Stiff Essay

Stiff It may sound odd, but Stiff by Mary Roach is by far the most lively and enthusiastic approach on discussing death that I have ever read. The author did something in this work that I never thought was possible. She made death enjoyable to read about. She even stated, “Death. It doesn't have to be boring.” (Roach 11). She successfully took on one of the most serious, dismal topics and made it enjoyable to read. The way she is able to do this is by using a style all her own which includes the frequent use of diction, imagery, and tone to paint exactly the desired picture in the readers head. A strategy that the author uses to display her style is by using diction in forms such as analogy and sexist language. An example of an analogy in Stiff "The heart is a king, who rules over all organs of the body; the lungs are his executive, who carry out his orders; the liver is his commandant, who keeps up the discipline; the gall bladder, his attorney general . . . and the spleen; his steward who supervises the five tastes." (Roach 171). This is an example of a metaphor because it compares two unlike things to illustrate the role of each organ in a manner that everyday people can understand. Sexist language is used when the author writes, “Here is the secret to surviving one of these [airplane] crashes: Be male. In a 1970 Civil Aeromedical institute study of three crashes involving emergency evacuations, the most prominent factor influencing survival was gender (followed closely by proximity to exit). Adult males were by far the most likely to get out alive. Why? Presumably because they pushed everyone else out of the way.” (Roach 125). This is sexist because it makes a generalization about all men. Another strategy that the author uses is tone. The author uses a humorous tone throughout most of the book to keep readers interested. The author uses a humorous tone in quotes like, “Many people will find this book disrespectful.