Preview

The Formaldehyde Curtain Response and Summary Paper

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
549 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Formaldehyde Curtain Response and Summary Paper
Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain Response and Summary Paper
The sense of death crushes one’s heart, but what happens behind the scenes before a funeral, the author: Jessica Mitford was the one to bring this dark secret to light. She goes into great detail of the gruesome make over loved one’s go through. This response is a sort of recap on what she said through greater detail. Through reading this I believe some of this is simply to make money off of people deceased family members. I think this is very appalling.
From the moment a person has passed away their body is rushed to the morgue. The body is then cleaned off and laid out. A sense of urgency comes to mind when this happens following a simple procedure. The body being so quickly taken away just so their process of embalming can begin seems a little heartless to me. Jessica referred to it as “Preparing for surgery” (Mitford 333). Their goal is to create a beautiful picture (Mitford335). In my eyes this is a case of refurbishing a corpse to normalcy, making the family feel as if their eternal sleep is peaceful. This is a business as stated in the book, “One must wonder at the docility of Americans who each year pays hundreds of millions of dollars for its perpetuation” (Mitford337). We pay all of this money half the time we don’t even know what goes on behind the scene. There basically telling me that I have no right to my family.
Chemicals, incisions, and stuffing are injected into the body as stated before to give a sense of normalcy. When limbs become decapitated from the body, they remake the limb and by using plaster. The irony of them just trying to make the body seem so real is just extremely amazing. The fact it they know you’ll pay good money so the go above and beyond the call of duty to make you satisfied. I think this why this is more of a non-respectable business for me. They take heed and notice your morning and then offer price packages. They know your morning and they know you want the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Formaldehyde Lab Report

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Formaldehyde is known to be one of the most reactive organic compounds. It can be produced by various reactions. It can produced by methods such as: Methanol undergoes an oxidation reaction in the presence of catalysts, ethyl-alcohol, coal gas, ethylene, methane, glycol, glycerin, and carbon monoxide…

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Andrew Lowe Research Paper

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Victorians are known for their fascination with death. During the Victorian era (1837-1901) they took death very seriously, no expense was spared when arranging a proper funeral. During this time most American’s lives became restricted to the family. As the emotional focus of people narrowed to the immediate family, the significance of the final act expanded.…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Under the hospital lights the body is exposed. The dead body lies there until the surgeons are ready to perform on it. The surgery itself takes hours then blood tests are being ran and lastly surgical teams are flown into the city. After everything takes place and the…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the essay, “Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain” by English author and civil rights activist Jessica Mitford, she offers a peculiar narrative through her critique of the thoughts surrounding the funeral industry and the issue of death. It is clear her ultimate goal is to share many of the common practices of the funeral industry to her readers, and display how seemingly barbaric and often times senseless they are. Mitford’s purpose in this passage is to convey that if more people actually understood these practices exercised in the funeral industry, they might change, and the mystery of what goes on behind these taboo doors would be out in the open for the general public to understand and acknowledge. Mitford introduces her essay with a discussion…

    • 181 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By reading Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach, one can learn the many different uses for cadavers, shells of what used to be people. Mainly Roach discusses the multiple scientific uses for them and also how they have influenced advancement in different fields of study. The novel also discusses the decay of these bodies. It does not take long for these bodies to decay and many people attempt to delay this process with techniques such as embalming and burying them in coffins. But what is event the point of these processes if time is simply going to tear apart the bodies anyway. The main idea behind these ongoing practices stems from religious tradition as a form of respect and also to aid in the use of scientific research as it is somewhat difficult to study a body if it deteriorates quickly.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Once a person has died they will go through a cleaning process to be put into the casket. Before the funerals, the corpse would be stripped, washed, and cleaned (Forherg). Then the corpse would be wrapped with sheets (often the ones that the person had died in). The funeral would take place only a day or two after the death. Wealthy families would often pay a mortician, or undertaker, for an embalming or a lead-lined casket to prevent the corpse from decay as fast as it would normally. They would do this so they could have more time to make ceremonial arrangements (usually 2 to 3 days at most) (Forgery).…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Early on in the text, Mary connects the audience with famous literatures such as Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart assisting in common knowledge. “She also provides history, mostly focusing on body-snatchers and the anatomists who used their services.” (Kirkus 2) Also, Mary gives some background on past societies and their understanding on where the soul is. During the history lessons, she explains why societies thought the soul were located; through science and observation of the human anatomy. “She explores some interesting historical side avenues as well; the use of corpses to test the guillotine, earlier anatomical beliefs, grave robbers…” (Cramer 1) The logic established is that all people die at one one point. Also, that bodies donated have multiple uses and can provided an opportunity to assist people to become healthy through the donation of organs. The effect of this use is to set the spine, the core, of the text. It provides a step to dive deeper into the subject. I think she does a great job of informing reader on what happens to dead bodies after they are rolled away from the hospital…

