Death In Our Culture Analysis

I will be sociologically analyzing death as a cultural phenomenon, stage of the life course, and personal experience. The first day in SOCY 4131, we talked about death. In a “Life Course” class, one my be surprised death is brought up so early. The ironic thing about the life course is that living with a “good” death in mind usually reflects a good life. I will further explain what this means throughout the essay. Elizabeth Hutchen, in Dimensions of Human Behavior, states that, “Most biological systems reach their peak performance in the mid-20s” (336). Lets say the average American’s life span lasts untill about 80. This means that we spend 2/3 of our life “biologically declining”. To not incorporate death into our lives would be ignoring …show more content…
It is hushed, hidden, and rather taboo. I have seen people get offended when death was brought up in conversation because it is “not polite”. I think hiding death is what makes our so society so afraid of it. I am sure there are other factors, but I distinctly remember as a young child coming to terms with death and accepting it. My parents were freaked out that I talked about it frequently and freely. Today, I am much more wary of the subject, perhaps because of the socialized “inappropriateness” around the topic. Socially, the conversation of death is closeted in hopes that not talking about it will prevent it. To facilitate a good death/life for myself, for others in this society, and globally, getting over the denial of death and accepting it is the first part. We must acknowledge that death is a part of life for all people and all age groups. After those important steps, education, health, equal-opportunities, awareness, self reflection, and very importantly preparation, all equate to a good life and death. As far as preparation goes, “practitioners concur that adopting the two- pronged strategy of formal and informal planning is more effective than using formal practices only”(s136) Taking into account the person’s needs and available resources makes planning much more effective and doable. “Practitioners should not adopt a one-size-fits-all approach to end-of-life planning but should …show more content…
We can only prepare so much for something seemingly out of our control. Having access and learning proper coping mechanisms is crucial for mourning other’s deaths and preparing for our own. Incorporating information from the Self and Consciousness class, Inge Bell and Bernard McGrane discuss how we are completely creatures of our culture. How we view and place meaning on death is entirely a social construct. The exercises in “Adventures in Desocialization”, can promote a new perspective for how society approaches the concept of death, and “… begin to free themselves of conditioning…[which will] introduce you to new ways of observing the world and yourself” (493 Bell). A new attitude on death can make all the difference in how we approach our life. New social constructs around death, that will undoubtedly seep into other facets in our society, can improve death as a social act, a social issue, a life event, and a life task. We can learn to understand death as it is, rather than what we want it to

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