Valar morghulis: All men must die

A Thesis Presented To the Department of Literature College of Nursing

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement World Literature

III 3 March 2012

Acknowledgement The researcher would like to thank Mr. Elmer C. Hibek for not failing me this school year (2011-2012).

ii

Dedication

I dedicate this work to the Lord, my parents and my friends

iii

Title....i Acknowledgement......ii Dedicationiii

CHAPTER

PAGE

1: The Problem 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Statement of the Problem 1.3 Scope 1.4 Significance 2: Review of Related Literature 3: Discussion 4: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation 4.1 Summary 4.2 Conclusion 4.3 Recommendation 35 36 37 1 7 7 8 9 24

Bibliography Biography of the Author Curriculum Vitae

37 41 46

Chapter 1 The Problem 1.1 Introduction

It seems disrespectful to discuss the meaning and

value

of

death.

The

preciousness

of

life

underlies

all

clinical disciplines and preservation of life is a paramount clinical goal. Understandably, for clinicians death is the

enemy to be conquered, and when it occurs, it represents defeat and failure. Phenomenologically, death is nonbeing. The essential nature of life entails activity, purpose, and making order from disorder. De ath is the antithesis of life. Nonlife is inactive, and despite its stillness, death is chaos. Life generates its own meanin g. In contrast, on its face death appears devoid of meaning and value.

Because philosophically I cannot know anything with certainty about death, I must accept that death itself may (or may not) be me aningless. Neve rtheless, it is apparent that the fact of death profoundly impacts our understanding and experience of meaning in life. Although it re mains unknowable, deaths relationship to life is essential and as profound a s the relationship of darkness to light. Death need not illuminate life, it is sufficient for death to provide the background against which the light of life is seen. It is from this perspective, both clinically and philosophically, that the question: becomes Wha t is the and mean ing and value of death? into the

relevant

approachable.

Inquiry

meaning

and

value

of

death

can

be

approached

from

cultural, individual, and co mmun al perspectives. If death represents ultimate ego annihilation, it is no wonder tha t people have an aversion to thinking and talking about death. Thanatologist French Herman writer and Fe ifel quotes La

seventeenth

century

moralist,

Rouchefoucauld, One can no more look steadily at death than at the sun. (Byock, 2002) Contemplating nonb eing is a Gordian knot and atte mpting to understand death is

inherently frustrating and can provoke considerable anxiety. Indeed a nu mber of psychologists, including Freud, have considered death to be the root source of all human anxiety. It is interesting , however, that it is equally frustrating,

although less anxiety provoking to contemplate nonexistence before ones conception and birth than after ones death. It may not be the absence of ones being that causes

emotional pain, but the loss of having bee n. The anguish of anticipated loss of relationships to others and the world is not evoked by contemplating people and the world before birth. The human We capacity can and only to conceptualize on time and,

therefore, to conceptualize the future underlies the meaning of death. speculate toward other species

understanding

orientation

death.

Ethological

observations reveal that animals flee from perceived threats to life instinctively, although these instincts can be overridden in special circumstances dare we say, for a higher purpose? such as the defense of young offspring.

Over the past 20 years society in general, and the caring professions in particular, have begun to culturally acknowledge and integrate an acceptance of lifes end. Fueled by the aging of the baby -boom generation and the infirmity of their parents and by documented, widespread deficiencies in care and in the midst of the assisted suicide debate, society has begun asking a second layer of

questions: What value is there in the last phase of life? Can there be any meaning and value in the process of dying? Can there be value in grieving? Can there be value in caring for people as they die? The disciplines of hospice and palliative care continue to make critical contributions to this process of social and cultural maturation. It is, of course, proper for the caring professions to shoulder the technical co mponents of societys fundamental responsibilities toward its me mbers as they die. Clear communication, ethical decision making, meticulous, manage ment competent, of and when are necessary, basic intensive and

sympto ms

standards

reasonable expectations for care. Physicians and nurses cannot not guarantee that all sympto ms will be fully controlled, nor that every person will die well but on behalf of society clinicians can commit to doing whatever is necessary to alleviate physical distress. We can commi t to not giving up, to never abandoning patients. Whatever else we cannot do, we can commit to be present for another, this is the ground substance of human responsiveness. Whether or not society ackn owledges a responsibility to provide organ transplantati on, experimental
3

chemotherapy or even physicia n -assisted suicide, we can acknowledge a social responsibility to provide the basic elements of human care and honor an inalienable human right to die acco mpanied, in relative comfort, and in a clean, dry bed. The idea that a person only ha s is life and that nothing survives the death of the physical body . It is g enerally accepted today that it has been promoted to some kind of self-evident truth. One would suppose that as this idea has become so widespread the n it would be supported by hard evidence. There is no hard evidence for the claim that

death is the end. In fact, there is no evidence on whatsoever that supports the cl aim that our consciousness and self. T he essence of our bein g, are extinguished when w e die. So when we subscribe to the i dea that our consciousness and self are extinguished at death, then a person cannot pin this idea up on anything but belief. Nobody has ever been able to prove that our consciousness and self are extinguished at death. The word death comes fro m Old English dea, which in turn comes from Proto -Germanic dauthaz. This comes from the Proto -Germanic stem dheu - meaning the 'P rocess, act, condition of dying'. Dauthaz wa s reconstructed through the use of the daughter tongues of Proto-Germa nic, such as doth from Old Saxon, dath from Old Frisian , dood from Dutch, tod from Old High German, daui from Old Norse, dd from S wedish, and dauas from Gothic. Christianity is the religion most obsessed with death and the afterlife, its alle ged
4

aftermath.

While

churches

encompass inlaid graves and cemeteries, both Jews and Muslims regard the flesh of corpses as a source of ultimate contamination. In various belief systems, the dead are either holy or repugnant. But, what exactly is death? Death is the term used to describe the cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism.

Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or

trauma resulting in terminal injury. Deaths due to Unnatural causes are incid ences of suicide s and homicide s. Death and its concept are absolutely empty. No picture comes to mind. The concept of death has a use for the living, while death itself has no use for anything. All we can say about death is that it is either real or it is not real. If it is real, then the end of ones life is a simple termin ation. If it is not real, then the end of ones embodied life is not true death, but a portal to another life. The nature of death has been for millennia a central concern of the enquiry, world's religious and belief in traditions and some kind

of philosophical

of afterlife or rebirth has been a central aspect of religious belief. In mode rn scientific enquiry, the origin and nature of consciousness has yet to be fully understood; any such view about the existence or non-existence of consciousness after death therefore remains sp eculative. Having no content, one must speak of death

metaphorically. For those who think death is re al, deat h is a blank wall. For those who think it is not real, death is a door to another life. Whether one thinks of death as a wall or a
5

door, we cannot avoid using one metaphor or another. We often say that a person who dies is relieved of suffering. Ho wever, if death is real, then it is metaphorical even to say that the dead do not suffer, as though so mething of them remains not to suffer. As there are already many speculations about some sort of next life, I will focus on the view that death is real and mark s the final end of an individuals life. As Ludwig Wittgenstein famo usly put it, Death is not an experience in life. has been for millennia a The nature of death concern of the

central

world's religious traditions and of philosophical enquiry, and belief in some kind of afterlife or rebirth has been a central aspect of religious belief. In modern scientific enquiry, the origin and nature any of consciousness has view about the yet to be fully

understood;

such

existence or non-

existence of co nsciousn ess after death therefore remains speculative. Having no content, one must speak of death

metaphorically. For those who think death is re al, death is a blank wall. For those who think it is not real, death is a door to another life. Whether one thinks of d eath as a wall or a door, we cannot avoid using one metaphor or another. We often say that a person who dies is relieved of suffering. Ho wever, if death is real, then it is metaphorical even to say that the dead do not suffer, as though so mething of them remains not to suffer. As there are already many speculations about some sort of next life, I will focus on the view that death is real and marks the final end of an

individuals life. As Ludwig Wittgenstein famo usly put it, Death is not an experience in life.

1.2

Statement of the Problem

The study seeks to answer the following questions : 1. What are the similarities in the attitude of the main characters in the different storie s?

2. Ho w did the main character/s act in facing death ?

3. What unusual event/s happened in the story? How did the different characters react when they are confronted with an unusual happening? 1.3 Scope This study wo uld discuss short stories of Guy de

Maupassant related to the mu rder, suicide, and revenge. Any topic which is not given in the aforementioned

statement would not be discusse d in this paper. This Literature thesis only included five short stories from the book Original Short Stories by Guy de

Maupassant. Th e five stories included are the following: 1) The Horrible, 2 ) The Devil, 3) Suicides, 4) De ad Wo mans Secret, and 5) A Vendetta.

1.4

Significance This study will be one of the building blocks of more

studies to come about the different topics that it tackles. It would validate the previous studies that were done in order to confirm its authenticity. Also, it would provide references for future researchers who would be conducting a simila r study. This type of work would enrich the knowledge of the people as it adds to the collection of research es that we have. Moreove r, the readers would be able to give more value to the most precious gift that we have life

Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature Death Hu mans have a rema rkable capacity for committing violence against themselves and others, causing 1.6 million violent deaths a year -- half of those by suicide, according to a new study from the World He alth Organization. Someone kills themselves every 40 seconds, someone is murdered every 60 seconds and someon e dies in a wa r every 100 seconds, according to the report re leased Thursday in

Geneva. And for every person who dies, another 15 to 20 suffer grievous physical harm. The report, which took three years to co mpile, found enormous differences in violent death across the globe. The murder rate in Colombia, for example, was nearly 85 deaths per 100,000 people ages 10 to 29, compa red with about 1.5 per 100,000 throughout much of Europe. Researchers found a suicide rate in

Lithuania of 52 per 100,000 people, co mpared with just five per 100,000 in Mexico. Physiological death is now seen as less an event than a process: conditions once considered indicative of death are now reversible. Where in the process a dividing line is drawn between life and death depends on fa ctors beyond the presence or absence of vital signs. In general, clinical

death is neither necessary nor sufficient for a determination of legal death. A to patient be brain clinical
9

with dead can death

working heart and be pronounced Precise

lungs determine d legally dead

without

occurring.

medical definition of death, in other words, becomes more problematic, paradoxically, asscientific

knowledge and medicine advance. Discussion apparent chaos of of making death of me aning be in face of the

wo uld

incomplete

without

considering the role of rituals. Every religion, as well as every ethnic and regional culture, encompasse s traditions, customs, and rituals in response to death. Since the early stages of the scientific revol ution, public attitudes adherence with traditional customs and rituals surrounding death has steadily eroded. There has been a tendency to view such rituals as superstitious or so mehow primitive.

(Byock, 2002)

There is now evidence that this trend is be ginning to reverse. Organized, informal vigils within neighborhoods

surrounding the impending death of a beloved individual may include prayers, singing, and placing luminaria along the persons front walk. It has become fairly co mmo n for hospice and palliative care programs to offer music as a means of soothing and honoring a dying person. Although traditional funerals and formal religious services may be on the wane, me morial offering services a remain for well attended. to In addition to

ch ance

people

gr ieve

together,

contemporary memorials are often lively celebrations of the deceased individual, encompassing photographs and videos of the person along with music and readings that held meaning for the deceased or hold meaning for friends and family. It is possible to see
10

that

renewed

interest

and

spontaneous sophisticated,

generation

of

new effort

ritual to

forms respond

as to

a the

well -considered

tragedy of death by making me aning, investing shared time and activity with meaning . Natural de ath Most people wo uld probably agree that it is preferabl e for a person's death to be a natural death - but what does that mean?

(Byock, 2002)

The only definition of a natural death is a natural death is a death that results from a natural disease process, distinct from a death that results fro m accident or violence. In contrast, death caused by active intervention is

called unnatural death. The "unnatural" causes are usually given as accident, misadventure, suicide, or homicide

(Bryant, 2003). In so me settings, other categories may be added. For example, to acute a prison may intoxication track the deaths (Stark,

of inmates due 2000) Unnatural death

separately.

