Response

A Reflection on Death

Everyone deals with death at some point in their life. Different people deal with death in different way. Most people today deal with death by relying on their faith. Many people in the past dealt with death by considering it honorable. I deal with death by reminding myself that my loved one isn’t suffering anymore.

            People who rely on faith to deal with death hold funerals for their loved ones. At least with Christians there is a viewing so people in their loved one’s life can say their farewells. They go to church, pray, and make offerings to God hoping to allow their loved one safe passage into Heaven. They bury their loved one’s remains on consecrated ground, or cremate their loved one’s remains and scatter the ashes.

            Many people in the past dealt with death by considering it honorable. Probably the most famous example is the Samurai. A lord could ask one of his samurai to take his own life for any reason, and the samurai would comply to keep his honor. The Romans were very similar in their opinions on death and honor. The oldest male in a Roman family had the same power over his family that a lord had over his samurai. He could ask a family member who had dishonored their family to take their own life, and they would comply to keep the family’s honor intact. Other people considered death honorable, but only in battle. If a Spartan male died in battle, or a Spartan female died in childbirth a special funeral was held in their honor. Anglo-Saxons believed they would be guaranteed passage into Valhalla if they died in battle.

            I deal with death by reminding myself that my loved one isn’t suffering anymore. My maternal grandfather suffered from something called Evan’s Disorder. A disorder that causes the body to attack its own blood cells. The smallest cuts would cause him to bleed profusely because he had a low platelet count. He was always at risk of infection because of his low number of white blood cells. Towards the end of his life he was going to the hospital four times a week for blood transfusions because he had low red blood cells. By the end of his life he was in extreme pain, and when he died I was relieved because he wasn’t suffering anymore.

My paternal grandmother who died recently suffered from Alzheimer’s which needs no explanation. Her symptoms showed up slowly, and at first we thought it only the memory loss that comes with old age. Then began the constant questions, “When’s supper?” or “I sold my house?” or even “Where did the little boy go?” there never was one. It progressed so far that she would walk out of the house when you weren’t looking, and end up in the street. Eventually she stopped eating, and maybe she forgot she had to eat or maybe she simply gave up. She died soon after that. As with my grandfather I felt relieved because she wasn’t suffering anymore.

How I deal with death would probably change if one of my loved ones dies at a young age. I can’t begin to understand how it feels to have a loved one’s life cut short. Too many people die at a young age. Every time you turn on the news you hear about a young person dying from a car accident, gun violence, or a drug overdose. None of those deaths are a relief, and none of the dead were suffering.

 

Different people deal with death in different ways. The way people deal with death depends on your experiences with it. In the past when war was constant people became accustomed to death, and tried to find a positive part of death. My only experience with death was the death of a grandparent, and their death was a relief because they were sick and suffering. People who’ve had loved ones die at a young age probably think of death as a tragedy, and probably rely on their faith more and grieve more to get past it.