Interview summaries:
Mike S:
This was the first interview I conducted and I wasn’t sure exactly what to ask, so at first I just told him to tell me the first ideas that come into his head when I said, “Care of the dead.” The first thing that came into his head: you have to care for the dead to honor their life. Which was surprising to me because the phrasing was, “you HAVE to”, so I asked why it is required or something you should do, rather something you can do. He said it was disrespecting the person and their life if you don’t care for them. Which led me to ask: If they were dead why would it matter to them how they’re cared for? He had two answers, that caring for the dead with a funeral is also honoring their life, and that their life is over but their afterlife is just starting and they would be happier if they were honored properly. These answers aggravated me because I don’t agree with any of them. I asked him what he thought about the afterlife. He said he was Lutheran and believed someone either goes to heaven or hell. I didn’t know where to go from here so the interview basically died.
Danny D:
Danny is atheist so I thought that this interview would go in a totally different direction. I started by also asking him what his first thought was when I said “The care of the dead.” He said how you care for the dead isn’t that important, it’s how you present their life that matters. They’re dead, but you don’t want to remember them as they are dead, but as they were when they were alive. Which led me to ask, so how do you feel about funerals that can cost over $10,000? According to him, these funerals are unnecessary. The person is dead so they won’t know how they’re body was treated. Just have a memorial or something. After this the conversation basically continued this way with the main point: caring for the dead is about celebrating the persons life.
Jake L:
This interview basically was a mix of both of the first two. He said that in some ways it makes sense to care for the dead deeply and it doesn’t matter the cost because people are more important then cost. But he also said that should only be done if the person wants that. If the person doesn’t really care then you shouldn’t do more then the minimum. He agreed that you should always try to honor and celebrate the persons life.
My Thoughts:
I agreed with Danny the most. It shouldn't have to be a big ordeal that costs a lot of money. If the person is dead, it shouldn't matter that much. I think that there should be memorials for people, but the body physically isn't as important. I think that most of the interviews were just bubbles, because this isn't something people really think about until it happens. Some of the things they said I totally agreed with, and others I found to be totally wrong.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteTo start i think that you had some great ideas. I really like the ideas that you present about funerals being about celebrating a person's life and that it isn't always necessary to spend an absurd amount of money on someone's funeral. I also agree with you that having a funeral for them so they have a proper start to their afterlife is not a sufficient reason for an extravagant funeral. I think that if you expanded on these ideas then you would have a really great blog post. Why do you disagree with Mike, and why did his ideas make you mad? What influences do your religious beliefs play in your opinions? I think that if you went in depth in the "My Thoughts" section, then maybe we (the readers) would understand where your stronger opinions were coming from. Other then that though i think you had some great ideas. Good job.
Sam
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteYou talked to three peers about the care of the dead and summarized their answers.
Danny had a slightly different opinion to what we usually come across. To me, it seems almost wrong to say it doesn't matter what happens to a dead person's body. His opinion was very interesting and could be quite controversial.
I have to disagree with your thought in the last paragraph; I think the body physically is quite important- you might get a different experience when standing over a grave knowing that you are actually close to the body of the person (or its ashes/remains), than when you are simply looking at a gravestone.
My suggestion would be to, at least briefly, plan what questions you are going to ask, or maybe think out in which direction you would like to steer your discussion when interviewing.
Overall, you included some good thoughts and quotes.
Thanks for your interviews,
Martyna
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteYou had a good mix of interviewees. Your interviews helped prove my point about religion/beliefs and how they shape how one approaches care of the dead. I personally did not agree with everything that was said. For example when Danny stated: “The person is dead so they won’t know how they’re body was treated.” I believe that the way a body is treated has a lot to do with their afterlife. It should be treated with care and respect and have a proper disposal which would be a burial (this is my own opinion based on my faith). I am not saying that one should spend 10,000 dollars on a funeral, but I think it’s the thought that counts. You wouldn’t want to do physical damage to the body such as kicking it or jumping up and down on it; it just wouldn’t seem right. That is why I disagree with Danny when he stated that the dead person won’t be affected by how his/her body is treated afterwards. I think this thought of his has a lot to do with him being an atheist; since he doesn’t have certain beliefs he doesn’t really have anything to believe in. He seems to go along with whatever he wants to follow. Thanks for sharing your interviews and your thoughts.
Amber M.
In all your posts you have similar writing styles and structures. Sometimes it works well for you, but I don't think that this is one of those times. This Homework was very choppy. You did not let the post flow well as you do sometimes. Next time work to simplify and smooth things out.
ReplyDeleteThe best insight that you had in this post was where you discussed how the care of the dead should be to honor their life, and not be so focused on the body itself. I agree with this, because the fact is that the person is dead, and that's that. The person isn't going to whine whether they are cremated or buried.
This was not one of your better posts though. Take your time while writing. Edit, re-read, make your posts flow.
The content of this post could have been stronger, the analysis, or "my thoughts" section was lacking that deep insight that could have made it from good to great. It was also hard to follow and keep up with. Like your Dad said above, simplify. It will make it sound much better.
ReplyDeleteI think that the best insight from this post was the connection you made between religion and caring for the dead. I know every religion, as well as every culture has a different way of caring for the dead. It's good that you recognize that, and now you should build of it to strengthen ideas and create deep insights. This one was good, but you should use it to make your next one great.