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Digging up the Dead

    • 836 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Kammen presents vignettes that are unusual, grim, and actually entertaining. He fastidiously follows each one stage of the reburial methodology, from the profoundly political and individual inspirations of uncovering human stays to the orderly logistical contemplations connected with these intricate "do-overs." One of the most captivating parts of the content is the way the exhumation of remarkable figures welcomes a deeper discussion about the legitimate inquirers of these well-known bodies. Kammen deftly represents how this endeavor is on the double national and familial, as the aggregate opinion of a nation is offered as a powerful influence for the individual wishes of the perished. The body turns into a much challenged site to which social worth is credited, anticipated that will oblige the seriously individual wishes of families and the pressing open needs of a local, state, or city. Undoubtedly, other than the inspiration to rebury the body in closeness to home or with family, there lies a more limitless proximity to bigger belief systems of race, religion, or patriotism.…

    • 836 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Didion's on Morality

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages

    According to Didion this “was one instance in which [she] did not distrust the word, because [the nurse] meant something quite specific.” She argues we don’t desert a body for even a few minutes lest it be desecrated. Didion claims this is more than “only a sentimental consideration.” She claims that we promise each other to try and retrieve our casualties and not abandon our dead; it is more than a sentimental consideration. She stresses this point by saying that “if, in the simplest terms, our upbringing is good enough – we stay with the body, or have bad dreams.” Her point is that morality at its most “primary” level is a sense of “loyalty” to one another that we learned from our loved ones. She is saying that we stick with our loved ones no matter what, in sickness, in health, in bad times and good times; we don’t abandon our dead because…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    You stumble across a cemetery and impulsively decide to take look around. Once you step inside, you immediately notice hundreds of tombstones scattered around. You take a long breath and move tentatively around knowing you have walked into the valley of death surrounded by silent souls. You look around and see the hollow eyes of death, smell the coldness of death, and hear the silent whispers of death. Tombstone after tombstone you wonder if that woman had a sister, what that young boy died from, what the old man did for a living, or why that young girl deserved to die. Tombstone after tombstone you suffocate in sorrow. Tombstone after tombstone you decide to maneuver your way out of the cemetery, but the smell of death sticks to your skin…

    • 1487 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    american funerals

    • 1653 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Funerals are some of the most difficult activities for most individuals to experience, especially when they involve the death of a loved one. Over the years, there has grown a common and yet distinct American custom when it comes to how funerals are perceived and conducted (James 348). However, most Americans still hold unto the traditional funerals as opposed to modern ones. Unfortunately, the American funeral customs put a lot of more emphasis on some activities that turn out to be very costly. Worst of all, the economic burden that this traditions put on the bereaved families is even more detrimental.…

    • 1653 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    References: Garrett MH, Hooper MA, Hooper BM, Rayment PR, Abramson MJ. Increased risk of allergy in children due to formaldehyde exposure in homes. Allergy. 1999;54:330–337.…

    • 2359 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    PROJECT BACKGROUND

    • 441 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Some people go as far as buying insurance to take care of their own funeral when they die; while others state clearly in their ‘will’ the type of funeral they would prefer. This goes to show that the funeral home business will always thrive as long as human exist. If you are in need of a business that will always provide services that would never go into extinction, then delving into the funeral home business should be a business you need to consider. Although most people would rather do some other form of businesses rather than opt for funeral business because of its delicate and emotional nature. However, fact remains that this business is a money spinner and it will always stand the test of time.…

    • 441 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Formaldehyde Case Study

    • 1638 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Understanding protein-protein interactions is becoming a vital study for application in the development of new age pharmaceuticals and utilization in diagnostic models. The overall aim is to gain an insight into the function and role of individual proteins with specific interest on how they react in cells, (Toews et al. 2008). The biopharma industry in Ireland is becoming a booming success for the economy therefore a complete understanding of how proteins interact in vivo is essential to the development of newer and better technologies. Chemical cross-linking of proteins has been a long established technique with the ultimate goal of covalently linking amino acid side chains of a particular protein and inducing an increased stability on the overall structure of the targeted amino acid or protein side chain,(Means & Feeney 1990).…

    • 1638 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Vices of Human Nature

    • 2349 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Mitford, Jessica. “Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain.” The Compact Reader. Ed. Jane E Aaron. New York: Bedford, 1999. 255-64. Print.…

    • 2349 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays