On Natural Death Dylan Thomas Analysis

“Grief is like the ocean, it comes in waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim” This quote from the author, Vicki Harrison shows us a pattern people share in dealing with difficult times. Our worlds can change in the blink of an eye. When dealing with some of life’s situations we encounter many different responses to death and illness that many people feel even if it does not involve them personally. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and her essay “On the Fear of Death,” Lewis Thomas’s “On Natural Death,” Joan Didion’s “After Life,” Edward F. Truschke’s “Dear Caring Friend,” and Dylan Thomas’s poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” give us different perspectives on these

The caregivers are a crucial aspect in the patients last moments. The caregivers are there to help and support the dying, but many forget that they themselves need support in order to carry on. As death being something we can’t prepare for it becomes tougher when we know that for now there isn’t so much of a cure, just a few things to prolong it. Truschke in his letter strives to explain this matter when he writes; “No one is really prepared to deal with the nightmare of Alzheimer’s on their own” (110). His point is not only with dealing with Alzheimer’s disease itself, but can be looked at with all other causes of death and illnesses. No one should have to deal with emotional turmoil by themselves. Sometimes the support that caregivers receive is the only hope that they can get during difficult times. As for Dylan Thomas in his poem we can see that he feels that his father is not supposed to die because he is not ready for him to leave. If his father passes, then he will have no longer have anyone to accompany him on the journey of life. He uses his poem to urge to the sick that they cannot give up and leave everyone alone. From going through the recent death of my grandmother, I can assure from personal experience that sometimes the burden placed on the caregiver can be more strenuous than the battle that the loved one is fighting. The caregivers are the ones that struggle with trying to understand why this is happening to someone they love so much. I know my mother and I sat for hours in the hospital listening to how content and happy my grandmother sounded and we questioned night after night why was this her time to be fading away from us. We would stay up all night to make sure that nothing would go wrong. We would stay up to ensure that she was as comfortable as she could possibly be. The stress and