Homework 56

Stephen, I really enjoyed your elevator speech you brought enthusiasm and excitement into the classroom which made it a pleasure to listen you and what you investigated for your project. I t was interesting to see your perspective on  high paid funerals and why it might be a little bit unnecessary to spend all that money on someone that wont be able to see it or enjoy it. A valid point you brought up was the idea of by people doing that they feel that they contributed to the persons life because even though they are gone you are still going out of your way to make sure they go out with class and sophistication. 

Evan, Your elevator speech really was fun to watch and listen because you interacted with the crowd and made people really get and idea of what you did for your culminating project. I think that being able to know what your parents want to happen to them when they are dead is a very important thing, and by reading your project I can see that you went into depth with the comparing and contrasting of your parents death plans and how your mother and father are on two different pages.

Xtra credit cemetery

Visiting the cemetery was really weird and scary, the reason why is because like all humans I don't want to be around death or be in the presence of it. What was really interesting was the dates on the tombstones to see died in 1856 and it's 2011 its just seems so out of place and strange.
















In the first cemetery all of the tombstones were broken down and breaking apart and you could hardly see the writing on them. I notice that there was no real extravagance to the tombstones they were all very small with no detail some weren't even tombstones just rocks or bricks.

The second cemetery was bigger and had more to it in my eyes it was more modern, and it had a lot more graves. These grave yards were both associated with the same church so a lot of pope that were family members and that where in the catholic family were buried here.


Visiting a cemetery is something that I won't do again because it is to depressing and makes me think to much about my own death and the death of my loved ones. Also at the same time I feel that it is a learning experience at the same time by going to a grave yard you can get a clear understanding of life and death and what it means to die and live, I feel that you appreciate life more after a visit like that.

XTRA CREDIT HAROLD AND MAUDD

Three charactes
Harold
Maudd
Mother

Harold -I feel that harold enjoys flirting with death he gets pleasure out of viewing death. He goes to funerals of random people and drives a hearse for a car, I feel that harold embodies death as a character. What makes harold such a unique character is the fact that in our culture and society death is looked upon as such  negative thing but he uses it as a positive so he can have something fun to do when he is bored or seeking attention from his mother. Significant scene: Is when harold is in his therapy session lying on the couch like he was in a casket and when the therapist was talking to him he wasn't responding. The reason why it was important to me was because I thought he only put that front up infront of his mother.

Harold's' mother-  she doesn't care about the death games that he try's to play on her, Eevn tough she can't deal with it  she still loves him because he is her son. As a mother you would think she would show more concern but even as the movie goes on and Harold's theatrics become more and more elaborate she still responds to him in a very nonchalant fashion.

Maudd- I feel that maudd is the same as harold but what is different about them is that maudd actually flirts with death for her it is not  game she would not mind dying, but for harold its just a facade he puts up to gain attention. I noticed that maudd really likes harold and she is trying to turn harold into a person that thinks like she does.

I feel that in this moving it shows how certain people look at death as an art, especially with harold he mad it seem normal like death was suppose to be apart of your daily life. I really felt that A Million Ways To Be by Kat Stevens played such a huge in the movie because the line "If you want to be you be you and if you want to be free be free" connects so well to the plot of the movie and the characters because it shows there is nothing wrong with accepting death and embracing it because by doing that you can become more comfortable with it. What makes this movie so powerful is at the end when maudd dies and it what that shows is how death came into his life but nt to take him but someone he loves so now he knows what his mother feels like.

project 55

Culminating project 55

I feel that death is a sensitive topic to talk about no matter who you are talking with. Death in out society is looked at as a nightmare something that we want to flush away and put behind us when it appears. But at the same time what makes death such a unique experience is the care of the dead and what a person wants done personally to their body when they die. Since every one has their own way they want to be taken care of when they die i interviewed three people that are very close to me and asked them all the same question to see what would be their response to each question and how could I compare and contrast each answer.

Interview with cousin:

What does death mean to you?