According to

Rynearson, (1986) when someon e close

dies, it is natural to mourn their loss to think of them with sorrow and miss their presence in your life. If they died fro m a natural death, then the dying would be understandable. One could understand what was going wrong in t heir body and why they couldnt be saved and if the natural dying

11

went on for wee ks, months, or years, you would have time to adjust to what was happening and could begin to say

goodbye. This is not the case with unnatural dying; when someone close dies a n unnatural death, you not only mou rn their loss but are forced to adjust to the unnatural way that they died. It is a double blow: not only have they died, but the way they died is senseless. Unnatural dying is abrupt, and traumatic. There is no time for goodbye.

Unnatural dying contains unique dimensions that make it different than natural dying:

Violencethe dying is injurious and often mutilating. Violationthe dying is transgressive . Except for suicide, unnatural dying is forced upon the decreased wh o has no choice in avoiding or preventing it. Volitionthe dying is a human act of intention or some degree of negligence or fault with accident. Murder By definition, murder is the unlawful killing of

another human. As the loss of a hu man being inflicts enormous grief upon the individuals close to the victim, as well as the fact that the commission of a murder is highly detrimen tal to the good order within society, most societ ies both present and in antiquity have

12

considered

it

most

serious

crime

worthy

of

the

harshest of punishment. Murder shall be taken to have been committed where the act of the accused, or thing done by him, omitted to be done, causing the death, was done or omitted with reckless indifference to human life, or with intent to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm upon a person. (Ha wkin s, 2009) According to Dressler (2009) The elements of common law mu rder are: 1. Unlawful This distinguishes murder fro m

killings that are done within the boundaries of law, such as an execution or the killing of enemy soldiers during a war. 2. Killing At common law life ended

with cardiopulmonary arrest ; the total and permanent cessation of blood circulation and respiration. With

advances in medical technology courts have adopted irreversible cessation of all brain function as markin g the end of li fe. 3. Of a human - This element prese nts the issue

of when life begins. At common law a fetus wa s not a human being. Life began when the fetus passed

through the birth canal and took its first breath. 4. By another huma n - The requirement that the

person kille d be someone other than the perpetrator excluded suicide from the definition of murder.
13

5.

With malice aforethought - originally malice its everyday killing meaning a of another

aforethought carried deliberate and

premeditated

motivated by ill will. Murder ne cessarily required that an appreciable time pass between the formation and execution of the intent to kill. The courts broadened the scope of murd er by eliminating th e requirement of actual premeditation and deliberation as well as true malice. All that was required for malice aforethought to exist is that the perpetrator act with one of the four states of mind tha t constitutes "malice. The four states of mind recogni zed as constituting "malice" i. ii. death, iii. Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high are:

Intent to kill, Intent to inflict grievous bodily harm short of

risk to human life (sometime s described as an "abandoned and malignant heart"), or iv. Intent to commit a dangerous felony (the

"felony-murde r" doctrine). Under state of mind (i), intent to kill, the deadly weapon rule applies. uses a Thus, deadly if weapon the or defendant instrument

intentionally

against the victim, such use authorizes a permissive inference of intent to kill. In other words , "intent follows the bullet." Examples of deadly weapons and

14

instruments include but are not limited to guns, knives, deadly toxins or chemicals or gases and even vehicles when intentionally used to harm a victim. Under malignant state heart", of mind the (iii), killing an "abandoned result and fro m

must

defendant's conduct involving a reckless indifference to human life and a conscious disregard of an

unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily injury. Under state of mind (iv), the felony -murd er

doctrine, the felony committed must be an inherently dangerous robbery or felony, such as burglary, arson, rape,

kidnapping. a lesser all

Importantly, included

the

underlying as be

felony cannot be assault,

offense such would

otherwise

criminal

homicides

murder as all are felonies. Many jurisdictions divide mu rder by degrees. The most co mmon divisions are between first and second degree murder. Generally, second degree mu rder is common law mu rder, and first degre e is an aggravated form. The aggravating factors of first degree murder are a specific intent to kill, premeditation, and deliberation. In addition, murder committed by acts such as

strangulation, poisoning, or lying in wait is also treated as first degree murder.

15

Exclusions

Capital punish ment ordered by a legitimate court

of law as the result of a conviction in a criminal trial with due process for a serious crime.

Killing

of

enemy

co mb atants

by lawful

combatants in accordance with lawful orders in war, although illicit killings within a war ma y constitute

murder or ho micidal war crimes.

The administration of lethal drugs by a doctor to

a terminally ill patient, if the intention is solely to alleviate pain, is seen in many jurisdictions as a special case (Otowski, 1997) .

In some cases, killing a person who is attempting

to kill another is classified as self-defense and thus, not murder.

Capital Punishment Capital punish m ent has in the past been practic ed by most societies; currently only fifty -eight nations

actively practice it, and ninety -seven countries have abolished it It is a matter of active controversy in

various countries and states, and positions can vary within a single political ideology or cultural region. In the European Union me mber sta tes, Article 2 of

the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union prohibits the use of capital punishment

Administration of lethal drugs

16

Passive euthanasia is based on the funda mental ethical principle that informed, autonomous patients have th e right to refuse any and all medical treatments, no matter what the conse quences. Yet, under

circu mstances of identical or even greater suffering where no life -sustaining treatment is being used,

current law forb ids the physician to take direct action designed to achieve the same end e ven if it is

rationally requested by the patient and would result in a more hu mane death. (Craig, 2008)

Self-defense Acting in self-defense or in defense of another

person is generally accepted as legal justification for killing a person in situations that would otherwise have been murder. However, a self -defense killing might be considered ma nslaughter if the killer established

control of the situation before the killing took place. In the case of self -defense it is calle d a "justifiable

homicide". A killing simply to prevent the theft of one's property may not be a justifiable homicide, depending on the laws of a place.

Insanity Mental disorder may apply to a wide range of disorders including psycho sis caused

by schizophrenia and dementia, and excuse the person from the need to undergo the stress of a trial as to
17

liability.

