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Speaker:
Mary Roach is both the speaker and the narrator of Stiff. She was born in New Hampshire to unusually old parents and eventually moved to San Francisco. Here, she took part in writing newspaper articles about the weird and wild of the world. Although she never obtained a college degree in science, it is one of her favorite subjects to write about, which makes her relatable. She narrates her novel through a first person point of view, and it seems as though she is talking to herself for most of it.
Occasion:
Roach remembers the death of her mother and decides to delve into the realm of death in order to better understand it. She uses her research skills she obtained from writing newspaper articles in order to gather various pieces of information about common questions regarding a person’s postmortem.
Audience:
Roach directs her piece at anyone who feels awkward when talking about death or dying. She appeals to people who are curious or afraid about what will happen to their bodies after they have passed away. She discusses these subjects in a lighthearted and comical manner in order to convince her readers that death is just another part of being human. Roach avoids boring her audience by discussing complex or confusing topics in layman’s terms.
Purpose:
The primary goal of Roach’s book is to show readers that their deaths are not necessarily the ‘be all, end all’ of their existences. She quells the postmortem fears of her readers by explaining the possible experiences of a human cadaver in great detail. Roach wants readers to know that cadavers can still play a critical role in the scientific world, even when the people who once owned them are deceased.
Subject:
The main subject of Roach’s novel is the different things for which a cadaver can be used once a person has passed away. She discusses a myriad of possibilities; everything from producing safer vehicles to teaching the world about the realities of crucifixion. Through scientific study, Roach answers the questions that have piqued the minds of people for many years.
Tone:
Roach approaches the seemingly dark and dismal topic of death with an air of lightheartedness and humor. She uses her naturally quirky personality to her advantage in order to lighten the stereotypical mood about death and dying. Roach does not add much of her own opinion into her novel; rather, her personality shines through via her raw observations and thoughts while involved in certain cadaver experiments or interviews with renowned scientists. Because Roach did not try to sugarcoat death in her book, her readers gained a valuable sense of realism and honesty from it.
"Here's the other thing I think about. It makes little sense to try to control what happens to your remains when you are no longer around to reap the joys or benefits of that control. People who make elaborate requests concerning disposition of their bodies are probably people who have trouble with the concept of not existing. Leaving a note requesting that your family and friends travel to the Ganges or ship your body to a plastination lab in Michigan is a way of exerting your influence after you're gone-of still being there in a sense. I imagine it is a symptom of the fear, the dread, of being gone, of the refusal to accept that you no longer control, or even participate in, anything that happens on Earth. Mourning and moving on are hard enough, why add to the burden? If someone wants to arrange a balloon launch of the deceased's ashes into outer space, that's fine. But if it is burdensome or troubling for any reason, perhaps they shouldn't have to."
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