Meaning:
5. The purpose of this essay, it seems, is primarily to be to rake muck. Mitford seemed to be generally criticizing the embalming practice, as well as the fact that the general populous thinks it is required.
Writing Strategies:
1. The tone is almost mocking-- the way she opens shows that she thinks the process is superfluous.
2. I think Mitford goes into such detail to help prove her point. Because not many people know about what takes place, her details effectively shed light on the topic, which she is hoping will help support her opinion that the whole process is very strange and unnecessary.
3. The effect of calling the body Mr. Jones kept it very impersonal so the reader could fill in one of their own relatives. This actually brings much more power to her point than if she had used a less ambiguous name.
4. She uses the transitions such that the chronology of the process is clearly outlined and the order in which her points are discussed make sense.
5. Mitford divided the essay into a few clear parts: first, the death and preparation; second, the actual embalming; third, the dressing of the body; and fourth, the actual funeral.
6. It is clear that she isn't writing to professionals in the field because she uses mostly lay-person terms, and she explains things that need explaining. Also, she appeals to what the general person would know about funerals and sheds some light on why certain things are done the way they are, like how the body is positioned in the casket.
7. It seems that when Mitford quotes a professional, she is trying to show that there is a lot of careful work that goes into this unnecessary practice. By quoting, she is showing the proper process for caring for the dead.
8. Mitford identifies the dermasurgeon's tools, chemicals, and cosmetic substances. She felt it necessary to separate them because they are all used in different stages: first, the tools are used on the body; then, the chemicals are used to restore the body as necessary; lastly, the cosmetics are applied.
Language:
3. It's useful to Mitford to cite the brand names because it allows her to show how specialized this "art" has become. She uses the brands to prove that this is serious to many people. The Throop Foot Positioner was memorable, both because of the name and because it has the express purpose of positioning the feet of a dead person.
Suggestions for Writing:
4. Based on this reading, Mitford is making assumptions about the general populous when it comes to the dead. One such assumption is that most people are ignorant towards the whole embalming process, and I think she is correct in that assumption. Through my own experience, I knew what embalming meant, but I was not aware of the careful art form that preparing the dead for burial has become. Another assumption she is making is that, if people knew what was happening to the body, it would fall out of practice. I both agree and disagree with this point. On the one hand, many people might be disgusted knowing that the body has been drained and filled with various fluids. But, on the other, I think that many people would not really care, as the person is dead. The embalming practice is based upon making the body look presentable for the wake and burial. Still, though, I think many people would be divided over this issue. The last assumption that Mitford seems to make is that she assumes that there is too much work put into this task, that the whole process is superfluous. This, though, I think can be linked back to the previous point. Of course some will view it as absolutely ridiculous, but others could view it as distinctly necessary. I think it all has to do with the family and the dead person's background when it comes to how they should be buried. In my father's family at least, his parents were both cremated, so I was never really exposed to the burial of a casket. Personally, though, I think the process might be a tad unnecessary, only because it seems that so much work is put into something that just winds up being buried. But, the whole profession of being a mortician is viewed as an art by some, so the necessity of it depends on who you ask. All in all, though, I think Mitford raises many very nice points, but I would love to see the other side of the story, the side that says that the mortician's process is explicitly necessary.
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