Usually, sociopathy and

other personality

disorders are not legally considered insanity, because of the belief they are the result of free will in many societies. In some jurisdictions, following the pre -trial hearing to determine the extent of the disorder, the defense of "not guilty by reason of insanity" may be used to get a not guilty verdict. This defense has two elements: 1. That the defendant had a serious mental illness,

disease, or defect. 2. of That the defendant's mental condition, at the time the killing, rendered the perpetrator unable to

determine right from wrong, or that what he or she was doing was wron g.

Under the French Penal Code: Article 122 -1 A person is not criminally liable who, when the act was committed, was suffering from a psychological or neuropsychological disorder which destroyed his

discernment or his ability to control his actions. A person who, at the time he acted, was suffering from a psychological or neuropsychological disorder which reduced his discern ment or impeded his ability to control his actions, remains punishable; howe ver, the

18

court shall take this into account when it decides the penalty and determines it s regime. Those who successfully argue a defense based on a mental disord er are usually referred to man datory clinical treatme nt until they are certified safe to be released back into the community, rather than prison.

Suicide Suicide has been a popular topic among social scientists ever since E mile Durkheims (1897) seminal work Le Suicide. Sociologists and psychologists, in particular, have produced an enormous literature on the subject. But economists contributions to the st udy of suicide have been few and far between, especially in the realm of theory. With the exception of a handful of

works, econo mists have largely steered clear of the subject. Yet economists possess a set of tools,

characterized by uncertainty. Over one million people die by suicide every year. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that it is the 13th leading cause of death worldwide a nd the National Safety Council rates it sixth in the United States. It is a leading cause of death among teenagers and adults under thirty five . Th e rate of suicid e is far higher in men than in wo men, with males wo rldwide three to four times more likely to kill themselves than females. There are an estimate d ten to twenty million non-fatal attemp ted suicides every year worldwid e .
19

There have been many philosophical argume nts made that contend that suicide is immoral and

unethical. (Craig, 2008) One popular argument is that many of the reasons for committing suicide such as depression, emotional pain, or economic hardship are transitory and can be ameliorated by therapy and through making changes to some aspects of one's life. A co mmon adage in the discourse surrounding suicide prevention sums up this view: "Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem." However, the

argument against this is that while emotional pain may seem transitory to most people, and in many cases it is, in other cases it may be extremely difficult or even impossible to resolve, even throu gh counseling or

lifestyle change, depending upon the severity of the affliction and the person's ability to cope with their pain. Examples of this are incurable disease or severe, lifelong mental illness Choosing death before dishonor is seen by some philosophers and ethicists as a rational reason to

commit suicide. According to these experts, committing suicide can be a rational, morally permissib le, and sometimes even obligatory act. Victor Cosculluela,

author of The Ethics of Suicide, contends that suicide is rational and permissible if it serves as an expre ssion of ones deepest values or as an is escape from an he or

unbearable continues, if

existence. it will

Suicide

obligatory, from death

protect

others

suffering, such as a soldier falling on a grenade or a

20

pilot crashing a disabled plane into a hill to avoid a field full of children. (Leone, Stalcup, Barbour &

Tama ra, 1998) Health care professionals believe that suicide can never be a rational choice. Leon R. Kass, an ethicist, physician, and outspoken critic of the right -to-die

move ment, argues that the determination to kill oneself is often made in response to feelings of guilt, fear, despair, or rejection. Suicide in these situations may be understandable and even forgivable, but it is still an irrational and emotional response. Furthermore,

because death is unimaginable, Kass contends, one cannot accurately judge whether death wo uld be

preferable to life. Therefore, he concludes, to choose death cannot possibly be a ra tional deci sion. (Kass, 1990) Author Joyce Carol Oates agre es: Rationally one cannot choose Death because Death is an unknown experience, and perhaps it isnt even an experience perhaps it is simply nothing; and one cannot imagine nothing. (Leone, et al. 1998 ) Oates and Kass assert that the merits of other actions can be imagined

because it is possible to discuss them with people who have experienced them; death, however, is totally

unknowable.

21

Revenge Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to It a grievance, is be it real or

perceived.

also it

called payback, retribution , retaliation or vengeance ;

may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice. Revenge makes a persons body shudder in fear; a revenge essay can vouch for this. Revenge essays can deal with a lot of topics and characters. For example, a college essay paper on revenge could talk about

childhood anger or en mity that turned violent in latter life. The essays on revenge could even speak about what reve nge is all about. A good revenge essay should talk about how to avoid such revengeful feelings and how to overco me them. A revenge essay could define revenge and make it simple for a common man to understand the deep -rooted concepts. Of the psychological, for revenge, "The moral, and cultural

foundation Nussbau m has

philosopher Martha sense of the

written:

primitive

justre markably constant from several ancient cultures to modern institutions ... starts fro m the notion that a human life ... is a vulnerable thing, a thing that can be invaded, wounded, violated by another's act in many ways. For this penetration, the only re medy that seems appropriate is a counter invasion, equally deliberate, equally grave. And to right the balance truly,

22

the retribution must be exactly, strictly proportional to the original encroachment. It differs fro m the original act only in the sequence of time and in the fact that it is response rather than original act a fact frequently obscured if there is a long sequence of acts and

counteracts" In terms of the philosophical debate, and as

Nussbau m states in a later work, the pro comp assion person recognizes that private revenge is an especially unsatisfactory, costly way to effect the punish ment of offenders, often causing the exchan ge of damages to perpetuate without limit, and cycles of provocation and retaliation, represented by vendettas or blood feuds, may indeed be carried out over long periods of time, poisoning the entire climate of social life (Equity & Mercy 1999). The feelings of envy and deep hatred which can ultimately lead to revenge would also be analysed, Here, revenge is no longer part of a simple heroic code but is seen as a long -protracted and complex feeling that consumes the speaker and is symbolically

represented by a growing tree bearing a poisonous apple (Equity & Mercy 1999).

