HW 50 - First Third of Care-of-the-Dead Book Post

Tom Jokinen author of Curtains is taking on the life an undertaker after living a typical American life. This life was strange and mind blowing but eventually he knew he had to get use to it just like everyone else. He explores the way’s of funerals as well as cremation. There is more to the inside life of an undertaker then one believes there is. Jokinen explains that death and care of dead has become more of an business then anything else.

“We in the funeral service cover the gap. People pay us to keep to ourselves what goes on in there.”(5)

“Fine, I say. But your still putting the body, the emblamed body, into a steel casket, with a rubber gasket in a cathodic bar to keep away rust, and then the works go into a vault. hat are we exatly protecting.”(40)

“I look into the open grave, at the dirt on the lid and the sheaf and dried weat, and I think of what Neil said; The funeral home work very much like the family farm”(73)

When first reading the book; Curtains I was interested in what the life an undertaker would be like and was surprised to hear the real life an undertaker. I was able to visualize the shocking life an undertaker. I enjoyed reading the first section of the book because of the way it was written. It was advantage that the book was written in a way were i felt like I was being told a personal story not just a bunch of facts and historical dates were thrown at me. Even though it was only the first section of the book some of my questions on the care of dead have already been answered, such as; How are bodies treated before we get to see them laying in a casket before a funeral? I am anxious to read the next two sections of the book to further my understanding on the care of the dead.

HW 48 - Family Perspectives on the Care of the Dead

Death is something I am still very confused and curious about, due to this I decided to interview two older members of my family. During both interviews I asked questions such as; Do you have plans for when you die?, How do you feel about death?, etc... The lost of the person who is being interviewed grandmother had a big impact on her. She felt as if it was not her time to go, because of this she was sad but ultimately frustrated and upset. The dominant social practices for the care of the dead are usually funerals and burials. During my first Interview I found it interesting that that the person I decided to interview said; “funerals are overrated and people shouldn’t mourn as much as they do” She agreed that there should be funerals but they should not be take up so much of the mourning process. This lead me to another interesting question; Why do most people tend to mourn for a large period of time if majority of those people try there hardest to not think about death as well as avoid it? 

The second interview included my Father and I who is 38 years old. I asked him similar questions to the questions that were included in the first interview. In this interview my father believed that funerals were very significant because mourning is a huge part of the care of the dead. Mourning is significant because mourning helps one get passed the pain that the experienced because of the death. The most fascinating part of this interview was when i asked him; Do you have plans for when you die? He answered; “everything is already planned” this was very interesting to me because at an early age such as 38 years old someone can already have plans on dying. This lead me to the conclusion that people avoid and prolong death as much as they can but everyone knows their expiration date will come sooner then they know it.

HW 47 - Peer Perspectives on the Care of the Dead

Death has always been something I’ve been curious but also confused about. To get a better understanding of death and how society views it I choose to interview a few of my peers. The first person I decided to interview was a close friend who is also 17 but has a completely different religious background. One of the questions I decided to ask him was; “What are your first thoughts when hear the word; death?” He responded; “Funerals and a lot of people who act like they care” I asked him can he elaborate on “a lot of people who act like they care” He said ; “People cry and whine about the death of someone who they hardly or didn't show any affection or love to them when they were alive.” This was very interesting to me because it connects to one of the questions i posted in homework #46; Why do people get more respect and recognition when they are dead? This was also interesting to me because from personal experience, I have witnessed the same thing. Due to his response to my question I will defiantly want to do more research on why people get more respect and recognition when they are dead. I also asked him; “How significant is the care of the body after life?” Due to his beliefs he answered “I don't think it is as important as people think it is because no one will ever know what “the afterlife” is so why put so much effort into burials and funerals.”

The next person I decided to interview was an individual at my internship. He was only a few years older then me but had similar beliefs. I asked him; Which method would you prefer for your body when you pass away? He stated that; “I will like to be cremated because I want to always be with my loved ones I don’t want them going out there way to the cemetery to go talk to a tombstone.” This was fascinating to me because most people want to be buried but he was so confident about what he wanted to do. This lead me to the question; “How significant do you think a “will” is?” He told me; It is extremely important because you no longer have control when you are dead. I am not only living for my self but for my potential family.” He is referring to the his girlfriend and the baby he is about to have with her in a couple of months. I found this response very interesting because it shows how important one person is to other people’s lives. 

