I Don 't Find An Artful Death Appealing

How does one want to die? That might be a question too harsh for some to think about. So, maybe the correct question would be, how can one embrace death? Everyone’s answer to this question is more than likely going to be very diverse. Do people embrace death and live every moment to the fullest until it is their time to go? One man, Dudley Clendinen, a writer for the New York Times, did just that. His article is about his intentions to end his own life at the young age of 66 rather than having his daughter and friends watch him die a laborious and excruciating death. The context of his article is

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

Death is something that people must deal with every day in our world, and there are several aspects of death that sometimes the living do not consider. For example, how does one celebrate or remember passed loved ones? What happens to you when you die? How would you like to be remembered? There are multiple ways to answer these questions, and examining differing points of view can be enlightening.

Atul Gawande’s book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End presses on an extremely difficult subject: death. Gawande talks about the need to confront death and not ignore it by taking steps in having a meaningful and satisfying end. Readers say that Gawande does demand a lot from people and the book is eye opening but it does not have a guide to having a better end in life. I agree that Gawande is demanding a lot but people still to listen to him but I think Gawande does give a guide to having a more satisfying end to life though not simply.

David M. Stone has made some great points in his article, “Signature Killer: Caravaggio and the Poetics of Blood.” Stone set out to explain his ideas about Michelangelo Merisi Caravaggio’s honorary knighthood and the social standing it gave him, and what it meant for Caravaggio to sign his name in The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, in the blood of St. John the Baptist himself. Stone gave great insight into the world of Caravaggio’s life and what he could have been implying through the act of signing in blood.

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.

When it comes to death the typical person is not that knowledgeable about or understanding of death. People are very scared when the topic of death arises. We all want to live forever with no fear of having to explore the aspect of us dying and having to plan a funeral or their own funeral. Death is never an openly discussed topic. With death and dealing with it we are lucky to have the book Final Gifts by Callanan and Kelley. They have provided a ton of information to help us to grow strong and at ease with the area of death. I will tell my feelings on the book and how it has impacted me.

Death is an extremely touchy point to talk about. In "Native Guard" a book of sonnets composed by Natasha Trethewey. In the works of "Graveyard Blues", "After Your Death", and "Myth" death was the primary theme. Everything that is lives must bite the dust its regular and everybody has their own interpretation of death. Some can acknowledge death as a feature of life and feel great about it.

Death is not a topic that many people are comfortable with, some people believe it is outrageous for others to play God and decide when to end their lives. While this is true for people with normal pains, there are those who feel they have the right to choose their own fate because they cannot bear their pain and suffering anymore. These are people that are terminally ill, people who were diagnosed with a deadly disease without a cure and feel that death is the only way to relieve that pain. These people has gone through many treatments that are slowly becoming less and less effective. Even though the treatment isn’t working, the patients still have to live through the pain from the treatments. Terminally ill

Let us take a second to truly understand dignity. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines dignity as, “the quality or state of being worthy, honored, and esteemed” as well as, “formal reserve for seriousness of manner, appearance, or language.” That being said, a dignified death, which would bring back a sense of power to a person otherwise without control of their life, should be done in a way that shows respect for one’s self.

Life and death is a controversial topic. To most, death is negative. Within life you laugh, smile, communicate and create new experiences both good and bad. It is a human right to be alive. Although, if people have a right to live they also have the right to die. Tragic things happen everyday because life has a very dark sense of humor. After certain experiences life becomes more like a continuous cycle of suffering than anything else. The laughs become riddled with pain and life becomes dull in the best moments. With strict restrictions, physician assisted suicide (also known as Physician Aid-in-Dying) will offer a more dignified and comfortable way for terminally-ill patients to end their suffering.

When an individual hears the word “death”, he or she immediately thinks of the most negative words such as dark, hell, scary, horrible, etc. There is a small portion of the population that believes death is a positive event that does not truly matter. For example, an individual runs to the hospital when they encounter any symptoms to prevent their death or an individual spends thousands of dollars in order to go to the best doctor in order to buy them more time before dying. Kurt Vonnegut, the author of Slaughterhouse Five, would do the exact opposite. Vonnegut would stay at home and enjoy the little time he has left because he is not scared to face death, just like Billy who is the main character of Slaughterhouse Five. Kurt Vonnegut uses

I think many feelings towards death come from the unknowns that also come with dying. These unknowns are things such as the existence of an afterlife, what is feels like, and what will be left behind after they die. These unknowns and people’s answers to them largely impact how people feel towards death. As Erikson explains, psychologically this stage of life is dominated by one of two feelings, integrity or despair. According to Erikson the more productive and full we feel our life has been, the more integrity and contentment we will feel towards our death. The opposite of that would be the less we feel we have accomplished in our life, we will look at death with despair because we are generally unsatisfied with the legacy we will leave behind.

This lack of feeling regarding death is by far one of the most outlandish ideas in the novel, but is our world all that different? After the Heaven's gate mass suicide 39 religious followers were subjected to the harshest discrimination any group could endure, but these people could not defend themselves. In there final resting places they were photographed and displayed throughout the world as oddities, such as Linda dying in front of a group of youngsters. Shrouded by a triangular purple cloth, dressed alike, and carrying similar items{Miller} they were dismissed as another subject for comic relief.

The atmosphere around the topic of euthanasia and assisted suicide are controversial and bring up images of frail and suffering people screaming for their lives to end. This leaves you with two choices: to listen and end their lives or to alleviate the pain till it is bearable using modern medicine. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the etymology of the word euthanasia derives from Greek, which means “The action of inducing a gentle and easy death.” With this definition in mind I will determine the pros and cons of assisted suicide and euthanasia by using Neil M. Gorsuch's “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia” and Kathleen Foley's and Herbert Hendin's “The Case against Assisted Suicide” and choose a side. Those who