Review Of Chapter 9 Of Mary Roach's 'Stiff'

Alan Soderberg Dexter Gore English 1021 8 March 2024 Final Draft Although head transplants are scarcely used in today's medical practice, there is still ongoing research being developed about this topic, with the prime goal in mind of potentially resurrecting a human as well as restoring one's ability to move who are severely paralyzed as well as giving them the ability to enjoy life without restrictions. However, what most may not realize is the grim history surrounding head transplants that enabled today’s researchers to get where they are now. In chapter 9 of Mary Roach’s “Stiff”, the author dives into the advancements in the research and ethics surrounding head transplants of the past and how they improved modern health studies. Using examples

Mary Roach's end to chapter 9 “Just a Head” is set in the mid-1960s, primarily focused on a neurosurgeon named Robert White. He was known for his research regarding head transplants through the use of primates and other fascinating methods regarding the brain. In this section, Roach uses rhetorical questions to get the reader to truly think about the ethics surrounding this research and the animals studied for this research. An example of this is when Roach declares “What must that have been like? What is the purpose, the justification?” (Roach 210). This evidence shows how Roach uses the rhetorical question to ask the reader what it must have been like for that monkey to go through that kind of research. The use of this device allows the reader to reflect on the ethics surrounding the research of Dr. White and the use of animals in his studies. Roach states “So what justified putting a rhesus monkey through it?” (Roach 212). This quote shows how Roach poses the rhetorical question surrounding whether the monkey should have been put through the tests it went