Death is a process where the soul leaves the body and the body is left to decompose into the earth, when you die you leave the ones you love and care for to move on to a better place .

Are you a person who fears death or do you accept it for what it is and just know that one day your time will come.

Of course i fear death if i didn't I would not be human. It's in human nature to fear the day that you are going to die and perish from the earth, but I also feel that I can't let it affect me I have to keep living my life and enjoying my time on earth until that day comes.

When you die what do you want people to remember you for?

I want people to remember me for having a good time and making people happy. I would like people to know that no matter what it was i gave my all to it and I enjoyed living.

When you die what do want to happen to your body?

To be honest I never thought about it I feel that im to young to think about that stuff and plus it is extremely depressing to think about. I feel that I would like to be cremated and kept inside a close family members home.

At your funeral how do you want people feel?

I really don't want people to be crying and all sad what would make me happy even though I'm dead is if people celebrated and had a good time, I know it's weird to say but I feel that people would get over my death easier that way.

Interview with Uncle Dean:

What does death mean to you?

Death is the end of life. It is and inevitable faith something that we will all face sooner or later.

Are you a person who fears death or do you accept it for what it is and just know that one day your time will come.

I really do fear death, what makes me fear death is the fact that I have kids and me dying before I get to see them grow up and graduate from school and get married really torments me. It's something that is deep inside of me it isn't a visible fear you would have to ask me to know the answer.

When you die what do you want people to remember you for?

I want people to remember me for someone that would give their all for their kids, and just a good hearted person.

When you die what do want to happen to your body?

When I die I just want an old fashion funeral and burial nothing fancy very traditional, but I would like to be buried in Jamaica because that is where i was born and that's where I grew up. I feel that is would be the right thing to do deep inside my heart.

At your funeral how do you want people feel?

I feel that is a question I can not answer because every body is different and different people will grieve with my death in their own ways.

Interview with mother:

What does death mean to you?

Death represents the end of a life no matter if it was a short one or long one. I feel that people live lives knowing one day they will die so they use that as motivation to succeed and to get the most done while they can.

Are you a person who fears death or do you accept it for what it is and just know that one day your time will come?

I do fear death put I make sure it doesn’t affect the way I live my life on a day to bases. As I get older I feel that it is something I find my self-thinking about a lot, but I feel that it is only human to do that.

When you die what do you want people to remember you for?

I want to be remembered as a caring mother and great friend and someone loved to live their life to the fullest.

When you die what do want to happen to your body?

I want to have a normal funeral and burial but even though I saying this now I guarantee that it will change later because this has been something I have discussed before with family members and friends and I see my self changing it around depending on the mood im in.

How do you want people to feel at your funeral?

I want people to be sad and morn the fact that I am gone but I don’t want my death to ruin people’s lives I would feel better if people could still live their life’s in peace and happiness even though I am not around.

I feel that doing these interviews really gave me a new perspective on death and how to look at in a very content and peaceful way instead of it being a nightmare to think of. When you are able to see where others that you care for are coming from on a topic that is very sensitive it can really alter your thinking and change what you thought was right or wrong. After doing these two interviews it really made me think of how I would cope with the death of a family member especially my mother, coming into this project I thought it would be a piece of cake to do the interview but it really made me sad and upset thinking about the day my mother would die and how my family would go about conducting the funeral. I feel that I am stronger now because I was actually able to sit and talk to her about such a sad and sensitive topic and get some useful information about how my mother feels about death and what it means to her. This project help me get a deeper understanding of death and the death care industry and with all of the facts and evidenced I have learned I will be able to spread the word and share some of my intelligence.