23

Chapter 3 Discussion

1. What are attitude towards death of the main character/ characters in the different storie s?

In The Horrible , the attitude of General de G ---, the main character, towards death was horrifying based from his experience. Being a veteran and an

experienced soldier, death for him is not a traumatic experience. But there are instances where deaths in the story were unreasonable, that could lead into madness and bafflement.

In The Devil, La Rapet viewed death as a source of income . La Rapet nursing for the dying earned her money does her attitude toward s death is more on the occupational level. Since there is influence of money, greed also will eventually come.

In Suicide, M. X-- attitude toward s death as an end to the repetition of daily routines which he repulsed him. Me mories of her past made him reflect on what he is on the present time, seeing that his past was better than his present death is a way where h e would never degenerate. In Dead Wo mans Secret the son and daughter of the dead mother viewed death here as a painful and

24

sad experience. The me mories here sweet me mo ries of their mother turned into anguish because their mother was no more.

In A Vendetta the widow of Paolo Saverini viewed death here as a way of fulfilling vengeance for his son. So the attitude towards death here is ire , although not stated in the story .

2. Ho w did the main character/s act in facing death?

In The Horrible, General de Ge --- when faced with death was emotionally in pain that he knelt down and cried at the scene of the one the manslaughter.

In

The

Devil,

La

Rapet

was

in

fact

the

one

responsible for the death of Mother Bontemps. When facing death she acted like the Devil who m she had described in the story.

In Suicides, M. X--- wanted to be dead. In Dead Wo mans Secret the son and the daughter were grieving because the mother who m they have loved until the end died.

3. What unusual event/s happened in the story? Ho w did the different character /s react when they are

confronted with an unusual happening?

25

In The Horrible , two unusual thing s happened: the manslaughter of the accused spy, and the cannibalism of the soldiers in Flatters Mission. General de G --- saw the true horror of death. The de aths were too much for him that he could not cope yet that time.

In The Devil, the unusual thing th at happened here for La Rapet was that Honore Bontemp s mother

continued to live on despite of approaching death. She confronted this unusual happening by disguising herself as the Devil that scared the mother to her death.

In Suicides, the unusual thing for M. X --- is wh en he started to read the letters of the past from his drawers that reminded him of how his life before was better with co mpanion s of his youth . He confronted this unusual thing by committing suicide . In Dead Wo ma ns Secret, the unusual thing that happened here was when the son and the daughter surprisingly found out about father was not their

biological father. They confronted this unusual thing by severing their ties with their mother.

In A Vendetta, the unusual thing that happened was the quarrel between Antoine Saverini, the son of the widow of Paolo Saverini and Nicolas Ravolati. No one knew who was right or wron g, No justice wa s given to the death to Antoine Saverini and this lead to the

26

vengeance

of

the

widow

of

Paolo

S averini

against

Nicolas Ravolati. She took justice in her own hands to avenge his sons death and killed Nicolas Ravolati.

Summary: The Horrible The story started when two men were talking about how horrible a certain accident involving two me n and three wo men drowned before the eyes of their guests. General de G--- then interrupted them and told the m two story of what Horrible really means. Firs t was from his personal

experience. It was during the

war of 1870. They were

defeated by the Prussians; disbanded, demo ralized, and exhausted they travel to the me et up point. It was very cold that day, and the earth was covered with snow. They could not rest nor stop from walking for when they do the coldness of the weather would freeze their joint and also the blood circulating and thus killing them in a matter of seconds. As much as they could not leave any one behind, they cannot do anything because onc e they sat down to rest they were already dead ma n. So they continued without stopping. Two gendarmes came, holding a man in their arms. And that same man was accused of being a spy because he kept asking about information about the artillery. The word sp y spread like wildfire within them and much anger was stirred the air; they wanted him dead. Being in command of a

battalion, General de G --- wanted to speak but he was afraid his authority is would not be any more recognize due to the
27

rage they have to the ene my after losing to them in battle. Then a man from his behind struck down the accused spy, flung him against the tree, and immediately shot him. The accused spy wa s shot pointlessly, soldiers fought with one another just to get shot of shooting the a ccused spy. Due to the relentless shooting, they attracted the Prussians. In panic, everybody ran away leaving the accused spy with General de G --- and the two gendarmes who brought the accused spy. They searched the body accused spy only to find out that this man was really a wo man. He could not believe that the accused spy was a wo man, whom has been shot

countless of times, was in fact a woman. He could not speak as the two gendarmes wait for his opinion. Then one of them slowly said that Perhaps she came looking for her son of hers in the artillery, who m she had not heard from. The other man replied perhaps, indeed, that is so. General de G--- was in so much pain at the sight of the dead murdered stranger. The other story he got from interrogating a survivor of the Flatters Mission, an Algerian sharpshooter. His story started at a voyage, they were accompanied by pirates that resemble pirates who voyages the sea before. One day in the middle of the desert, their Colonel , Flatters was betrayed and got most of his men massa cred. The remaining

survivors began to retreat with the two ca mels they still have that brought their remaining provisions. They journeyed

through the scorching sun which burned them.

28

As they travel a tribe ca me to them and offered them dates. Little did they know that the dates were p oison ed and so almost all the French man died. Later that night their two camels were stolen the by the Arabs together with that their they

provisions.

Th en

survivors

understood

eventually had to eat each other when they found out that they had no more provisions. As they travelled they

stumbled on a spring, they took turns in drinking. One mo rning, one of them travelers, turned to his comrade. His comrade did not run but instead he lied down the ground and waited for the other approaching man until he is in range of his gunpoint. He killed the approaching man and the others rushed to get their share. The one who killed the fallen man, cut the corpse into pieces and

distributed it among themselves. This only kept them full for two days, and so they begin to kill one after the other so that they could feed on their flesh. The last one to die was their quartermaster, Pobeguin, the night where the supplies came. In the end General de G --- said do you understand now what I mea nt by horrible.

The Devil The story started when Honore Bo ntempts mother was ill and was about to die. He wan ted to get his wheat but the doctor said that he needs to be with his mother because she may die any mo ment. Since he cannot be with his mother for he had to get his wheat he asked La Rapet.

