Homework 47

Christopher R

First Question: What are your initial thoughts on care of the dead?

WILLIAM: I mean i think its necessary. I think the great thing about a funeral is that you remember all the great things they did everyone they knew, comes back and reminds us all how they were affected by that person cremation is good too I mean to put it simply "the only thing that counts when you die is what they thought of you" so honoring the memory is important.

SASCHA:I personally want to be cremated because I don't see a point in being buried but I think if someone wants to be buried then they have the right to be.

AMANDA: I think the families/loved ones/ or people involved should dispose of the bodies in what ever way works for them. For example I froze my gold fish when i was 9 after it died. Now im not saying they should be allowed to be laying out in the street. There should be guide lines so that the public space is safe and comfortable for others.

Second Question: Have you ever attended a funeral/ritual dedicated to someone who has died? If so, what was it like?

WILLIAM: Well, At first it was really sad and I was upset because it really means coming to terms with the fact that they are dead and not coming back but then you realize that life goes on you have to continue on and usually everyone starts talking and the after "party" is good because everyone really needs to have a good time with family and friend. thats about it
i mean like you can't be depressed for ever you need to move on and continue to do you
and try and make that person proud of you.

SASCHA: I have, it was very touching to see such a large amount of people come together in honor of one person. It was very moving to see that one person could touch so many peoples lives. It was also interesting to see that most people weren't sad but instead celebrating the person.

AMANDA: Yes i have, it was boring...I was sad about their death either before or after the funeral but never during.I think this is because in our culture funerals are supposed to represent acceptance of the death and I felt if i was sad at the funeral then it wouldnt be acceptable.

Third Question:What is the difference between a funeral and a memorial, and how/why do the two get confused?

WILLIAM: Funeral is literally when we put the body underground. Memorial is more just rememebering them everyone says how the deceased person helped them they are similar
but without the body .

SASCHA: A funeral is when someone is being buried I believe, and a memorial is just when the person who has passed is being honored. I believe they get confused because a funeral usually goes along with a memorial so people mix them up.

AMANDA: I'm not sure i think its basically the same think except maybe differences in how the rituals are preformed. The two get confused cause they overall symbolize the same thing.


Fourth Question: How would you want your body to be handled once you die? And if you have not made the decision yet, who would you like to decide and why?

WILLIAM: Well it depends on how i go, if i get shot then i want to be buried in the ground
but if i live a full life. I would consider cremation because its all like going back to the earth and what not plus i'm going to already be dead but if i hadn't decided. I would like it to be my wife's decision if i have a wife.

SASCHA: I wish to be cremated because I feel that land for a cemetery could be used in so many different ways. There are huge cemeteries all over the city that will never be used for anything except for the place to put people who have passed when it could be used for housing, schools, hospitals, and much more.

AMANDA: I haven't thought about what I want to be done with my body but I have thought about my funeral. I guess i'd want to be an organ donner and if i am I don't know what would happen to my body after that...if my family gets it back then it'd be cool to be burned and thrown in the ocean (haha). Or maybe i would just want my husband/boyfriend or children to decide what they think would be the easiest way to get rid of me. I would want my husband/boyfriend or children to decide amusing i die after my parents because I presume they would have the hardest time getting over my death so they should take care of it which ever way would help them ease their pain assuming im missed on the other hand maybe leaving it up to them would cause too much drama. I want make sure that when i die my funeral is in some hot beachy place where none of my family has been so they could just relax for a week and enjoy the sun and pina coladas.

Fifth Question: Is their any reason that you think their are more burials than cremations?

WILLIAM: I think that burials have been around longer and the idea of burning someone doesn't exactly sit well with some people for example Jewish people. While also many people feel as if they bury someone near them then they can go visit them and "talk" to them and "talk" to thier grave it makes the dead person closer to home which can be important because death is very hard to deal with.

SASCHA: I think that burials are more seen in the media obviously. It might have something to do with religion. Like if people believe in a certain god they might feel that a burial is more appropriate. There are billions of people that are Christian and America was based off of Christianity so I think this is why so many people believe in funerals. Cremation doesn't have as much back up.

AMANDA: I didnt know that statistic, I guess burials are a way of getting rid of the evidence of the persons existence with out completely letting go or having a constant reminder. ex: the body/symoblsim of the body is somewhere in a grave yard and not in a yurn above your fire place. If the ashes are scattered then they are gone forever so its almost as if cremation is all or nothing while burial is a happy medium. Also fire might remind people of hell and they may feel guilty for causing their dead loved one "pain" expessialy if the family/ friends are in denile about the death.

Sixth Question: Do you think their are any specific reasons that people don't talk about the dead, after the funeral/ memorial?

WILLIAM: I think that its hard to bring back all those memories and that when you move on
you don't want to think about that person because then your going to miss them again it brings hardship.

SASCHA: I think it is because it is easier not to. Why talk about someone who you won't be able to see. I don't know if this is exactly true though because when someone dies it is common to talk about the things that they did in their life but talking about their death is something that doesn't happen.

AMANDA: Like I said earlier I think funerals are supposed show that those attending are accepting of the persons death, and talking about the dead guy after they die or showing that they STILL miss them is a sign of weakness. People are going to think less of them. It could also be that the person isnt in their day to day active life any more and there isnt much to say about them in terms of "I went to the park with grandma yesterday and she bought me ice cream". I think also maybe people feel that those around them wouldnt care to hear about a memory someone had with a relitive that had passed away....and maybe ignorance is a large part of acceptance.

Seventh Question: Do you feel like there is anything you want to say on this topic?

WILLIAM: Death can be hard, but it's part of life so we have to deal with it thats all
hope I helped.

SASCHA: Let me know how this goes.


I think the most interesting part of these interviews was the answers from Sascha and Amanda because they gave the answers that I didn’t really think about. Sascha made me the most interested when she talked about how cremation seems like a smarter idea because it makes it so your body doesn’t sit in a funeral taking up space that could be used. I always wondered about how many less homeless people there could be if we took some of this land and made a homeless shelter, or if we took this land and made it into a hospital. It seems like with the 6,000 that someone spends on the funeral parlor, the hoarse, and the spot to be buried in this money could have easily gone to something else. Especially because not a lot of people feel comfortable talking about the person that died openly, why spend this money on a person when you could have an equally good memorial and spend the money on something else. This makes me think that a funeral has something to do with a bigger mass of people supporting it because; the numbers of cremations in the United States is near 34%. I want to know why so many people decided to be buried and why it has been set up so that more people think that having a burial makes more sense. All the funerals that I have been to have been funerals where the deceased person was buried after. This space to me can be used very well and I don’t know why the cremated person cannot be buried. This takes up less space and in a way I think it has the same meaning. The body goes back into the earth as William said.

The other thing that I found interesting from doing these interviews is, people think that the person they are committed to will have to make the decision of what happens. There is an argument that the person who is dead should make the decision of what they do with their own body but then again this will last in the memories of the people they are committed to and children as well. This makes me think of a few questions related to the care of the dead.
• What roles does the family of the deceased play in the care of the deceased person?
• Is there any religious reason that people respect the wishes of the dead although they won’t know what happens to their bodies?
• What are the differences in the memorial where the deceased person has a family that has been cremated? How is this versus those who are buried?
• What are the cost differences between cremation and burials?
• If there is superstition against building on top of burial sites, how much of America’s land is cemetery, can this land be built on?