On Death

Zhangyan

【Abstract】Death is not a terrible word， but a provoking one. Different people have different opinions， but no one can convince others of what death really means. This article made a tentative and superficial analysis on death according to the true feeing and experiences of the author. In her opinion， we neednt consider more about death； the important for the death is how to live meaningfully.

【Key words】death； attitudes； live meaningful

Death-What a dreadful and horrible word it seems to be， but what a natural and solemn experience it actually is！ Besides the profound thoughts and comprehensive emotions it contributes to human culture， the unalterable process itself is of great significance both to the dying and the alive.

1. The Meaning of the Death

According to Longman Advanced American Dictionary， death means the end of the life of a person or animal. Today， where a definition of the moment of death is required， doctors and coroners usually turn to “brain death” or “biological death”： people are considered dead when the electrical activity in their brain ceases. It is presumed that a stoppage of electrical activity indicates the end of consciousness. This is death from the biological perspective.

Even birth and death are very natural part of our life， I havent thought about it until I knew my father suffered from cancer. The death was going to fall in my family. At that time， death meant tears， sorrow， upset， even frustration for the living.

But who or what will take my father away？ Is there life after death？ Are there any Gods in charge of death？ I have read a poem named the reaper and the flower written by American poet， Longfellow： There is a reaper whose name death， And with his sicken keen， He reaps the bearded grain at a breath， And the flowers that grow between. In the poem， he compares the god of death to a reaper. This also becomes a symbol of the personifications of death. So is it the reaper that reaped my father？

2. The Attitudes towards Dying

Even we dont know what death really means， but death inevitably arrives. We have to face it. The process of dying involves fewer and fewer choices available to us. Even in dying， however， we still have choices concerning how we handle what is happening to us.

My father escaped from the hospital when he lived in the hospital and his tongue and a part of his lower jaw would be cut off. Looking into his eyes， I realized death meant desperation and hopelessness for a person who was suffering from the terrible and incurable cancer. He refused to accept any treatments and suffered much agony in a terrible life. He was even going to suicide because he didnt want to prolong his life if he couldnt really live fully.

The disease has conquered him But one day， I found my father has shown remarkable courage in the way he has faced this loss and his dying. He said that although we may not have a choice concerning the losses we suffer in dying， we do retain the ability to choose our attitudes toward our death. He read a book and received the life repeats， death is an end as well as a beginning. To my surprise， my father made a choice to accept the death， which gave him a full sense of peace and escaped from the fear of death and chose to die with dignity.

Throughout his suffering， I never heard my mothers complaints during her ten months of caring for him. My father was dead one midnight， peacefully. My mother didnt cry， just sat on the edge of the bed， staring at him， calmly： “its a relief for him， he wont suffer again.” I remember one says， to die is only to be as we were born， yet no one feels any remorse， ant regret， or repugnance， in contemplating this last idea. Its a rather relief of the mind.

I couldnt understand how a book changed a patients attitude to death until I read an article named holy dying written by Jeremy Taylor. From his statements， I learn that death is the permanent end of the life of a biological organism. Death may refer to the end of life as either an event or condition. In this holy dying， he doesnt deal with the meaning of the holy dying but the meaning of holy living. He discussed the life of a man begins. “But there is yet another arrest. At first he wants strength of body， and then he wants the use of reason， and when that is come， it is ten to one but he stops by the impediments of vice， and wants the strength of the spirit， and we know that body， and the soul， and the spirit， are the constituent parts of every Christian man.” Oh， even my father is not a real Christian， but the belief made him peaceful and treat the death calmly.

3. What Makes Our Life Meaningful

Most people fear death merely because they dont perceive death as it is. To them death is no more than the end to a rainbow， a colored life， during which they have enjoyed the most advanced material and spiritual civilization. True， to die is to lose， but thats not at all that death presents people. Death offers life a destination and， in a sense， an ultimate goal. Death provides people with a reason to reflect and be introspective. Death casts a heavy shadow upon every soul， which allows people to slow down their paces and look inside themselves. Without death the cycle of individual life will never close， and people might never find the real sense of life.

On the time scale of the history of the Earth an individual human lifetime is a mere blink of an eye. Were born， we live， and we die—and then we are “heard no more.” What is the point of living？ If were all going to be dead in the end anyway， what difference does it make what we do with our lives？ There is a point in developing character and increasing knowledge before death overtakes us： to provide peace of mind and intellectual satisfaction to our lives and to the lives of those we care about for their own sake because pursuing these goals enriches our lives.

We must create our own meaning for our lives regardless of whether or not our lives serve some higher purpose. Whether our lives are meaningful to us depends on how we judge them. The absence or presence of greater purpose is as irrelevant as the finality of death.

What makes our lives meaningful is that we find the activities we engage in to be worthwhile. Our determination to carry out projects we have created for ourselves gives our lives meaning. We feel that life is meaningless when most of our desires which we regard as important are frustrated. Whether we regard life as meaningful or meaningless depends on the degree to which our important desires are frustrated. The judgments that we make about our lives on these points are the same regardless of whether ones life is eternal or not or whether it is part of a greater purpose or not. Perhaps the secret to a meaningful life is to focus on those desires which we can fulfill and diminish those which we cannot―provided that we know the difference between the two.

References：

[1]楊自伍.英国文化选本[M].上海：华东师范大学出版社，1996.7.

[2]祝宝珠.经典英语谚语赏析[M].武汉：武汉大学出版社，2005.4.

[3]王宗文.英语经典诵读文[M].大连：辽宁师范大学出版社，2005.7.

[4]刘纯豹.英语委婉语辞典[M].北京：商务印书馆，2001.11.