How Doctors Die

Written by Ken Murray

The essay, How Doctors Die, discusses the major difference between the views of doctors and patients regarding death. Ken Murray states that most doctors prefer to die naturally, rather than being put on life-support and going through other serious medical treatments. This preference differs greatly from the average patient, who usually wants to live as long as possible. Murray, who is a former doctor, has seen many ill people suffer through painful and expensive treatments just to live a few more torturous months. In the essay, Murray shares stories of his cousin and his mentor, who both chose to die naturally and spend the final months of their lives doing things they loved, instead of in a hospital with dozens of tubes and drugs in their bodies. Ken Murray directs this essay towards families with a loved one that is terminally ill. How Doctors Die was written to inform families of the major decision they will be forced to make when that loved one is on their death bed. Murray knows that medical treatment can only do so much, so he urges the readers to choose the more natural death, where they can go out happily with their family. To effectively achieve his purpose, Ken Murray uses parentheses as a rhetorical device to add extra information that helps the reader understand the context of the essay. Murray explains that even in common medical procedures such as CPR, great pain is inflicted upon the patients as it breaks their ribs. Following this statement, Murray adds in parentheses, “That’s what happens if CPR is done right” (232). This little piece of information is an eye-opener for readers; even when CPR is done right, there is still painful side effects. Murray uses parentheses again when talking about his cousin, Torch, to explain that he was named after a flashlight used by his parents when he was born in their home. In this case, the parentheses add a little humor to the serious subject of death. This will keep the reader focused, so they pay more attention to Murray’s argument. Overall, I felt that the combination of the real-life examples and the attention-grabbing parentheses allowed Ken Murray to accomplish his purpose. Murray’s arguments appealed to readers’ emotions and proved to be interesting and convincing.

Source- estatevaults.com

In the essay, Ken Murray mentions that many people, including doctors, get a tattoo saying "do not resuscitate". This tattoo signifies that the person wants to die naturally and not be saved by medical technology and treatments.

Killing My Body to Save My Mind

Written by Lauren Slater

In her essay, Killing My Body to Save My Mind, Lauren Slater analyzes the relationship between her mind and body. Slater, who has a master’s degree in psychology from Harvard University and a doctorate in psychology from Boston University, is a firm believer in French philosopher Rene Descartes’ idea of dualism, which states that the mind and body are completely separate. Slater holds this belief because she was diagnosed with severe depression and was prescribed many psychotropic drugs. The drugs drastically improved Slater’s mental state, although, one of the drugs called Zyprexa, caused her to become severely obese. After just a year using Zyprexa, Slater gained almost 100 pounds and was declared pre-diabetic, making her at risk for heart disease and cancer. But even with these health risks, she refused to stop taking the drugs, saying that a stable mind is better than a healthy body. Slater’s purpose for writing this essay is to convince the reader to support Descartes’ idea of dualism and persuade them that mental stability takes precedence over the body’s well being. She directs this argument towards people similar to her that are trying to balance their psychotic problems with their overall health. In the essay, Slater appeals to the reader’s emotions and senses with the use of imagery. When describing her worsening health, Slater says, “I can practically fell the sugar in my blood, practically hear the crystals clanking” (Slater 260). This vivid description of her high blood sugar, which is also a bit of an exaggeration, really puts into perspective the health troubles Zyprexa is causing Lauren Slater. In my opinion, this imagery and the other strategies used by Lauren Slater do not allow her to achieve her purpose and convince the reader to support her opinion. The imagery she used contradicts her purpose and focuses more on Slater’s bad health, than on her mental state. This tells the reader that the body’s health is in fact more important, which does not support Slater’s purpose for writing this essay.

Source- Wikipedia.org

This is Descartes' original drawing depicting dualism. He believed that instead of the mind and body working together, a gland in the brain produces all human senses.

The Good Short Life

Written by Dudley Clendinen
 

The Good Short Life is a heartwarming essay, in which, Dudley Clendinen enjoys the final months of his life. Clendinen, who is just 36, was recently diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Knowing that his life is coming to an end, Clendinen wants to go out on a positive note. He has no interest in going through the expensive, painful treatments in order to extend his life just a few months longer. Dudley is also thankful for the life he had, and he does not want his friends and family to go through the saddening journey he traveled with his mother, visiting her in the hospital everyday for the last year of her life. Clendinen wrote this essay in the form of a testimonial; he expresses his thoughts and feelings during the short time that he has to live. His purpose behind writing The Good Short Life is to inform readers of his unusual way to die, which is to accept death and not spend unnecessary money on painful treatments. This essay is directed towards a large audience of people, because everyone will die someday, and face decisions similar to those of Dudley Clendinen. In order to get this point across to readers, Clendinen uses positive diction and euphemism. Clendinen explains the final months of his life using short simple sentences that are easily understood by the reader. Although, he is describing death, which is usually a saddening subject, Clendinen uses positive diction to create a jovial tone. He focuses on the positive points of his life, instead of the fact that he is dying, which helps him achieve his point and convince the reader to accept death. In addition to diction, Clendinen uses euphemism to achieve his purpose. After the doctor diagnosed him with ALS, Clendinen pronounces, “It suddenly hit me that I was going to die” (64). Instead of saying, “pass away,” Clendinen uses a far more blunt word, “die.” Overall, both the diction and euphemism relate to pathos and appeal to the reader’s emotions, making them more inclined to support Clendinen’s purpose for writing this essay. I found Clendinen’s purpose rather odd, although I feel he did a great job of expressing his opinion on death and convincing the reader to support his idea by using the rhetorical devices, diction and euphemism.

Source- biohealthscience.org

This image displays Lou Gehrig. ALS is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease after the famous Yankees baseball player died of ALS in 1941.