We Need New Names By Bharati Mukherjee

Many immigrants have a unique story that may reveal the reason for entering another country. Often, this decision leads to a desire of starting a new life in a country that has beyond opportunities to offer. Much like in the stories “A Proper Goodbye” by Katherine Vlassie, “Ajax la-bas” by Yeshim Ternar, and “Nach Unten” by Janice Keefer all give insights to the lives of immigrant women and the hardships they go through. In these short stories, the experiences of the women in minority groups unite them in a way that the inability to learn a new language for whichever reason, limits them from developing as an individual, reinforcement of their fears, and are oppressed by society thus affecting their daily lives.

In the boiling pot of America most people have been asked “what are you?” when referring to one’s race or nationality. In the short story “Borders” by Thomas King he explores one of the many difficulties of living in a world that was stripped from his race. In a country that is as diverse as North America, culture and self-identity are hard to maintain. King’s short story “Borders” deals with a conflict that I have come to know well of. The mother in “Borders” is just in preserving her race and the background of her people. The mother manages to maintain her identity that many people lose from environmental pressure.

The life transition of death and dying is inevitably one with which we will all be faced; we will all experience the death of people we hold close throughout our lifetime. This paper will explore the different processes of grief including the bereavement, mourning, and sorrow individuals go through after losing someone to death. Bereavement is a period of adaptation following a life changing loss. This period encompasses mourning, which includes behaviors and rituals following a death, and the wide range of emotions that go with it. Sorrow is the state of ongoing sadness not overcome in the grieving process; though not pathological, persistent

Often in today’s society people become “invisible” due to their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or social class. They are often shunned away or discriminated against because of these factors. The spirit of this book is defined by the will to overcome personal tragedy and social injustices.

The United States has been plagued with many troubling issues, and this year, 2016, has only seemed to extrapolate these issues. From the exponential growth of economic inequality, to the structural avenues of privilege and hindrance imbedded in our country, these issues are only seeming to grow, not just in numbers, but also in severity. Unfortunately, 2017’s future does not look much better. With Donald Trump becoming our president elect, who knows what could happen when he steps into office. With his racist and bigot background, I can only imagine the injustices he will most likely commit and perpetuate. With so many pressing issues plaguing society, one’s individual troubles are often overlooked. In this paper, I intend to bring some of these issues to light, and to present some of my own individual troubles regarding my identity and how they are intertwined within these societal issues in our country.

Black Americans can have different emotions from crying to being silent. People usually gather in large gatherings to pay respect. Black Americans have a belief that death is God’s will and the deceased is in God’s hand and will be reunited

Being told you no longer work for the company brings on a string of emotions such as denial, shock and anger; which are common reactions to loss. Grieving the loss of a job and initial reactions to the news may spark emotions of denial, shock, or even anger. In an article published by the Mental Health Center titled, “Coping With Grief”, they stated that “Grief is a natural response to the loss of someone or something very dear to us. Losses that my lead to grief include the death or separation of a loved one, (and the) loss of a job…” (Mental Health 2014) In a personal interview of an employee, that would like to remain anonymous, we briefly discussed how management told the employee that they would be moved to a lesser paying position

The poem that I have selected for this essay is “Talking to Grief” by Denise Levertov. I chose this poem because it talks about grief. It also talks about the place that grief should have in a person’s life. The poem describes grief, and compares it to a “homeless dog.” It also describes how a dog deserves its own place in the house, instead of living under a porch or being homeless. This poem talks about how a person can be aware that grief is present, but that it is not always acknowledged and accepted. We all experience grief in different ways, and for different reasons. Everyone deals with grief in their own personal way. This poem describes a point in a person’s life when they are ready to accept grief as a part of their life

I have learned so much information about death in chapter 16. I can relate this section “ The Grief Process” the worst day of my life was the day my lovely grandmother died. The paint I have been through that day, I didn’t think I would ever deal with something that painful. My grandparents took me from my mother when I was 4 years old and they raised and demonstrated me moral value to do what is right and wrong. I lived with my grandparents until I was 13.My grandmother suddenly died on Jan 22 2014 because she has heart problem and as result she died heart attack. She died in front of my parents at the emergency room. The tragedy deeply effect my whole family but my grandmother death had impact me more then anyone else. I had not eat

As a people, many of us are striving to be understood and accepted by those we are close to. A good example of this is NoViolet Bulawayo’s novel, We Need New Names. Her novel tells the story of one young girl, named Darling, growing up in her town of Paradise in Zimbabwe. The story follows her on her journey of growing up and eventually moving to America. Along with Darling’s experiences, readers see characters like her father and her Aunt’s family in America develop into better people because of those around them.

The Management of Grief, written by Bharati Mukherjee, is a story about the coming together of a group of people from different levels of cultures and backgrounds, most of which are from India and have relocated to Canada, that have lost family members instantaneously due to a Sikh terrorist attack on an airplane that their loved ones were on. Together, these survivors deal with their grief in different ways, none of which one could deny them the right of, as told in 3rd Person Narration by Shaila Bhave, the protagonist of the story. Although some would expect those dealing with a tragedy to act in certain ways, the author takes her readers on a journey portraying the reality that people manage grief in unexpected ways for different reasons,

My first is, as a nurse, it is important to communicate with both the patient, along with, their family members in regards to EOL. More so, to make sure that they full understand all their options and as health care providers it is our responsibility to explain the risks and the benefits for any healthcare treatment and how it will impact their quality of life. As well as, to full understand the patient values and goals of care to better assist them and their family in making their decision (Shigeko and Van, 2016).

As I read Management of Grief, I noticed that Bharati Mukherjee portrayed different forms of grief. There are also many steps to grief. She mainly focused on the ways Shaila and Kusum grieved and coped. Shaila said, “We must all grieve in our own way.” While it was said many times that almost everyone was hysterical, Shaila’s grieving was different than most of the people, in the story. She was in a state of calm, that people were jealous of. Even a reporter came by and asked for Shaila for help because, not only did Shaila know a lot of people on the plane, she was not hysterical like the rest. The reporter, Judith Templeton, even said, “...Mrs. Bhave is a pillar - because you’ve taken it more calmly.” Kusum, on the other hand, was the opposite.

All humans have many different experiences throughout their lives. However, while each individual’s experience may be dissimilar, the concepts that are pertinent to the human condition are often the same. In fact, examples of some of these concepts are shown in both stories The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Adichie and The Third and Final Continent by Jhumpa Lahiri. In these stories, it is shown that some experiences are less about the immigrant experience and more about the human condition. They provide evidence to demonstrate how regardless of whether a person is an immigrant or not, the positive and negative aspects of being human are universal, connecting each individual. The characteristics of being human that are illustrated in the two stories are the feeling of loneliness, the attempt to find one’s identity, and the instinct to take care of our elders.

This quote was taken from Mukherjee’s story The Management of Grief. This story highlights the struggles of a newly made widow and her friends who also lost several loved ones in a tragic plane crash. Kusum is the main character, Shaila’s neighbor who also lost her husband and daughter in the plane crash. Many Hindus tend to believe in what they are told by swamis and priests and from the story, it seems that Kusum was choosing to do just that.