29

La Rapets j ob was to watch over the dead and the dying in short she nursed people until they eventually die. Honore was asking how much would La Rapet service would cost. She had a fixed rate, one for rich people and one for poor people and it was per day. Even for t he poor people Honore thinks it was still too much, so he bargained a fixed price until her mother dies. La Rapet knew that there was some kind of trick so she went to see his moth er to see her condition. She assessed his mother, checked for her vital signs and concluded that she will live only for two to three days. Upon saying this se asked for six francs for three days . Honore who did not like the price bargained again;

eventually he agreed to pay six francs per day. As the days go by it see ms that M other Bontemp s was not dying but rather she was doing well on living that is . This angered the La Rapet, she felted that she was tricked by Honore, who just got his whe at under favorable circu mstance s. La Rapet asked Mother Bontemp s if she have seen the Devil. Mother Bontemps replied no, and thus, La Rapet described the Devil. She said that the Devil appeared

whenever some one is about to die with a broom in his hand and a saucepan on his head. Then she named persons who the Devil visited. La Rapet suddenly vanished from Mother Bontemps foot of the bed; she took a sheet out of the cupboard and wrapped herself in it; she put the iron

saucepan on his head and held the broom in his right hand. She then removed the curtain which hung from the foot of

30

the bed. Up on seeing this sight, Mother Bonte mps

was

terrified, and with her superhuman effort she began to stand up and tried to escape . Mother Bontemps could only lift her chest out of her bed; this was the last thing she could have done. La Rapet watch her, as Mot her Bontemp s eventually collapsed and died. La Rapet then put everything back together the sheet, the saucepan, and the broom. Honore got home and found La Ra pet praying. He calculated

immediately how much she owed her and paid only five francs since she stayed only for two days.

Suicides The story started with M. X---, a man owne r of a restaurant, committing suicide. The cause of his suicide was not cause by tragedies of neither love nor financial troubles; it was a mystery. Until they found a letter written before he killed himself . His letter speaks about his past; how he lived his everyday in repetition. T his repetition ma de him feel weary and disg usted he said it was like going to the same theatre. He Here he re minisced how everything repeats itself endlessly the way he the key in the lock, the place where he find his matches, the first thing which me ets his eye when he enters his room, the manner that he shaves. He even hated the people whom he used to have pleasure being with. He was disgusted with the same ideas, the same joys, the same pleasures, the same habits, the same beliefs. He said that good dig estion is everything in life. A sick stomach

31

induces skepticism unb elief, nightmares and the desire of death. When he sat down on his arm chair , where he have been sitting for thirty years, he tried to clear out his drawers. So he opened his desk and then he disposed majority of the m. But then he saw papers, yellowed by age. He read the m and the first letter he read did not really affected him, they were recent letters from his living friends. As he further examined these letters, he saw one that has his name written in a large, rather bold kind of way. Suddenly, he realized that it was fro m his dearest childhood friend. Then his me mories became vivid and he saw his friend as if he came back to life. As he read letters one after the other, he felt that he wa s travelling thro ugh his whole life, he saw people he only recognized by face, and he even saw his mother and reminisced the days when he was just a child. Then he opened another drawer he found hi mself in his days where he was in love. The last letter he opened goes wa y back fifty years. It was form his mom, he wrote during his writing class. Dead Womans Secret

The story started of how a moth er died in t he story. She had two offspring: a magistrate and a Nun. As they were mourning for their mothers death a priest came by to mourn with the m but they wished to be alone with their mother. As they mourn at their dead mother, me mories of their mother before were torturing that day. They recalled circumstances,
32

words, smiles intonations of their mother. They reme mbered things which she had said. They were very lonely for their love for their mo ther never changed even up to the da y their mother died . As they looking back, they reme mbered their mother reading old letters from their father . That day they tried to find them and read them ; there was a letter for each of them their mo m, the son, and the daughter . As Sister Eulalie was about to finis reading the letter to her mother, she suddenly stopped then said that the letters should be buried with their mother and then continued again and picked a letter where no name was written. Again she stopped and her brother, the ma gistrate, s natched the letter from her sister while she was reading. He looked for a signature but he did not see any all he saw was the The man who adores you and the name Henry. Their father name was Rene so the letters was not from him . The sister picked u p the letters and she put them back in the drawers. Then they finally went to bed.

A Vendetta The story started with the widow of Paolo Saverini son, Antoine Saverini getting mu rdered by Nicolad Ravolati. The mother swore to avenge his sons death . The mother could not sleep all she thought about was her vengeance, she could not wait, she could not forget, and she did not have any peace of mind. One night as her dog, Semillante, was howling she thought of an idea and she thought over it until morning.

33

The following day, she then went to church and prayed for her to ave nge her son. When she got home she

established the required setting for her plot to avenge his sons death. A n inverted barrel served as the dogs kennel, not so far from it stood a stick with a dummy made of old rags and straws. The mother starved the dog for two days. She bought a piece of sausage and was hanged like a necktie it in the dummy. As the dog smelled this scent, it became frantic focus on the food. She then untied the do g and with one leap the hungry beast tear the dummys throat. For three months with two days interval, this kind of training continued. Soon even with just the command of the mother the dog would tear the throat of the dummy . Then when then proper time has come, the mother first went to confession, and took the communion. The y went to Longroso in the bakery where Nicolas Ravolati was and there she

commanded the dog to eat him up. The dog, hungry for meat jumped on the man, dug her fangs into his throat and tore it. That night the mother finally slept well.

34

Chapter 4 Summary, Conclusion, Recommendation 4.1 Summary Having no content, one must speak of death

metaphorically. For those who think death is re al, death is a blank wall. For those who think it is not real, death is a door to another life. Whether one thinks of death as a wall or a door, we cannot avoid using one metaphor or another. We often say that a person who dies is relieved of suffering. Ho wever, if death is real, then it is metaphorical even to say that the dead do not suffer, as though so mething of them remains not to suffer. As there are already many speculations about some sort of next life, I will focus on the view that death is real and marks the final end of an individuals life. As L udwig Wittgenstein famo usly put it, Death is not an experience in life.

