I think they way you went about this interview was interesting, and there was clearly a lot of work put into it. You took careful notes on what the people were saying and you really payed attention to what caught your interest. You make interesting points about how the christian people weren't sure about whether not they wanted to be cremated. I think that is important to observe the way people with religious differences view the care of the dead. One of the things i would change about this is that you seemed focused on one topic, but i felt like it was too broad. You made remarks about religion and cremation, but you didn't go too in-depth on it. I feel if you took what these people said and was able to take your own personal bias out of it and see how different ideas can all revolve around the same basic concept and maybe see how these people can get these different ideas, then this would have been a lot more insightful. But i did honestly enjoy reading this. Good blog post Amber.
Sam
To start i think that you had some great ideas. I really like the ideas that you present about funerals being about celebrating a person's life and that it isn't always necessary to spend an absurd amount of money on someone's funeral. I also agree with you that having a funeral for them so they have a proper start to their afterlife is not a sufficient reason for an extravagant funeral. I think that if you expanded on these ideas then you would have a really great blog post. Why do you disagree with Mike, and why did his ideas make you mad? What influences do your religious beliefs play in your opinions? I think that if you went in depth in the "My Thoughts" section, then maybe we (the readers) would understand where your stronger opinions were coming from. Other then that though i think you had some great ideas. Good job.
Sam
Martyna,
I can't help but say i was impressed by reading your blog. I think that the amount of work that you put in to this post is very well reflected to the readers. I really like how you were able to understand that you have a somewhat biased point of view because of the way you were raised and how you were able to post the answers to your questions seemingly without bias. I particularly liked how well spoken your parents seem, they seem very down to earth about their answers. They understand the traditions set by their religion such as the church ceremonies and mourning the dead, and they also understand how weird these traditions can be. I don't really have any suggestions for you because i really did enjoy this post.
Sam
Your post is very well organized. It is clear who you interviewed and what questions you asked. You present your parents' statements and connect them to your own opinions.
In a way, I think I would have a similar attitude to your father's - I don't want to think about what happens to me after I die, because I am scared of the idea itself, therefore I understand why your dad was not completely serious about it.
I like that you included your hypothesis at the end. This shows that not only did you ask questions and listen to the answers, but you also made your own conclusions based on what you found out from your interviewees.
There were a few parts where I got a bit confused by the wording (especially in the first sentence), but I managed to make sense of everything at the end. Thank you for sharing your interviews :)
Martyna
Death and dying is never an easy topic to rationalize, especially for a young person who has so much in front of them. To see a parent lose a parent is an eye opening experience - to see them grieve has to be an unsettling experience to say the least. I feel this posting is an insightful observation to some profound real life experiences, which may also set a path for them in the future. Respect in life and death, acceptance of religious observation, and an understanding that in the end death is part of life is a huge notion to grasp. this is an outstanding step in that direction.
Summarizing someone's thoughts is no easy task when it is such deep context as that of their thoughts of death. I was there for your interview with both parents and I must say your journalism was not only accurate but efficent. Considering neither parent gave straight answers, I am impressed with what you took from almost nothing.
Once again your ideas are original and fascinating. Of course your thoughts could be better organized but I almost like how relaxed your writing is, I feel like your explaining it to me.
Overall this does open up my mind. It does what writing sets out to do, to make one think. Nice job.
I liked the way this post was structured, and the quotes you chose had a lot of meaning. I think you used the information that your parents provided you to create a viable hypothesis. I agree with what you said by it not being the body that matters, it being the "soul", however people think of that. I'm glad you mentioned religion deciding how someone gets cared for because from my experiences that came up a lot.
A suggestion about the way you structured this post would be to switch the order in which you included the interviews because you put the more interesting information at the beginning which took away from the post. Save the best for last. Also in the middle of the post your wording started to get confusing. I think you did a good job of making something out of the little information you got from your parents. I think it's always hard to draw conclusions from little bits of information and you did it well.
Sam,
The way you took on this assignment was interesting. You had a couple of quotes in there which helped me understand how your parents approached such questions. It was interesting to compare the responses your mother gave you to what your father gave you. Your mother isn’t as attached to her religious beliefs as much as your father. Because your mother isn’t really religious, all she cares about is her remembrance after her death. Your father does not have a set plan about how he wants his body to be cared for after his death. I like how you were honest throughout your post; your father didn’t seem to have much of a say on the topic. I feel as if many of us are afraid to think of death related issues; it is not something many of us like to discuss, take your father for example. I am sure when you approached your father with such questions he must have felt a bit uneasy; this can be concluded from the vague responses he gave you. Overall good job, I like how you stated your hypothesis towards the end.
Amber M.
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