HW 56

My comments on other blogs:

John:
I liked your post. I found this part of the first paragraph very interesting: “This thoughtless automated response is now tradition when we hear of someone’s death, it becomes more beneficial to the person who said the “sorry”(person A) than for the person who feels sorry for herself(person B). When person A tries to comfort person B, person A is in fact comforting themselves believing that they have comforted person B. However, person B has encountered plenty of person As and feels no less stricken with grief, yet if person A was to not give this response it would be perceived as rude and inconsiderate.” I never even thought about this and it makes me realize how society gives us a certain role to play and even though it may not help the person out you are considered rude if you don’t do it.

Casey:
I liked this post because you had very good research and you gave a detailed timeline of how the coffin/casket has changed over time and why it did. Then I also like how you talked about why making your own coffin/casket is good. By talking about your experience making your own (even though yours was a mini one) it showed kind of like what the experience of making your own casket would be like. Creative idea!

Sophia:
I liked your post I thought the idea was very interesting to look up: what would happen if you just left a body to rot? I was surprised that it takes almost 20 years to completely decompose! It makes sense that people are buried under ground. Then most importantly I like how you connected it back to people embalming bodies and getting "sealed" caskets in this fantasy that they're body will remain the same forever. Nice post.


Chris:
Chrissss nice post maaaan. I like how we both have narratives of our experience but they are different. I thought it was interesting to see how you thought about the funeral home and how people were acting etc etc. I also like how you included dialogue because even if I wasn't there, I feel like it makes it very descriptive and easy to picture. Even though the project didn't go as planned and we didn't have a video, you did a good job writing about it..

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Comments on my blog:

Chris:
I like what your mom said. She is really right about the preparation part but I like a lot of what you wrote. I feel like narratives should be exactly what you were thinking because it is your narrative. If this is how you felt about the topic then I think this is good. My favorite line was when you introduced everyone because these were the "characters" in the narrative and the way you set it up actually made me interested in wanting to read this even though I was there. I feel like your mom was right at the end too when she said write down certain questions and I feel like thats how this post could have been better. I seriously do like this post a lot though I'm just supposed to say something that is a criticism and thats the only thing I think that could have helped.


Mom:
Sounds like the experience was not very successful. Your writing seem a bit too "light" for the subject. I think you all must prepare more for this type of assignment and have a plan B to fall back on, if something fails. You have been to several funerals and could maybe have reflected on your past experiences and compared them with the other people in the group. Write down certain questions for the funeral director etc.

Kevin:
For a project that doesn't really prove anything, you did a good job writing about it. You wrote a decent amount, and in that amount you started to make some insights. What you didn't do was expand on the insights you started to make. You could have talked more about the serious feelings that you felt and the dress code that you noticed.
What your blog did do: It was entertaining. It was like Seinfeld, about nothing, but at the same time the way you wrote made it more interesting then most other projects with heavier content. It was definitely more interesting then my project.
What you should have done is reflected on the experience. You could have wrote about what you learned through your failure. There was a couple of things you could have talked about learning but you failed to do so.

Sophia:
I really liked this part:
"Even though this didn't work out as we wanted I still looked at it as a somewhat successful experience. It showed me how serious and sensitive death is to people. I saw how serious the dress code was because I felt horrible that I was the only one (besides Kevin) who wasn't dressed up in a black suit and I don't know if I should feel bad about that. I saw how the funeral home approaches death, because the vibe of serious and quiet was very strong as soon as you walk in the place."

This was my favorite part, because I always wondered why people dressed up for funerals. It doesn't really make sense - when people are unhappy, they generally don't want to put a lot of effort into the way they look. I suppose it is out of respect, but I still don't understand why people would be so strict about it.

Ruben:
Jasper, I liked how you and your group decided to go for a hands on experience. Even if you weren't ready for the wake, your group members still tried to get as much information as possible. What you learned from this experience should help you with other projects in the future.