Authors from various disciplines have brought forth reasons for preventing all, or at least virtually all, suicide. We will consider these arguments in an atte mpt to determine whether or not, and in what circumstances, others should prevent a suicide fro m realizing his intentions. We shall reach a moderate conclusion: some suicide may legitimately be prevented, but not all. Arguments for the view that all suicide should be preve nted are unacceptable.

35

4.2 Conclusion Death is central to the meaning and value of human life as experienced by individuals and by commun ities. Death does not give meaning to life, but does provide the backdrop against which life is lived.

Fundamental re sponsibilities of human beings toward one another are defined by the need to respond to the facts of illness and death and contribute to the meanin g and value of individual and communal life. Acting on behalf of society, the clinical professi ons bear critical responsibilities for

caring for those who are dying and bereaved. However, overreliance on professionals as a means of denying or distancing ourselves from death and grief can diminish the fullness and richness of living and erode the exp erience of meaning and value in our lives.

Beyond acknowledging and honoring basic obligations, individuals, families and commu nities have the capacity to respond to the ultimate problem of death in a creative manner including the performan ce of rituals that reflect and advance values of human wo rth, dignity, and enduring

connection. The clinical professions can lead by setting standards for excellence and by providing care that is not only co mpetent but unabashedly loving. In so doing meaning and value is created by direct intention.

People vary in their view of death. Their general idea and affectation toward the matter is influenced mainly by
36

their

culture,

which

includes

their

commun ity

or

family

traditions and education and faith in their religion .

These findings suggest that great diversity may be found in the matters of death. Each person holds their individual perceptions and feelings regarding the topic, and Guy de Maupa ssant was definitely able to give a great preview of these unique views a nd emotions in his prose.

4.3 Recommendation The researcher reco mmends more extensive and

general studies regarding perceptions on the topic death and its other sub topic. Perhaps qualitative research will improve and stabilize the foundations set by this study. Also, personal accounts that are non -fictional should be integrated in students' learning in order to derive lessons and insight regarding these matters through the knowledg e and critical analysis of others' experiences. Through this, others, m ay be able to develop their own and disposition on death.

37

Bibliography Bryant, C.D. (2003). Handbook of death & dying. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Retrieved from: http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=3z9EpgisKOgC&pg=PR1 6&lpg=PR16&dq=Handbook+of+death+%26+dying&source=bl& ots=3Tv8kVaTXl&sig=Lz1vMS5h6_V0xpOEP3Ov7aCw3DA&hl= tl&sa=X&ei=WkBrT-DyEOOUiAexoujBQ&ved=0CFgQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Handbook%20of%20 death%20%26%20dying&f=false Byock, I. (2002). The meaning and value of death. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 5(2), Retrieved from

http://www.dyingwell.org/downloads/jpm0502.pdf Charter of fundamental rights of the European union. (2000). Official Journal of the European Communities, Retrieved from

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf Craig, P. (2008). Assisted suicide and euthanasia: A natural law ethics approach . Hampshire, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Retrieved from

http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=wyMe1y7jc_wC&pg=PR4 &lpg=PR4&dq=Paterson, Euthanasia. Craig. Assisted Suicide and 2008

Ashgate,

reference&source=bl&ots=vJAE1dpSin&sig=nXEyAxrIxX39a6vq5Km6gAVq3Q&hl=tl&sa=X&ei=71 Dressler, J. (2009). Understanding Criminal Law. 5th ed. Retrieved from: http://law.okcu.libguides.com/content.php?pid=173916&sid=146 3349

38

Equity & Mercy (1999). Sex and Social Justice Oxford University Press. Retrieved from: http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/wp-

content/uploads/2010/06/guimaraeshpaper.pdf Kass, L. R. (1990) Death with Dignity and the Sanctity of Life. Retrieved from: http://www.enotes.com/suicide-article Hawkins, T. (2009). Police procedure - elements of murder. Retrieved from: http://www.writing4successclub.com/public/284.cfm?sd=69 Leone, B., Stalcup, B., Barbour, S., & Tamara, R. L. (1998). Suicide: Opposing viewpoints. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press Inc. Retrieved from: http://www.dikseo.teimes.gr/spoudastirio/ENOTES/S/Suicide_Viewpoints.pdf Maugh, T. H. (2002, October 4). Who: 1.6 million die in violence annually. Retrieved from:

http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/FivePrecepts/AnnualViole nce.html Otowski, M. (1997). Voluntary euthanasia and the common law. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/archive/index.php/t-150747.html Rynearson E.K. (1986) Psychological effects of unnatural dying on bereavement. Psychiatric Annuals, 16(5):272-75. Retrieved

from: http://giftfromwithin.org/pdf/recovery.pdf Stark, M. (2000). A physician's guide to clinical forensic medicine. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press. Retrieved from:

http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=AomoTvivq18C&pg=PA1 &lpg=PA1&dq=Stark,+Martha+(2000).+A+physician's+guide+to +clinical+forensic+medicine.+Totowa,+NJ:+Humana+Press&sou rce=bl&ots=w5Rz-q_VPF&sig=6DA-

39

XC3UPb3yYpaWLV1EX5lmkQk&hl=tl&sa=X&ei=kD9rT5_IMOSiQfmhqiIBg&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

40

Biography of the author Henri Ren Albert Guy de Maupassant (5 August 1850 6 July 1893) was a popular 19th-century French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents. A protg of Flaubert, Maupassant's stories are characterized by their economy of style and efficient, effortless dnouement. Many of the stories are set during the FrancoPrussian War of the 1870s and several describe the futility of war and the innocent civilians who, caught in the conflict, emerge changed. He authored some 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. The story "Boule de Suif" ("Ball of Fat", 1880) is often accounted his masterpiece. His most unsettling horror story, "Le Horla" (1887), was about madness and suicide.

