The Five Stages of Grief by Kubler-Ross - Essay Sample

Grief is a natural response that someone goes through when a loved one passes away. Lament for a Son by Wolterstorff portrays grief as a process and narrates how he dealt with pain from the loss of his son, who died on the mountain. In the entire Lament for a Son, Wolterstorff provides insights that grief is part of a persons life after the loss of a loved one, and that religion plays a role in bringing hope to the living. Primarily, grief is a process that one undergoes until it is time for them to accept reality. According to Wolterstorffs view, children are the future and no parent has to bury their son. The paper discusses the five stages of grief by Kubler-Ross, explains how Wolterstorff finds joy after his loss, describes the meaning and significance of death, and explains how the hope of resurrection plays a role in comforting Wolterstorff. It is believable that grief is the most emotional time in a persons life.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The five stages of grief by Kubler-Ross are

Denial the stage of grief occurs when someone comes to terms with the loss of a loved one through death. Generally, they always think that they are dreaming and that the news of their death is not real. Wolterstorff demonstrates denial when he starts to imagine what would happen if Eric did not climb the mountain.

Anger in the stage, people who mourn tend to be angry with the dead or people around them. In Lament for a Son, Wolterstorff is angry that Eric had to climb the mountain by himself. As well, he is angry that he did not get the chance to bid Eric goodbye.

Bargaining here, a grieving person begins to ask himself the what if question. Wolterstorff tries to imagine that the pain from the loss of his son would have been a little better if he died of a disease.

Depression here, individuals resort to withdrawal and other people as they try to deal with the loss. In depression, people tend to blame themselves for the death. Even so, Wolterstorff asserts that he feels responsible for his sons death.

Acceptance at this point, grieving people learn to cope with the loss. Individuals begin to move on with their life. Wolterstorff demonstrates the stage of acceptance when he avows that he will move on with his life as if Eric did not die.

The connection between the five stages of grief is that they all help individuals to identify what they feel in the real sense. Kubler-Ross (2011) asserts that there is no time or the right way to mourn. The author explains that some of the stages of grief may overlap or recur. Besides, she explains that I the period of sorrow, individuals should not make comparisons because it can lessen the significance of their feelings.

Wolterstorff finds joy after his loss in a way that he believes in religion. His belief of resurrection consoles him and makes him think that he will meet his son again. In the narration, Wolterstorff believes that one day he will talk with his son. According to him, God mourns together with those people in grief. In the narrative, Wolterstorff (2012) asserts that he slowly began to see that believing in the death and rise of Christ brings about the power and challenge to grow from the suffering love. The author articulates that he shall struggle to live in reality of the death and resurrection of Christ. Wolterstorff (2012) avows that he has learned suffering does well because God himself let his son Jesus Christ suffer on the earth for the sake of others.

In light of a Christian narrative, the meaning and significance of death is the shifting point of a Christian from earthly life into an internal life with God. Even so, 1 Thessalonians 4:14 states that for we believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again, we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep with him. Christians have the belief that God is fair and unbiased. Additionally, Trisel (2015) notes that immortality is meaningless and that death provide meaning to life. The author explains that if a dead person did more in his life, then death will add more meaning to his life. Wolterstorff (2012) affirms that when Eric dies, they began to restructure their family. As well, he explains that Eric was independent and that he used to give his younger brothers advice. He mentions that Erics earthly belongings remain Gods images on earth.

Hope of the resurrection plays a role in comforting Wolterstorff in a way he believes that one day he will reunite with his son. On a broader perspective, resurrection gives Wolterstorff an opportunity to meet with his son and gives him the hope of being with Eric once again. In the narration, Wolterstorff (2012) asks himself whether he will hear Eric say dad, I am back one day. At the end of the narrative, Wolterstorff bids Eric goodbye and believes that they will be together one day.

In summary, it is believable that grief is the most emotional time in a persons life. On the real sense, Wolterstorff was able to settle his sorrow through his faith in God. Apparently, his systematic narration in the Lament for a Son is honest and appealing. Entries through the book show his agony and systematic steps of the grieving process. Overall, the book by Nicholas Wolterstorff is insightful and can be useful to people who suffer from the loss.

References

Kubler-Ross, E. (2011). On Death and Dying. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Trisel, A. B. (2015). Does Death Give Meaning to Life? Journal of Philosophy of Life Vol.5,

No.2, Pp 62-81. Wolterstorff, N. (2012). Lament for a Son. Retrieved from http://being2gether.org/wp-

/uploads/2012/07/Lament-for-a-Son.pdf