’s tasks of grief (Worden & Winokuer, 2011). The major tasks of grief throughout the four different stages of life will be looked at, as well as common grief reactions, and ways to support people through these. In addition how children, adolescents, adults and the elderly understand and respond to grief will be examined. Finally how people at the various stages of life confront their own death will be looked at, including some personal examples.

“Everyone can master grief but he that has it.” This quote, written by William Shakespeare, demonstrates that people often struggle loss, most often losing friends or valuable possessions. Loss can be a powerful thing that can control people, but it can also help people learn indispensable lessons. It changed and deeply affected numerous characters in “Gwilan’s Harp,” by Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Washwoman,” by Isaac Bashevis Singer, and “The Last Leaf,” by O. Henry. It affected many, if not all, of the characters’ choices. Each character reacted in a different way. They also all learned a lesson from their loss. It changed them and grew them, encouraging them to become a better person. Loss is an important theme in “Gwilan’s Harp,” “The Washwoman,” and “The Last Leaf.”

He seems to suggest here that grief is but an illusion, because man is incapable of touching the human soul. Emerson continued with, “Grief too will make us idealists. In the death of my son, now more than two years ago, I seem to have lost a beautiful estate, - no more. I cannot get it nearer to me.” Now, Emerson reveals his inspiration for writing Experience. With the death of his son, Emerson had suffered the fourth major loss in his family, which had been long plagued by tuberculosis. His first wife died of the disease and had claimed the lives of his two beloved brothers. Emerson was no stranger to grief, and the more he tried to psychoanalyze it, the emptier he felt. After sustaining so much loss, one must steel oneself from any further blows.

“No matter how tough the situation, you still have to hang on.” Lailah Gifty Akita. Grief, an obstacle that we must all overcome at one point in our lives. Grief is everywhere, you may not notice it but it is omnipresent. Victims of 9/11 were faced with tremendous amounts of grief, most were traumatized. An event that is unforgettable to many. In two of the works, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran and "Reign Over Me" by Mike Binder, there were many instances of grief which the individuals must overcome. You must learn to embrace grief or be stuck in a never-ending cycle of despair which was seen through the characters befriending others to overcome their grief, moral support that

Loss can change a person’s life and alter the daily routines of individuals and families. Humans are very social creatures and rely on each other for support, and suddenly losing a loved one can disrupt the wholesome state of an individual. In the passage, Charna Posin goes through a year of cutting herself away from others as she dealt with the pain of the death of her husband. This vulnerability comes from the loss of strength that her husband probably gave her. Her love for him can be seen by how much the loss has affected her through her emotional sorrow, grief, and isolation. She had a sort of emptiness as she conveyed how she did not feel loved or understood by those around her.

It is their respective losses that hold back the protagonist in “Hush”, and Hamlet from living their own lives, driving them to proceed with their ruin, at last breaking the family apart. It is through misfortune that people figure out how to change in existence without their friends and family, and figure out how to develop and welcome the things they do have. Connections in a single's life may arrive at an end, however it is how they cope with it that impacts their other mental well-being as well as their relationships with other people. Loss can lead to fear, isolation, anger, and sadness, however everyone grieves differently - it is a personal journey for everyone. Although loss is inevitable, it is when people choose to allow themselves to grow and be better that they

Grief’s definition is a strong feeling of sorrow that someone feels at a death of another. “The First Stone” is a great example of a novel that shows how grief can impact a person's life negatively, this is done through Don Akers thoughtful choice of characters and their stories of their deceased loved ones. Grief can impact a person with their social lives, changes the way someone behaves and makes it hard for someone to move on from negative experiences. First of all, grief has a negative impact on people which can cause them not to be able to move on from …………. Experiences.

To begin, Buglass (2010, pp.44), defines grief as an intense human response to separation, bereavement, or loss which can include emotional, cognitive, behavioural, physical, social and even spiritual change. Despite considerable variation in the experience of grief, many individuals will

INTRO: “ Grief is NOT a disorder, a disease or sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve” (Earl Grollman)

Grief and pain has always been a part of our life. These feelings are everywhere and every single one of us experience them. Even though human suffering seems to be completely negative, I believe that it is a burden, a curse, but a bliss at the same time. It strikes us down, but it gives us the power to stand up for ourselves, to react. There are no pieces of literature that best describe the misery and torment a human being can go through other than the famous Greek tragedies. The way Queen Hecuba deals with her pain and suffering in Euripides’ play is through reacting and making justice for herself.

Loss, glumness, and hurt- have you read the poem “Hey Daddy”? Jesse Debenport expresses extensive misery because he lost his father, but we were never told what happened to him. I believe his father left the family, but intends to still have a relationship with his son. First, I believe the father left because the way Jesse expresses his emotions makes me infer that his father can still return, but it’s a little uncomfortable to go back to a family that he left.