Essay The Optimist's Daughter: A Look at Death and Dying

Lastly Mildred is unfeeling. She doesn’t show much feeling when her husband is sick. She didn’t show any feelings when she told Montag that Clarisse was died. “No. The same girl. McClellan. McClellan. Run over by a car. Four days ago. I’m not sure. But i think she’s dead.”

Last year 23 September 2012. I had a resident called “Mrs X” she was a 72year-old widowed living at ---, a Nursing Care Home. She’s not a religious type of person as she was Atheist. She has lived in the home for the past two years, and during that time I was assigned as her key worker. Mrs X had One Son and 3 grand daughters they are all regular visitors to the home. She has recently been diagnosed with renal failure, and her life expectancy is only a couple of months without dialysis. In the past Mrs X has made it clear that when her “time comes” she wants to be able to stay at Belmont House, and “go quietly”. She has stated that she does not want any treatment that will prolong her life. This means

• What are the characters’ emotions, attitudes, and behaviors? What do these indicate to the reader about the character?

Characterization is effectively used to create character plot and portray the theme of the story. This is effectively used by the author through Millicent’s thoughts and through the use of other characters. For instance, Millicent continually tells herself that “what girl wouldn’t” want to be elected like she was (Plath 240). She repeatedly tells herself ideas such as this, because she is trying to convince herself that she is making the right choice. Another instance is shown when Tracy tells Millicent that Millicent will “change, whether she thinks” she will or not (240). Through the words Tracy states, Millicent realizes that she is lying to herself. Consequently, through the earlier examples, the characterization of Millicent and other characters creates the character plot in the story. The character plot in the story shows how Millicent has to make a

As any woman would, Mrs. Mallard initially “wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment,” (227) at the news of her husband’s death. Her weeping almost seems forced as Mrs. Mallard’s true character is revealed later on. She is described as “young, with a

A shantytown called the Alto do Cruzeiro (Crucifix Hill), is one of the three shantytowns bordering the big marketplace area in the town of Bom Jesus in the sugar plantation district of Northeast Brazil, a solitary part of the countless regions of disregard that have materialized in the darkness of the now stained economic wonder of Brazil. The Alto women practice an unusual method of caring for their offspring especially when handling the death of their infants. The high rate of infant death can be credited to poverty and malnutrition. Illness and infant deaths are taken nonchalantly not by just the social institutions in the Alto but also by the child's own mother and this has

Everybody on this earth is different and they all have a different way of handling the concept of death. In the book, When by Victoria Laurie, a sixteen year old girl, Maddie Fynn, has the ability to see people’s death dates in person and in pictures. When Maddie was in first grade her father died and her mother couldn’t cope with the loss of her husband, so she became an alcholic. Maddie’s mother couldn’t keep a steady job so her uncle helped pay the bills. On the side, Maddie had clients come to her so that she could read their death dates or dates of their loved ones. Everything was going okay until one client had a son that was going to die in a week. The client thought Maddie was lying and it was all a scam until he actually died. After

Keeping a person alive by excessive treatment might devastate the family and make the dying suffer tremendously in the end. “Advance medical technology that seems to one person a godsend, extending life, may seem to another a curse that only prolong dying. Dignity can be devalued amid technology focused solely on the biological organism.”

Ten of them died in car wrecks. I’m afraid of them and they don’t like me because I’m afraid.” (27). In this society, people die and rather don’t talk about it, or don’t care, Mildred being a main offender in this. When she tells Montag about Clarisse’s death four days after it happened, Montag questions her on why she didn’t tell him sooner.

Death and dying is a natural and unavoidable process that all living creatures will experience at some point in life, whether it is one’s own person death or the death of a close friend or family member. Along with the experience of death comes the process of grieving which is the dealing and coping with the loss of the loved one. Any living thing can grieve and relate to a loss, even children (Shortle, Young, & Williams, 1993). “Childhood grief and mourning of family and friends may have immediate and long-lasting consequences including depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, behavioral disturbances, and school underachievement” (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2006, p. 61). American children today grow up in cultures that attempt to avoid grief and

Significant life events (SLE) can be any episode that may be positive or negative, impacting on an individual life, or reflecting as good and bad practice. For example, it may include underage pregnancy, coping with a staffing crisis, complaints or compliments received from workplace, breaches of confidentiality, a sudden unexpected death or hospitalisation. (Patient.co.uk, 2014) example of SLE:

While Mrs. Mallard remembers Mr. Mallard as a kind and tender man who loved her, she also viewed him as the oppression that marriage put upon women and men. While Mr. Mallard was kind and loving to his wife, he was also controlling and overbearing. Josephine, Mrs. Mallard’s sister and Richards, Mr. Mallard’s friend is there to break the news of Mr. Mallard’s death. Richards has learned of Mr. Mallard’s death at the newspaper office, not wanting to believe the information that was received, Richards waited for the new to be delivered for a second time before enlisting the help of Josephine. They are both there to support Mrs. Mallard and their support shows that they care for Mr. and Mrs. Mallard.

Why are we allowed to be more humane to our pets than our parents? Physician-assisted suicide is a voluntary termination of one’s own life by administration of a lethal substance with direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Euthanasia is another term for this practice it provides a competent patient with a prescription for the patient to use with the primary intention of ending his or her own life. Compassion and Choices or Death with Dignity are names of supporters that promote euthanasia, also referred to as physician-assisted suicide, and believe that it is just as humane for terminally ill animals as it is for people. I too agree that it should be legally and morally open for choice to anyone suffering from a terminal

On Death and Dying By Elisabeth Kubler-Ross For my book review, I read On Death and Dying, by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Dr. Kubler-Ross was the first person in her field to discuss the topic of death. Before 1969, death was considered a taboo. On Death and Dying is one of the most important psychological studies of the late twentieth century. The work grew out of her famous interdisciplinary seminar on death, life, and transition. In this paper, I give a comprehensive book review as well as integrate topics learned in class with Dr. Kubler-Ross' work. Like Piaget's look at developmental stages in children, there are also stages a person experiences on the journey toward death. These five stages are denial/isolation, anger, bargaining,

Two of Emily Dickinson’s poems, “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died” and “Because I could not stop for Death” are both written about life’s stopping point, death. Although the poems are written by the same poet, both poems view death in a different manner. Between the two poems, one views death as having an everlasting life while the other anticipates everlasting life, only to realize it does not exist. While both poems are about death, both poems also illustrate that the outcome of death is a mysterious experience that can only be speculated upon with the anticipation of everlasting life.