Introduction
The focus of this paper is to analyze Wolterstorff’s reproach in Lament for a Son; which is a true life story of a personal reflection of a father’s grief over his twenty-five year old son during a mountain climbing accident. His son’s life was suddenly cut off at a very tender age. It will also reveal Wolterstorff’s worldview concerning grief, the paradox of death, it’s indignation and fear, his spirituality and how he systematically outlived Kubler-Ross’s philosophy on death. He went through the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, before finally accepting the fact that his son is with the heavenly angels.
Wolterstorff Reflection in Relation to Kubler-Ross’s Five Stages of Grief Oh death where is thy sting. According to Jo 7: 9-10, it states that “as a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave does not return, He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more” (NIV Job 7: 9-10). Death is eternal and it is the reality of life. Life is inevitable, everybody will die but at different times. Grief at the same time is personal and has no time limit. Our perception of death has a lot to do with our worldview and our faith could be tested at any time regarding any situation.
Denial
Denial is the fact of …show more content…
It did not console me for Eric’s absence instead it sank deep into me the realization that my son’s death is not all there is” (Wolterstorff, 1994, p.38). At the point of acceptance, he stated that he was not anymore baffled and hurt because what happened to him is universal. For example, according to Cornell (2014), it referenced “Gregory Orr (2004), was twelve when he shot his brother. His father carried his dead son’s body back to the house…..” (Cornell, 2014, p.305). This is an example of universality as stated