Henri-Ren-Albert-Guy de Maupassant was born on August 5, 1850 at the chteau de Miromesnil, near Dieppe in the SeineInfrieure (now Seine-Maritime) department in France. He was the first son of Laure Le Poittevin and Gustave de Maupassant, both from prosperous bourgeois families. When Maupassant was eleven and his brother Herv was five, his mother, an independent-minded woman, risked social disgrace to obtain a legal separation from her husband. After the separation, Le Poittevin kept her two sons, the elder Guy and younger Herv. With the fathers absence, Maupassants mother became the most influential figure in the young boys life. She
41

was an exceptionally well read woman and was very fond of classical literature, especially Shakespeare. Until the age of thirteen, Guy happily lived with his mother, to whom he was deeply devoted, at tretat, in the Villa des Verguies, where, between the sea and the luxuriant countryside, he grew very fond of fishing and outdoor activities. At age thirteen, he was sent to a small seminary near Rouen for classical studies. In October 1868, at the age of 18, he saved the famous poet Algernon Charles Swinburne from drowning off the coast

of tretat at Normandy. As he entered junior high school, he met the great author Gustave Flaubert. He first entered a seminary at Yvetot, but deliberately got himself expelled. From his early education he retained a marked hostility to religion. Then he was sent to the Lyce Pierre-Corneille in Rouen where he proved a good scholar indulging in poetry and taking a prominent part in theatricals. The Franco-Prussian War broke out soon after his graduation from college in 1870; he enlisted as a volunteer and fought bravely. Afterwards, in 1871, he left Normandy and moved to Paris where he spent ten years as a clerk in the Navy Department. During these ten tedious years his only recreation and relaxation was canoeing on theSeine on Sundays and holidays. Gustave Flaubert took him under his protection and acted as a kind of literary guardian to him, guiding his debut in journalism and literature. At Flaubert's home he met mile Zola and the Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev, as well as many of the proponents of the realist and naturalist schools. In 1878 he was transferred to the Ministry of Public Instruction and became a contributing editor of several leading newspapers such
42

as Le Figaro, Gil Blas, Le Gaulois and l'cho de Paris. He devoted his spare time to writing novels and short stories. In 1880 he published what is considered his first masterpiece, "Boule de Suif", which met with an instant and tremendous success. Flaubert characterized it as "a masterpiece that will endure." This was Maupassant's first piece of short fiction set during the FrancoPrussian War, and was followed by short stories such as "Deux Amis", "Mother Savage", and "Mademoiselle Fifi". The decade from 1880 to 1891 was the most fertile period of Maupassant's life. Made famous by his first short story, he worked methodically and produced two or sometimes four volumes annually. He combined talent and practical business sense, which made him wealthy. In 1881 he published his first volume of short stories under the title of La Maison Tellier; it reached its twelfth edition within two years; in 1883 he finished his first novel, Une Vie (translated into English as A Woman's Life), 25,000 copies of which were sold in less than a year. In his novels, he concentrated all his observations scattered in his short stories. His second novel Bel-Ami, which came out in 1885, had thirty-seven printings in four months. His editor, Havard, commissioned him to write new

masterpieces and Maupassant continued to produce them without the slightest apparent effort. At this time he wrote what many consider to be his greatest novel, Pierre et Jean. With a natural aversion to society, he loved retirement, solitude, and meditation. He traveled extensively in Algeria, Italy,

England, Brittany, Sicily, Auvergne, and from each voyage brought

43

back a new volume. He cruised on his private yacht "Bel-Ami," named after his earlier novel. This feverish life did not prevent him from making friends among the literary celebrities of his day: Alexandre Dumas, fils had a paternal affection for him; at Aix-les-Bains he met Hippolyte Taine and fell under the spell of the philosopherhistorian. Flaubert continued to act as his literary godfather. His friendship with the Goncourts was of short duration; his frank and practical nature reacted against the ambience of gossip, scandal, duplicity, and invidious criticism that the two brothers had created around them in the guise of an 18th-century style salon. Maupassant was but one of a fair number of 19th-century Parisians who did not care for the Eiffel tower; indeed, he often ate lunch in the restaurant at its base, not out of any preference for the food, but because it was only there that he could avoid seeing its otherwise unavoidable profile. Moreover, he and forty-six other Parisian literary and artistic notables attached their names to letter of protest, ornate as it was irate, against the tower's construction to the then Minister of Public Works. Maupassant also wrote under several pseudonyms such as Joseph Prunier, Guy de Valmont, and Maufrigneuse (which he used from 1881 to 1885). In his later years he developed a constant desire for solitude, an obsession for self-preservation, and a fear of death and crazed paranoia of persecution, that came from the syphilis he had

contracted in his early days. On January 2, in 1892, Maupassant tried to commit suicide by cutting his throat and was committed to the

44

celebrated private asylum of Dr. Esprit Blanche at Passy, in Paris, where he died on July 6, 1893. Guy De Maupassant penned his own epitaph: "I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in nothing." He is buried in Section 26 of the Cimetire du Montparnasse, Paris.

45

Curriculum Vitae Calvin Joshua C. Crisol 33 Scout Fuentebella Quezon City Contact no.: 09237339182 E-mail: calvinjoshuac@yahoo.com Age: 19 years old Birthday: May 11, 1992 Birthplace: UST Hospital, Sampaloc, Manila Religion: Roman Catholic EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS COLLEGE OF

Tertiary NURSING

Espaa, Manila Bachelor of Science in Nursing June 2009 Present

Secondary UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS HIGH SCHOOL Espana, Manila June 2005 March 2009

Elementary Quezon City

LOURDES SCHOOL OF QUEZON CITY

June 1999 March 2005 LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCES

Governor, Rotaract Nursing Unit (2012-2013present) Assistant Treasurer, Rotaract Nursing Unit (2011-2012) Junior Officer, Rotaract Nursing Unit (2010-2011)
46

Treasurer of the USTHS Boy Scout of the Philippines (2008-2009) Class President (2007-2008) Assistant Secretary (2006-2007) AFFILIATIONS Rotaract Nursing Unit (2010-present) Nursing Journal (2011-present) Nursing COMELEC (2010-present) Nursing Varsity Council (2010-present) USTHS Boy Scout of the Philippines (2007-2009)

47