A Happy Death

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, "Suicide is the second leading cause of death for adolescents 15 to 19 years old." (AAP) Tragically, my best friend, Caleb Thompson, was one of those statistics. Growing up, he seemed to be well-adjusted and even happy. His depression seemed to strike during his junior year of high school because he was being bullied. Caleb tried to get away from the bullies by switching high schools; however, the bullying continued at his new high school. As his…

The poem “Death, Be Not Proud”, by John Donne, is a Petrarchan sonnet, which is divided to an octave (the first eight lines) and a sestet (the last six lines). In the octave we are exposed to the speaker who seems to be a simple man who does not like Death (maybe from a personal experience, but we cannot know for sure), and probably religious. We can assume he is religious by the belief of “soul’s delivery” (8) and eternal life after death, as stated in line 13. The speaker addresses Death, and…

asked people how they were and made sure they were happy. “Are you happy? She said ”(7). Montag would tell Millie about the girl he'd met and how she was a good, different person. Millie was just like all of the society who was clueless and did what the…

they normally wouldn’t do. A loved one’s death can significantly affect a person’s mental health, leading to mental and emotional instability. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character, Holden, still struggles with mental instability as a result of the loss of his younger brother. He wanders around the streets of New York trying to find the person he once was when his brother was alive. He loved his brother a great deal, and his death ultimately became the downfall of…

In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, Lousie Mallard has recently learned of her husband’s untimely death. As her family and friends try to accommodate for the impact of this news, Louise has a slightly different idea of how to mourn. As she locks herself in her room to think it all over, she begins to yearn for the freedom that this tragedy would yield to her. In the scene where Louise is alone in the room, Chopin utilizes symbolism and imagery to illustrate how Louise is forever chained to…

quite the opposite. Loneliness can be described as “a painful negative state where we feel alone, and cut off and estranged from other people” (“loneliness”). On the other hand, solitude can be described as, “a positive state where we are perfectly happy to be by ourselves, relish and enjoy our own company” (“solitude”). While both words similarly describe a person’s physical state of being alone, the emotional response behind each word is drastically different. In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an…

the prolonged suffering of a loved one as sadistic. Based upon our own personal values, the decision is ultimately between the quality and the importance of life. Whether we feel that the severe pain and suffering will affect Joni so much that her death can be viewed as a release from pain or whether we believe she will eventually learn to accept what has happened, is largely based upon our faith. With such a huge gray area left up to the personal interpretation of each individual and the…

“Lorenzo’s Oil,” is about a family dealing with the tragic news of their son diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called ALD. Throughout this movie, it will show the effects of the disorder and the impossible ways of escaping its final results call death. Another visual that is somewhat similar to “Lorenzo’s Oil’’ that I will be comparing is call “The Other Sister.” “The Other Sister” is a romantic comedy involving a young woman (Carla) who is mentally challenged but soon meets the love of her…

Physician assisted suicide proposes that terminally ill patients have the right to end their suffering with a quick, painless death. Assisted suicide has been an ongoing debate for hundreds of years and will continue for many more years to come, but over the years assisted suicide has become more and more popular. It is still only legal in five out of the fifty states in the United States, many states have proposed the topic but it has been shot down multiple times (ProCon). Although, assisted…

Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner was published in the year 1930 (Wikipedia). Although some readers might say that Emily Grierson, the main character of “A Rose for Emily” was in control of her life, and she led herself through what made her feel happy, she was actually a terrifying person who lived a violent life herself. Emily Grierson was one of the Southern town’s old women who received respect from the townspeople, which explains that she was one of the well to do families in her town…