Sociology 310: Death and Dying - Second Meeting

[drgrissom.livejournal.com]

Welcome to class. Please have a seat and I will begin your first lecture.

Lecture Notes (Topics covered include a basic definition of death, the physiology of death, some basic terms.)

As many of you have stated you have previous experience with death, I'd like to discuss the stages of grieving in class.

1. Denial and Isolation
2. Anger, Rage, Envy, and Resentment
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

Please share your thoughts, if you believe these are in the correct order, if any steps have been missed, or if one or more does not belong. Also, feel free to color your thoughts with personal examples as much as you'd like to share, and debate how different circumstances can change this system.

Assignment for Next Class: Read Emile Zola's short story - Death of Olivier Becaille (Scroll down) You will be given as essay topic from it in your next class to complete before you leave.

Comments

[marieann-d.livejournal.com]

Rogue looks down at her gloved hands. "I think that some people never make it past the second stage. They never move from being angry at God, themselves, the dead, and it ruins their entire lives."

She looks up, her expression one of someone who has seen too much, one of great age. "I think the main circumstance that affects this is previous experiences. If one's life has been nothing but a series of painful experiences, then one cannot really move past the anger, because there is no expectation it will get better." She pauses. "I know this, because it's happened to someone very close to me." She gives an ironic grin, that holds absolutely no humor. "Someone very close."

[drgrissom.livejournal.com]

Grissom gives Rogue a soft, reassuring smile. "I have seen the same reaction, myself. Previous life experience colors our perspectives on everything, including our reactions to life and death. But do you believe that person who is unable to complete the stages of grieving can ever function normally in society again?"

[marieann-d.livejournal.com]

Rogue thinks. "No, in my experience, those people cannot every really rejoin society. I mean, they can to an extent, but it's all an act. People who aren't finished grieving aren't over the event that took away their loved one, and they just can't move on."