Paper three Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Paper three - Essay Example However, as a means of comforting themselves, mourners frequently purchase silk linings, pillows, mattresses and other ‘comfort’ items that the non-living corpse will never enjoy, appreciate or even notice. These are the last gifts the living can ever bestow upon their loved one and allows the survivors to feel they haven't simply disposed of the body without ceremony or proper human respect. Although there would seem to be comfort in the belief in the body as merely a shell for the spirit, this idea simply does not offer the sort of comfort it should. As Lynch relates in his book, one woman mourning the death of her teenage daughter following a battle with leukemia reacted violently to the suggestion that the body before her was simple a ‘shell’, claiming "that is my daughter until I tell you otherwise" (85). Mourners continue to feel that their loved one is present somehow and families spend thousands of dollars on burial rites which would be unwarranted i f the body was just the shell. The increased mystery and horror associated with the corpse through children’s stories and zombie media outlets continues to suggest some element of the individual remains. As a result, the corpse retains a sense of power all its own, earning legal protections and capable of conveying more truths about the individual than the ‘shell’ theory would acknowledge. Much of the expense families suffer as a part of the funeral process is spent trying to preserve the body for eternity. Funeral homes make tremendous profit by selling mourners on the promise that the body will be preserved forever with embalming or high quality sealed caskets. Aiken (2001) points out families in California regularly pay as much as $5000 for a funeral in spite of much lower priced options opening the field to widespread corruption. Journalist investigations have revealed funeral home practices intentionally designed to inflate expenses while clergy members have openly admitted accepting a ten percent commission from funeral homes for their recommendations paid at a later date (Winner, 1999). Despite the promises, the only way to prevent the body from dissolving is to cremate the remains, both the cheaper of the available options and the one which automatically eliminates any hope of preserving the body as it was when living. In so many ways, modern society has continued to distance itself from death in ways that take some of the significance out of the event and make instead a frightening mystery. â€Å"Before the turn of the century, Americans may have been more in touch with death and as a result less fearful of the corpse. Farm accidents and childbirth complications caused many deaths in a more agrarian and pre-medically advanced society. Traditionally, Americans used to keep the deceased in their homes until everyone had a chance to view a body† (Emerick 43). By personally preparing the body for display in the front room and ho lding visitation within the home itself, people were more comfortable working with and around a corpse. As a result of this closer association with the dead body, they were also more comfortable with the related concepts of death and dealing with what was left behind. Children, witnessing these events, grew up without the same sorts of aversions to the dead that children today