My final interview included another friend of mine who also had similar beliefs on the care of the dead. I asked her; “How do you feel about death and how do you feel about the way people are treated after they die” She answered; “ I don't want to die, who does? When it’s my time to go its my time to go.” This was an answer I was planning on getting from someone who also follows the same religion. Throughout my years I’ve noticed that most Catholic and Christian people put there lives in the hands of God and feel that God has a plan for everyone. The following question I asked her was; “How do you feel and act at funerals” She quickly responded; I hate them because I always cry even if I don't know the person well.” I was confused about the last part of her answer so I asked her; why do you always cry? I got a very interesting response; It feels like the right thing to do, everyone is suppose to be sad and mourning.” This was extremely interesting to me because it shows the standards society sets on the care of people after they die. 

After I ended the interview I could not stop thinking about the answer she gave me. I was confused about how people fake their feelings just because they feel “it’s the right thing to do” I found it very interesting that the first person I interviewed didn’t care much about funerals and after life because those are aspects majority of our society feel’s is very significant. From all three of these interviews I learned about how important people’s lives are to others and they also helped me gather and create new critical questions for the unit.

Hw#46: Care of the dead

Death is one thing that majority of us try to avoid but death is one of the few things that is promised. We all try to define and give our opinions on what death is but the true is no one will ever be able to clearly and accurately define the process. This is why I find death so fascinating. There is a substantial amount of questions about death but majority of those questions people can’t answer accurately.

Society teaches people to honor and acknowledge people more when they are dead. I was taught to never talk bad about a dead person and show respect for the dead. The passing of my great-grandmother was like someone sticking a dagger through my family’s heart. The matriarch of our family is now gone, what were we going to do without her? The day of her funeral there were such a massive amount of people there I was overwhelmed. This lead me to the question; why is it that people are respected and acknowledged more when they are dead?

After life is a significant part of our culture and is a significant part of every religion. Different religions have different ways of honoring someone after they are no longer alive. Some ways to honor or show respect to the dead are to have funerals and bury the dead body. Even though religions might have different views of what they should do with the body after the person is dead each religion believes that this body is sacred and holy. Why do people believe that the afterlife is extremely sacred if no one can clearly explain or express what the afterlife really is since they personally didn’t experience it nor know anyone who experienced it?

Hw# 44: Comments

Chris: I enjoyed reading your post. The main point of your post was the difference between home births and hospital births. I valued the part of your post when you asked the question; How was it when you had hospital birth? I valued this because the clear and the amount of depth that was used to answer it. This gave a clear understanding on why woman choose home births. This project matters to me because both hospital births and home births are important to the baby’s health. Which choice is actually the best choice?

I overall thought your post was good but there is a way you might be able to make it better. If you get different point of views besides one point of view you and your readers would have more evidence behind your theory.

Luz: The main point of your post was that baby’s are more significant to our lives then we think they are. They help people understand that the important thing in life is not be selfish and babies help show us that. I valued the pictures you posted, I did because it helped readers get a better understand of what you were talking about. They did because it would help the readers get a personal connection to the post. This project matters to me because people fail to see how important babies are. This post would help remind people why they are extremely significant.

Your post was good but I believe it could have been even better. To make it better would maybe to get other people’s point of view about your topic. By doing this readers get better understand your topic.

Rigel: Rigel your post was great and I enjoyed reading it. It was unique that you talked about the effects of single woman who have to raise their children alone. I thought the section you stated that men lack responsibility today. This is a topic I think you should touch up on in the future. This project is extremely important to me. It is because single mothers do not get as much recognition as they deserve. The baby process with two loving parents is hard enough, I could only imagine the amount of work single mother’s have.

Once again, Rigel I enjoyed reading your post but i think you can touch up on some things. Maybe in the future you would like to have more point of views from single mothers. By doing this people would see why single mothers are not recognized as much as they should be.

Hw# 42 Pregnancy Project

Abortions have been more then usual in our country for 30+ years now due to the Roe Vs Wade case in 1973. According to abortionno.org; 52% of woman obtaining abortion in the U.S are under 25. This statistics influenced me to Interview a Woman who acquired an abortion, specifically a woman who is 25 or younger. The Female being interviewed requested to remain anonymous but she didn't mind me posting the questions and answers from the interview. Here they are;

Question #1:

How old where you when you acquired an abortion?

