In the book, Stiff, Mary Roach ventures to convince the audience of the idea that using cadavers, or dead people, is effective in progressing research in a number of career fields. Through creating a conversation about advancements in forensics and medicine, she argues that donating one’s body to science after death is advanced and necessary. Even though Roach discusses other fields that cadavers positively affect, she mainly bases her assumptions off of chapter three. In chapter three, “Life After Death”, Roach describes the process of human decomposition. In this chapter, Roach employs first and second-hand experiences backed by humor to effectively argue why human cadavers are essential to medical research about bodily functions and processes.
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She explains her research about cremation from books written by Professor W.E.D. Evans from the University of London to gain credibility. She quotes a passage of his book, The Chemistry of Death, that explains the stages of the body burning during cremation. It States, “the skin and hair at once scorch...the abdominal contents burn slowly”. Because the professor had personally witnessed a body being cremated and specialized in that field of Morbid Anatomy, Roach is convincing in suggesting that the source should be highly trusted. Evans continues to state “the brain is especially resistant to complete combustion…[it] has been seen as a dark mass with a sticky consistency.” He is proving through this that he and other researchers have noticed an oddity in how the body burns. Roach states that without cadavers that allow researchers to study how the body decomposes while burning, investigators would never be able to tell how burn victims die. Roach builds up the credibility of her claim by quoting a trusted source that has first hand experience, and creates an effective argument for human cadaver donation.
Roach employs humor to ease the morbid conversation about human decomposition. She has a constant method for comedic relief: her media relation director, Ron Walli, accompanied her to the field research facility. Walli isn’t acquainted with viewing dead bodies or researching them as he is only there to coordinate his clients’ relationships with different media outlets. As Walli views the fragrant and decomposing bodies dreadfully and Roach mocks him by saying that he “has
She explains her research about cremation from books written by Professor W.E.D. Evans from the University of London to gain credibility. She quotes a passage of his book, The Chemistry of Death, that explains the stages of the body burning during cremation. It States, “the skin and hair at once scorch...the abdominal contents burn slowly”. Because the professor had personally witnessed a body being cremated and specialized in that field of Morbid Anatomy, Roach is convincing in suggesting that the source should be highly trusted. Evans continues to state “the brain is especially resistant to complete combustion…[it] has been seen as a dark mass with a sticky consistency.” He is proving through this that he and other researchers have noticed an oddity in how the body burns. Roach states that without cadavers that allow researchers to study how the body decomposes while burning, investigators would never be able to tell how burn victims die. Roach builds up the credibility of her claim by quoting a trusted source that has first hand experience, and creates an effective argument for human cadaver donation.
Roach employs humor to ease the morbid conversation about human decomposition. She has a constant method for comedic relief: her media relation director, Ron Walli, accompanied her to the field research facility. Walli isn’t acquainted with viewing dead bodies or researching them as he is only there to coordinate his clients’ relationships with different media outlets. As Walli views the fragrant and decomposing bodies dreadfully and Roach mocks him by saying that he “has