Hw 54

What I am closest to is Christianity even though I do not read the bible all the time I do have a clear understanding of it and the verses in it. Genesis 1:26-27 is the most powerful and most controversial  verse in the bible, due to the line Lets us make man in Our image, according to Our likeliness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ What is so significant and important about that line is that in the eyes of a Christian and the Christian society god cannot die so by saying lets make man in our image it  like saying lets make man immortal, but if every one dies how is it possible to make man in god's image. While doing this research I reached out to two people my mother and the pastor of the church I attended. When speaking to my mother about that line she said that it is not about making man like god but more about making man in a image of purity and wholesomeness. When I spoke to the pastor I didn't focus on the same question i asked my mother I wanted to know how he felt about the aspect of heaven and hell being a Christian pastor. He basically went into detail about how people can repent for the sins they have done and by doing that you become one with god which makes it more likely for you to go to heaven. When he spike about hell he explained that when someone does something wrong and doesn't ask god for forgiveness they will go to hell. The final question I had for him was what does he mean by doing something wrong, he said sins are always looked at on a major scale, but even if it is something small and you feel wrong about it you should repent for it.

Homework 52

Death is something that is unexpected you never know when it will pop up and affect you or someone you care for. I feel that death is used to signify the end of a person's timeline we use death as a way to get the most of of our lives, by knowing that you are going to die you feel that you have to get so much accomplished before your time to die comes. I feel that the stories touched on so many unexpected deaths that families and friends had no clue that it was going to happen to someone they know or care for. Since there is nothing we can do about death i feel that there's no reason to think about it to let it affect your life in any shape or form. Death is inevitable you can't escape so i feel that by living your life knowing it that it will happen but not worrying or thinking about it you will live a way better life.

Quote: "Lucia and her two daughters were unhappy with jose and blamed him for maria's death. Even the paternal grandfather of the baby said jose was man with pride. Maybe too much."

What this quote shows is how since you cant do anything after a person is dead to bring them back to life or to be in your life anymore people always find away to put the death on someone so they can feel better about  themselves. so they don't have to focus on the death they can put there time and energy to the person they believe was the cause of the death.

Analysis: What it shows is that there is no time on death you never know when it is going to happen, all od the stories touched on that topic that it can happen sooner then you think or later, but at the end of the die you just have to live your life and not focus on that to too much. And since we never know when our time will come we just have to keep living and pray that we can live a life of longevity.

Homework 47

Interviews 1- Felix,17 years old-
Question 1- How do you feel about the care of the dead in the society we live in?
Question 2- How does your family go about the care of the dead when someone passed way in your family?
Question3-Do you think religion has a huge affect on the way a dead body gets taken care of?
Response
Response1- I feel that you have to put them in caskets and bury them in cemeteries.
Response 2- In my family since we are not serious we just follow the procedures of a normal funeral and burial.
Response 3- When it comes to religion it can alter the way the body gets taken care of because certain religions believe that if the body is buried a certain way or taken care of a certain way the person would be better off with their god and have more of a connection with their religion in their afterlife.

Interview 2- Travis,16 years old
Question 1- Do you feel that religion is a cover up used for hope to make people believe that when they die they will actually be brought back to life by their god?
Question 2- Why do you think people spend so much money on funerals?
Question 3- Do you think funerals are set up depict the emotions that you will feel when that person dies?
Response
Response 1- I come from religious back ground and my family believes that when you die your body passes on but your soul lives for ever.
Response 2- The reason people spend so much money on funerals is because they want to show to the people that come to the funeral and family members that they care for this person a lot so by spending thousands of dollars on them even though they dead it's all out of respect.
Response 3- In a funeral the emotions are like a roller coaster you feel sad because the person is gone but at the same time your convincing your self that the person is in a better place so you can feel better then you due.

Interview 3-Jamal,18 years old
Question 1- What does R.I.P mean to you?
Question 2- When you die how do you want to be taken care of ?
Question 3-do you feel that it is necessary to have a expensive funeral when you die?
Response
Response 1- It means Rest in Peace it's self explanatory, you want that person you know that they are in a better place and now they can rest with no worries.
Response 2- I want a regular funeral nothing fancy
Response 3- There is no reason to have an expensive funeral because i'm dead I won't even be able to see  it or enjoy it.