Wolterstorff’s reflections in Lament For a Son
Carla Soto
Grand Canyon University: HLT-310V-0191 Spirituality In Healthcare
April 26, 2015
During the following paper, I will be analyzing in the book “Lament of a Son” by Nicholas Wolterstorff, where the author interprets his traumatic recollection of the death of his 25-year-old son on a climbing accident, and how he was able to appease his grief based on his faith in God. Consequently, I will be identifying the 5 stages of grief, how the author finds joy after his loss, the meaning of death in the light of the Christian narrative, and how the hope of resurrection play a role in comforting the author. According to Elisabeth Kubler Ross, there
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Eric in his heart is irreplaceable and only an “emptiness is left.” He also talks about Eric with his unique perspective on life has been taken away and never returned. Questions in Wolterstorff’s mind that will never be answered because Eric is now deceased. Never to be sealed, an infinite abyss in his life due to the loss of son.(Wolterstorff, 1987). His bargaining is the result of his beliefs in God, the author asks himself why Eric had to climb the mountain alone. That he should have stayed on flat ground and why didn’t in all regards go with someone such as a friend. He then begins reading books on grief to answer questions that to get a better understanding on how to deal with the death of his son. In these books, God is mentioned. Correlating with bargaining which states the following, “secretly, we make a deal with God or our higher power in an attempt to postpone the inevitable.” Wolterstorff will not overlook the misery of Eric’s death but owes it to God. Furthermore, Wolterstorff remembers and mentions on his book the special dates, that typically bring joy and happiness, only bring him tears.He has many regrets; things that he may have should have done while Eric was alive. He mentions not taking him hiking, put work ahead instead of spending time with Eric, put off writing letters while Eric was overseas or off at school. He also mentions not
Explanation of how hope of the resurrection plays a role in comforting Wolterstorff is present with detail.
It all starts in the beginning of the book On page 10, Paul’s mom states, “‘How about waiting for the rest of us, Eric?’” This quote foreshadows what is to come later on in the story. The deep and dark Eric. This little action may not seem like a big deal, but it shows Eric's future personality. Rude, inappropriate, and violent. To add, on page 52, Paul says, “How could they be happy...Mike Costello's death.” This quote marks the start of many more bad behaviours to come from Erik. This is when the reader starts to think that there is another darker side to Erik that has not been on full display. All in all, Erik is a very shady character to start off, he really doesn’t have a full personality, but that will soon change.
From his speech “so I insisted on giving her enough money to keep her going”. Being brought up in a family where his father strongly believes in a man has to be responsible for himself and his family, Eric tried to imitate his father, being a responsible figure, and may also want the public to finally give him some respect. From the fact that he did not want other people to know that he was in a relationship with a worker girl, shows that he wants respect from the society. From his act of stealing money through precise plans, which the Birling family would not discover if the inspector is not here for inquiry, which shows like his father, he is extremely concerned with his public image and his
Grief is defined as a type of emotional or mental suffering from a loss, sorrow, or regret (Dictionary.com, LLC, 2010). Grief affects people of all ages, races, and sexes around the world. Approximately, 36% of the world’s population does or has suffered from grief and only a mere 10% of these people will seek out help (Theravive, 2009). Once a person is suffering from grief it is important to receive treatment. All too often, people ignore grief resulting in deep depression, substance abuse, and other disorders (Theravive, 2009). Grief counseling is very common and can be very helpful to a person in need of assistance. Grief counseling provides the support, understanding, and
Eric Calhoune, both the protagonist and narrator, is an important character of the text. It is fascinating how he is such a devoted friend to Sarah, and wants to do whatevers best for her, even if it is not beneficial for him. Over the course of the novel, Eric evolved into a more forgiving character. This is accomplished when he goes to someone who used to bully him, Dale Thornton, for help on how to get Sarah Byrnes to
The grieving that individuals experience with death is unique, but the main stages are universal across cultures (Axelrod, 2017). There are five stages of grief. Nicolas Wolterstorff’s story, Lament for a Son, addresses these five stages as he tries to find joy after the loss of his son. The meaning and significance of death in light of the Christian narrative is also addressed in the story. Having a hope of the resurrection can help comfort individuals in situations similar to Wolterstorff (Wolterstorff, 1978).