Answer: 17 years old

Question #2: What was your first reaction and first feelings when you first found out you were pregnant? 

Answer: I was afraid & nervous but also happy. I wanted to keep the baby but that did not last long. I could picture my father’s face and from there on i was upset because the only possiblity was to have an abortion.

Question 3: Did you have support from others or did you decide to take this situation on alone, if so, why?

Answer: My sister & the father of the baby were supportive but my parents did not know. The father wanted me to keep the baby but i had to make the mature and best decision.

Question 4: Was abortion the first alternative and/or the only alternative you thought about?

Answer: I thought about having it at first but that quickly turned into me getting an abortion. I couldn't imagine going through the pregnancy process then having to give my baby up for adoption. Also I was to young and immature to keep it.

Question #5: What was your opinion on abortion before you acquired one?

Answer: I was never against abortion, I feel that every woman should have a choice. This was weird because it goes against my religion of being Catholic.

Question #6: Why did you choose to get an abortion?

Answer: It was going to affect not only my life but the people around me, also the child. It would have been a disgrace if I had a child at 17.

Question #7 What were the after affects of the abortion, physically and emotionally?

Answer: The abortion was very painful, I felt like I had heavy cramps for a couple of days. I felt an emptiness because I felt a disconnect from my self. I began to question my self & I never forgave my self. I will never have another abortion again.

This interview went similar to how I predicted it was going to go. The female being interviewed followed the social norms that it was disgraceful to have a child at such a young age. Also that she had the abortion because she felt immature and unprepared to have a child. It was interesting to hear that she “never forgave herself”. It made me come to the conclusion that people believe they are doing the right thing until after that “thing” is done and nothing can be changed. She felt that she made a mistake and learned from the experience. Before this interview I believed that mother’s usually only worry about what was best for them. Such as the things this statistic shows;  “Thirty-eight percent indicated that having a baby

would interfere with their education, and the same proportion

said it would interfere with their employment. In

a related vein, 34% said they could not afford a child because

they were students or were planning to study” ( guttmacher.org ) After this interview I discovered something I did not think much about before. Becoming a mother means they wont be able to live their lives putting themselves before everyone, now there was a smaller individual who was number one in their life. Being that this was the case; what ever was going to affect the mother/woman was also going to have a significant impact on the child. The females are looking out for their best interest but as a mother they are also looking out for their baby’s interest. The baby is completely dependent on the mother so what ever affects her also effects the child. It can affect the environment the child is raised in, the education the child receives, finical problems the child will have, etc.. The next time someone thinks about abortion just keep in mind that the woman isn't being selfish. The woman is being mature enough to understand that if she has this child every issue she has will therefore by her child's issue as well.

"Abortion Statistics - Pregnant Teen Help." Pregnant Teen Help - Teen Pregnancy Statistics, Prevention, and Facts. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. <http://www.pregnantteenhelp.org/options/abortion-statistics/>.

"Guttmacher Institute: Publications." Guttmacher Institute: Journals 3711005. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. <http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/>.

HW# 41: Research(NYC Abortion)

Statistical evidence of the amount of woman who have abortions in NYC categorized but age: http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/vital_statistics/2008/table22.htm

Private and safe abortion clinic:  http://www.NYAbortion.com/home/index.shtml

Parental involvement teenage abortions: http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_PIMA.pdf

State facts(NY) of abortion and how the people have been affected by abortion: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/sfaa/new_york.html

Non surgical abortion(Pill): http://www.abortion-nyc.com/abortionclinic/nonsurgicalabortion.htm

Prices and how to get “abortion pill” in NYC: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/abortion/abortion-pill-medication-abortion-4354.asp

Most woman see pregnancy as a happy and a life changing experience but there are some woman who see pregnancy as a burden. For the woman who see pregnancy as a burden usually turn to the option of abortion. Abortion is an alternative to having a baby. Some people see abortion as murder because you are killing a child even though it has never witnessed the world, this is why abortion is very significant in our society.

The information I researched could be huge help to a project pertaining to the birth unit we are in. I am personally against abortions in most cases. Since I am, the research about the statistics of woman who get abortion and why they do can help me better understand why abortions are so ordinary. Also how other people feel about abortions, especially teenage parents who usually have a substantial say in their child's pregnancy. Learning about the pros and cons of abortions and the different ways to have abortions. Ultimately by doing this research I can be more knowledgeable then the average person when it comes to abortion.