HW 52

Christopher R

PRECIS: During the last third of my book I wrote about some alternative ways for dead bodies to be treated. These ideas were probably the most unspoken of ways that bodies can be handled when people die. The end covers having your body used as compost, having your head decapitated and the functions after decapitations and being cooked into a dumpling. I end the book by talking about what I will do with my own body after I become the cavader that I write about.

QUOTES: “On May 21, Guthrie succeeded in grafting one dog’s head onto the side of another’s neck, creating the world’s first manmade two headed dog” (Roach 207)
“The donor’s head eagerly drank water or milk, and tugged as if it was trying to separate itself from the recipient’s body” (Roach 208)
“Diego River in his memoir ‘the eating of human flesh will be sanction. For then man will have thrown off all of his superstitions and irrational taboos” (Roach 236)
“I am told, cultures in Central America that actually ranched humans—kept enemy soldiers captive for a while to fatten them up—it was not practical to do so, because you had to give up more food to feed them than you’d gain in the end by eating them” (Roach 245)
“She returns to the clod. “Compost should not be ugly,” she is saying. “It should be lovley, it should be romantic” (Roach 263)
“For similary dumb narcissistic reasons, I also once wanted to spend my eternity at Harvard Once cemetery “ (Roach 294)

PARAGRAPH: I think the revelation of this book comes at the end when the author is talking about what she wants done with her body when she dies. She writes a 300 page book that offers completely different and ways that are rarely thought of and decided that what would be done with her body is whatever her husband wants. It seems like in the other books especially Omnivore’s Dilemma the author actually did more about the topic they were writing about. Michael Pollan decides to try to be a hunter gather at the end of his book using a lot of the topics and arguments that he brought up to try something else. The thesis seemed to be death doesn’t have to be boring and when the author talks about different things such as cannibalism, cremation, decay, donating the body to science are all things that are more interesting ways to use the body. Even a funeral can be more interesting than making a book which talks about alternatives and deciding to leave this to your husband. Before reading this book I did interviews with peers and thought that saying you want your spouse or family to choose is probably the wrong idea, assuming you don’t know what happens to your body when you die and your body doesn’t affect any sort of afterlife then I guess it would be okay. However no one ever actually knows so I would think a person’s last request would be what to do with their body. This should be respected in my opinon. Although Mary Roach can’t die and try to see differences in the is done with the body I think a well thought out plan and conclusion would have been a good ending to a 300 page book that offers many alternatives.