Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

October 2017 Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers On her exploration of the body after postmortem, Mary Roach begins the book by attending a medical seminar about the dissection of heads. At the seminar there are forty heads of people who have recently died, draped in white cloth, waiting on the arrival of surgeons. When the heads have been uncovered and the dissections have started, Roach describes the process of objectification. Objectification is taught during the first year of med school in “gross lab” Through this physicians and students learn to think that cadavers are not related to the people that they once were. As the seminar continues Roach begins to understand why the dissection of heads is a new chance for surgeons in all practices to benefit from the chance to practice new procedures and instruments on cadavers because there is not any blood, pain, or danger. This is seen as a great improvement over how doctors…

different viewpoints on death. Elizabeth Kubler- Ross examines the grieving stages showing the more sentimental side of death in her book “On Death and Dying”. Then on a completely different spectrum, there is Mary Roach, who talks about decaying corpses and facelifts on the deceased. She takes the dead and puts an interesting comedic twist to the saddening truth of death in her book “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers”. I don't want to focus just on the comparing and contrast of these…

Mary Roach's nonfiction book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, humorously outlines the ways the human cadaver has served the living since the ancient Egyptians. The acceptance of death is difficult to accept, but Roach's book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers manages to subjectively objectify the horrid experience of dying. Despite being nonfiction, Roach writes in a very opinionated tone that lightens the subject and makes her book a compelling and easy read as it describes…

The book is called Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach. Why choose this book? One reason for choosing this book is that death is very scary but also interesting. Everyone always is afraid of death of course that when it is in front of everyone what will they do? Some people will run away or get scared. Some will be the brave or just surgeons. Surgeons almost every day have to deal with many people but some are surgeons for cadavers. After reading the book it wants to show…

to science. So, what exactly happens when someone’s body is used to further scientific research? This question is exactly what Mary Roach answers. Mary Roach, the author of the 2003 novel Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, explores the different lives of bodies postmortem. Through her use of humor and personal comments, Stiff reads like an exploration of death and the lives…

“A book about dead bodies is a conversational curveball. It’s all well and good to write an article about corpses, but a full-size book plants a red flag on your character” (Roach 14). This statement, from the novel Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach, proves how a story needs to be extraordinary to stand out and make an impact. This novel and the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell both are examples of proof for the following statement: “A story must be exceptional enough to…

list (“The Need Is…”). That’s 144 people each and every day. With the help of human cadavers, those 144 people can be helped and be given the opportunity for a more prolonged life. Mary Roach uses her book, Stiff, to inform people of the impact that their body and organs can have on so many people’s lives. Mary Roach has always had an interest in science-related topics, whether she is experiencing it first hand or is writing about it. She’s had jobs that span from working in a zoo to being a…

Cadavers in Science: Symbolism in Roach’s Stiff Do you ever wonder what happens after you die? Although no living person has a guarantee of what becomes of your mind and soul, they do know what your body may endure. Mary Roach, author of Stiff, explored the usage of the dead in everything from bullet wounds to anatomy dissection to body decomposition. She also examined the history of corpse studies that lead to safer cars, different methods for disposing of remains, and an increase in forensic…

translates to “remember that you are mortal,” or “remember that you will die.” We all strive to live our lives as best as we can, but never forget that we are mortal and at some point everything will come to an end for oneself. Everybody has undoubtedly pondered at some point about what lies beyond death. While most people focus on where their soul and consciousness will go beyond the grave, Mary Roach’s “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” calls to mind a much less commonly regarded…

The Writing Style of Mary Roach Mary Roach has written seven books in her time as an author. They all focus on the sciences and two of them, Spook and Stiff, arguably Roach’s two most famous books, have much more in common than one might think. There are multiple aspects that the books share, however, what stands out is their similarity not only in topic but in tone and style. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers is Roach’s first book. Published in 2003, Stiff tells tales of cadavers…