Daniel Richardson

Professor Jesse Miller

ENG 110, H-4

8 November 2017

 

            To many, having a direct involvement in the death process of a loved one may seem a disturbing thought. However, it is a philosophy nowhere near as inane as it seems. Throughout most of our lives we have possessed fond pets, developing a sense of love and caring for them that they become part of the family. Yet, as cordial these additional members of the family may be, they are a sad reminder of mortality. For years you have taken care of them, played with them, and loved them. Suddenly everything comes to a heart-shattering halt and you find yourself building a pine box for them. You sit there in remembrance, pet them one last time, and maybe give them a hug and kiss. Then you close the box, lower them down, and send them off into the next. You prepare them, spend their last moments on earth with them, and carry out a service for them, just as Caitlin Doughty urges potential cliental to do for their relatives. That brave flush of the toilet for the dead fish, is very much the same as pushing the button that sends human relatives “off to their final disposition.”

            Caitlin Doughty feels that it is important to humanize the industrial crematorium so that the last moments that this person is flesh, they will have a more symbolic sendoff, rather than just be another part of industry. She urges families to be more involved in the death process to take responsibility for their loved one, rather than leave the burden to someone who never knew them. She would rather the process seem more ceremonial than industrial and bland. Above all, she wishes to instill families with a sense of mortality gained from sending their loved one off for the final time.

            I was aware that the process of cremation was an industrial process, not the ritualistic way that it is depicted. However, I was unaware of the alkaline hydrolysis method of disintegrating a body, that Doughty describes. I’m sure that the mob was worlds ahead of society in putting it to practice. On top of this, I did know a decent bit about the process of embalming that Mitford describes, from my studies in high school, but I had no idea that it was not practiced in other countries. I just took this as a fact of common practice. I certainly did not know that there are toxic chemicals put into chicken mcnuggets, such as TBHQ, a form of lighter fluid, yet I did expect there to certainly be more ingredients than just chicken. Pollan has really turned me off from even wanting a taste of these “white meat” creations.