Didion And Grief

Death is not so light a concept as to glance off of those it does not take. Oftentimes, when death claims someone close to you, it seems easy to fall into a lethargic pit of despair, contenting oneself only to dwell on the morose incontrollable nature of the universe. I know I felt this way, especially with the guilt laid upon me with the death of my brother. I do not claim to know anyone else’s grief, or to know the best way for anyone to deal with the loss of such a beloved girl. I do know, however, that “when you lose something you love, faith takes over” (Tan 2166). It is in these darkest of times that the light of strong faith shines through, comforting those left in the wake of tragedy. I believe that faith, no matter how hidden or denied, can usher even the most bereaved into a better state.

Is the thought of grievance or loss dawning on you? In "The Lovely Bones," by Alice Sebold, tells the story of a, 14 year old, teenage girl, Susie Salmon, who was raped and murdered by her neighbor, Mr. Harvey. Susie watches from heaven as the Salmon family mourns her death. The Salmon family has a difficult time dealing with Susie's disappearance. However, Susie tries to help her family to move on, but unfortunately, things begin falling apart and Susie's family undergoes different stages of grief. I the novel The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold shows the toll grief can take on people through the use of mood.

“Grief is life the ocean, it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn how to swim.” - Vicki Harrison. When it comes to losing a family member or friend, people tend to cope with it in many different ways. In As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner is about the Bundren family as they go on a trip to bury their mother in the wake of her death. As they are on their journey they face several challenges and as well as their own emotions as they cope with their mother’s death. The Bundren family each come to terms with their mother’s death in very different ways as seen in Cash, Darl, and Anse.

Magical thinking is the anthropological idea that if one performs the right actions, or hopes enough for something, their desired outcome will happen. The concept of “magical thinking” is one of the central ideas discussed in Joan Didion’s memoir The Year of Magical Thinking. This memoir explores the grief experienced by the author after losing her husband of nearly forty years. In no way does Didion try to approach death poetically, but rather honestly and practically. She bravely discusses the universal, yet rarely talked about, aspects of death, such as self pity, regret, isolation, secretly going crazy, and the phenomenon she describes as “magical thinking.” In this personal account, Didion shares with us the darkest year of her life, and dares to tell the truth about it.

Life is something that requires a significant amount of physical and mental effort. Some are deeply fortunate to have everything arranged for them and not have a single worry. For others, life is full of stress and hardships. It all just depends on how one was raised and brought into this world. Out of the Rick Bragg articles, the characters went through grief and heartache, government involvement, and the absence of life’s given moments.

Lion, directed by Garth Davis, is a compelling interpretation of a remarkable true story of Saroo Brierley, lost as a child and reunited with his family 25 years later. Throughout Davis explores the unique circumstances under which Saroo is separated and reconnected with his family and his journey along the way. At some points of the film, I was confronted by how Saroo, a five-year-old boy, expertely navigates, with great instinct and genuine innocence, through an extended, yet life threatening ride. To put it in other words, Lion is a journey that grabs you entirely; whether you want it or not, and you are involved in each and every scene.

Greif. a strongly topic, but seriously mentioned. Nevertheless, after I read Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, I used to be instantly drawn by the unique approach delivered to my attention relating to death. whereas the subject of death is typically related to either sympathy or horror, Edgar Allan Poe succeeded in depiction a sense caught between the two; and at identical time transferring fresh feelings i'd never thought to think about relating to death. These feelings copy changes a throw so deep it morphs into a psychological craziness, a feeling that the pain death brings has destroyed someone forever. When analyzing this poem I came to the conclusion that Allan Poe’s “The Raven” reveals that the sorrow the death of a dear brings can stick with you forever. An abstract phrase abiding throughout the literary work is that the word ‘nevermore’ mixed with completely different phrases counting on every text. This word

There are multiple stages of grief and healing.The stages have no order, so one person may not be at the same stage as another when dealing with the same situation. The same thing applies to the stages of healing. In the novel “Ordinary People” by Judith Guest, the Jarrett family, Conrad, Calvin, and Beth are all in different stages of grief due to the loss of Buck and other reasons varying from character to character.The two main characters Conrad and Calvin move from stages of grief to stages of healing by recognizing why their grieving. They move forward where as Beth does not. Conrad and Calvin move towards healing as they recognize the the reason why they’re grieving, by finding counsel that helps them to let go of grief and to find themselves,

This week we read and discussed The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. This book is an in depth novel about a human being experiencing grief. So far, we have read books about institutions and cultures of death. However, this is the first book we have read that is a personal experience. The discussion in class about this book was a different feeling than the rest of the books we have discussed. The discussion was more emotional, as we were all moved by her writing. Didion’s style of writing resembles that of a normal thought process. She is not writing rationally, she writes about her irrational actions and thoughts. She describes herself as “demented” during her first stages of grieving (Didion 125). The way she describes John’s, her husband, death is as if she lost part of her soul when she lost him. This is understandable because they were together for over forty years. Both John and Joan were writers, which allowed them to spend ample amounts of time together. She remembers their fighting, routines, quirks, and she recounts them all in this moving book.

Andre’s Mother by Terrence McNally discusses some deep topics using an issue prevalent in modern society. The play takes place at the funeral of Andre, a gay man who died of AIDS. Readers see how different characters react to his death, from his lover to his mother. The funeral itself and the fact that Andre was gay present two major themes that are distinct but also connected. These themes are shown through the interactions between characters and the use of symbols. These aspects of the play work together to explore ideas related both to grief and acceptance.

They say that grief comes in five distinct stages; denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. In contrast, it’s often said that everyone handles grief differently. How can these two concepts of loss not only coexist, but be widely accepted? Maybe it’s time we shift our focus to the latter. In the wake of loss, the last thing anybody should be feeling is judged by the ways they handle said loss. Yes, the stages of grief do present a general outline of how it’s handled, but it also marginalizes how a person is expected to react, when in reality, nobody can predict their response when they suddenly find the hands of grief gripped tightly around their throats. In the short story “From Ashes”, author Zachary Foster concludes his life-writing

She talks about how self pity is a natural part of the human experience of grieving, and she convinces the reader of this too. She shows the reader that this is how she copes. As a reader, or at least for me, I understand and appreciate this. This book is kind of a downer, and it can be rather technical at times, but it remains a page turner because of the great flow and smooth stories. Also, the technicality of this piece rings true to the person that you learn Didion is. In her memoire she writes “Information is control”, which is a direct example of the ways in which Didion copes. She copes by learning everything that she can about the subject in order to limit surprises, and then she achieves the control that someone like her

To be able to know how to deal with the losses that are discussed in the following chapters, it is important to have a clearer understanding of loss and grief and how to cope with grief following

After a death or loss of something close, people usually react similarly by going through the five stages of grief. These stages include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. During a death of my Great Aunt, my family went through the stages of grief. I was close with her when I was younger, but I do not have many memories I remember with her so I did not experience much grief. On the other hand, my Great Uncle went through a lot of grief since she was his older sister.

We as humans have all experienced a feeling of grief at one point in our lives. It comes most commonly when we lose a loved one we have loved very dearly. The feeling of grief may make people feel as if their world is falling apart around them, and they are spiraling out of control. However, this is all a normal reaction when people are grieving. That just leaves one question, why, and how do we cope with this feeling? To have this feeling shows the people are normal and that we as humans are able to show how we feel. Grieving is very important when you lose a loved one because it helps people get over the feeling of being empty, and it also helps people move on from the sadness that they are feeling.