Then when he told Mr. Byrnes where Sarah was, it was a decision he made for both himself and Sarah, because if he hadn’t told Mr. Byrnes, then he would have been dead and unable to help her anymore. In addition, when Eric kept Sarah from going to Colorado, it was a decision for both of them because he knew that if Sarah stayed, then she could have a family, but also that Eric did not want to lose her or her friendship. Even though Eric had to choose Sarah’s safety over her friendship for different decisions of the book, he was able to do it in a way that he saved their friendship and kept her
Grief counseling is a division of social work that involves the interpersonal aspect of the social worker’s role as expert in coping with death. In this paper I will define grief counseling and some ways to cope with loss. Next I will discuss the history and seven stages of grief. There are two main forms of grievers which are intuitive and instrumental. In addition there are four major types of grief which are acute, anticipatory, sudden and complicated. The helping process is explained as well as some disorders related to grief. A current trend for grievers is to seek involvement in programs such as the Canadian Cancer Society, Missing Children of Canada and Victim Services. These organizations provide counseling services and crisis
As demonstrated by the five stages of grief, Dr. Wolterstorff suffers greatly emotionally as he deals with his son’s death. In a bid to settle his depression, he reads the Bible on similar experiences that people had (Wolterstorff, 1987). He finds hope after reading and comprehending about Jesus Christ life, death, and resurrection. The story gives him hope that one day his son, Eric, will resurrect one day because God has the power to make such things possible. Dr. Wolterstorfffinally accepts the fact that Eric died, but he will see him in
Eric is in a fight or flight situation where he doesn't really know what to do. He is torn between his own safety and the saftye of a important friend. He later shows tons of courage by not telling him and getting cut and hurt. Quote, " 'You better not do anything to me,' I warn meekly. ' People will know.
The word “we all helped” suggests that he does not want to let Mrs and Mr Birling get away with them thinking they had nothing to do with Eva’s death. The word “killed” makes me fell that the Birling family are murderers and coming from Eric this shows that he accepts the blame and also regrets it, the word also connotes death, anger. Overall we can see that Eric has changed into being a boy that is shy and quiet grown into a boy that is strong and independent. The audience watching this in 1945 will have respect for Eric as he is not hiding away from the truth and accepts his part and wants to make sure everyone else in the family accepts it too. Priestley in this quotation tells us to take responsibility for our own actions.
The stages of mourning and grief are universal and are experienced by people from all walks of life. Mourning occurs in response to an individual’s own terminal illness or to the death of a valued being, human or animal. There are five stages of normal grief that were first proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book “On Death and Dying.”
Grief is the act following the loss of a loved one. While grief and bereavement are normal occurrences, the grief process is a social construct of how someone should behave. The acceptable ways that people grieve change because of this construct. For a time it was not acceptable to grieve; today, however, it is seen as a necessary way to move on from death (Scheid, 2011).The grief process has been described as a multistage event, with each stage lasting for a suggested amount of time to be considered “normal” and reach resolution. The beginning stage of grief is the immediate shock, disbelief, and denial lasting from hours to weeks (Wambach, 1985). The middle stage is the acute mourning phase that can include somatic and emotional turmoil. This stage includes acknowledging the event and processing it on various levels, both mentally and physically. The final stage is a period of
Black Americans can have different emotions from crying to being silent. People usually gather in large gatherings to pay respect. Black Americans have a belief that death is God’s will and the deceased is in God’s hand and will be reunited
father did not die a ‘complete’ death and that haunts him. This pain is shown in a unique way