Final chapter in A Grief Observed

Through out the last chapter I began to see that C. S. Lewis was beginning to have some closer on his wife's death. As he goes further in detail on what happens after death I greatly enjoyed the section where he establishes the fact that sometimes we come to God with nonsense questions. I admit that I have asked some nonsense questions to God. For example what does heaven truly look like. Yes we have brief glimpses in the Bible of what heaven looks like but that is only on descriptions such as gates made of pearls. I know God heard my question but I know why now He could not answer; for if He had answered I would not have been able to experience the fullness of heaven for I believe that one can only do that if he or she has been called home by God. Nevertheless there are books on people having seen glimpses of heaven or visions of heaven, but let us remember that those experiences are only glimpses, not full a walk through so to speak. Anyways I also enjoyed reading on how C. S. Lewis spoke on the hope of possibly seeing his wife again. Some say that we will have a great reunion with our loved ones and some say we will just recognize them as a brother and sister in Christ; I choose to believe the latter. However my favorite part of the last chapter was when he stated "There is also, whatever it means, the resurrection of the body. We cannot understand. The best is perhaps what we understand the least" (p. 75). To me his statement means that somethings in this world, and during our lifetime, we will never know nor are we meant to know yet. If this is what he originally meant that means no theologian or Christian will ever understand the full complexity of God and all that He is and is to come.

Chapter one of "A Grief Observed"

When reading this story I felt that I was reading what I felt when I lost my Grandmother in death seven years ago. I remember all to well the fluttering of the stomach, the restlessness, and even the countless tears and agony. Grief is never easy to begin with but the way that C. S. Lewis describes sings a resounding similarity of what I went through. Nevertheless when he spoke on how he felt like God had forsaken him to a certain degree, I never really went through that myself. It was more so that I knew that I would see my grandmother again but the wait to do so at that time of grieving was unbearable. Anyways when C. S. Lewis spoke on him being an embarrassment to everyone that he met I did not quite understand how this was so since the people that I knew, in my case for grieving, never found it embarrassing to bring up the topic of my grandmother. However I do note that in his case it was his wife that he lost, so the circumstances dictate a rather different kind of grievance for his loss. I also must admit when he spoke on the fear of going places that he had been with his wife were "no more emphatic in those places than anywhere else" (p. 11) , I felt the same way about my loss as well. For it did not matter if I went to a place I had once been with her, the longing for her presence was still there. Nevertheless his last statement on remembering his wife's voice being "still vivid" is of the utmost truth since even though it has been seven years since my grandmother passed away I still remember her laugh.

Happy Endings

While reading this story, I noted from the start that this was different from other stories I had previously read. Interestingly the story has several stories within the text that let the reader see a different perspective on John and Mary. The first tale, I think, is the "perfect story" on how life goes smoothly after marriage and on to the end of life. Granted as a Christian, I will strive to have a good life after I am married, but that doesn't mean it will be perfect, and I don't expect it be. The main thing is working through problems with a Christ like attitude so as to see better results in life, so to speak. Anyways, the second tale in the story shows how there are people so desperate for love and companionship that if the other person does not love them in return then they will take drastic measures so as to get the other person's attention. Nevertheless my reaction to the story is one of pity and anger. I pity Mary since she is trying so hard to get John to love her back. However I am angry at John for not even caring about her and that he only used her for her body. The third tale is one that reminded me of stories one hears about when a co-worker is sleeping with another fellow employee, despite the fact that one or both individuals are married. Nevertheless I was surprised at John taking the extreme measure of buying a gun and then shooting the gentleman he caught sleeping with Mary, then Mary herself, and then taking his own life; I find this quite depressing for obvious reasons. Anyways, the fourth tale I enjoyed the most since it is not about John or Mary, but rather a couple named Fred and Madge. I found their tale a riveting story that shows a survival of a couple who narrowly escapes a deadly tidal wave and still they have each other afterwards. Nevertheless Fred dies due to a bad heart and Mary goes on with her life and never remarries. Finally at the end of the entire story the author makes this quote: "So much for endings. Beginnings are always more fun. True connoisseurs, however, are known to favor the stretch in between, since it's the hardest to do anything with" (p. 1363). I find this statement ringing with truth but I must say that it does not matter how an individual starts or how the middle goes; like a runner in a marathon, it is the end that counts.

What We Talk about When We Talk about Love is written from the view of a husband, named Nick, who is married to his second wife Laura as they are at a get together with their friends Mel and Terri who are married as well. While drinking gin they speak on the subject to as what love is. Terri explains the former man she lived with said that he loved her but tried to murder her. She said that he acted crazy but there was still love despite the fact that he tried to hurt her. Nevertheless Mel made his opinion known to the group that was not love. I have to agree with Mel since Love is not beating the one you love into submission. I think real love is laying all aspects of life down for someone else. However, both Terri and Mel further explain how her ex-boyfriend stalked Mel and even called Mel at work to threaten him. Mel further explains that he had to eventually get a gun in order to protect himself. However Terri's ex-boyfriend eventually committed suicide but went into a comma for three days and then died. Terri was with him when he passed away since he had no one else in the world. I think if I had been in a predicament such as this I would have done the same thing as Mel. But I do think it was right of Terri to have visited her ex-boyfriend in the hospital since she did at one point love him. As the story goes on Mel states while quite drunk, that while at work he had to deal with an old couple in their mid seventies. They had been hit by a drunk driver and both had terrible and possibly fatal injuries. Despite this they both recovered but while recovering they had to wear a full body cast. The husband loved his wife so much that he became depressed since he could not turn his head to look at his wife. I think that this was real love since any man who despite a deadly tragedy, still wants to see his wife and becomes depressed because he can't see her, shows how much he is concerned for her well being and that to me is love. Nevertheless I am unable to make a solid conclusion on how the ending of the story was. It ends as the gin runs out and the room get dark. The story does not explain to as whether or not they end up going to a restaurant they wanted to eat at earlier in the story. Nevertheless to me the story just ends with a cliff hanger so as to make the reader assume what happens next.

Post one

My earliest memories of literature would be when my dad would read to to my sister and I stories about animals that would teach us how to read and state the alphabet. Another early memory of literature was when I began to read my first book series called The Animorphs. I was hooked to the series since at the elementary school I attended they would have a once a year book fair that the English teachers would make us go to in order for the students to get interested in books outside the required texts for school. Nevertheless, my most recent memories of literature would the reading of Macbeth in my senior high school year. This stands out the most due to the amount of time we spent as a class analyzing its theme, plot, and author. We even watched several movies on Macbeth that gave the class a better visual on the story. The most significant text I have ever read, besides the Bible, would have to be the Army field manual 3-21.8 since I have to use the military doctrine presented with in the book in order to succeed in a military career. As an officer in the Army I need to succeed in my warrior tasks so as to lead soldiers into combat successfully. Literature matters greatly in ways of giving people a way to see what others have to say about facts, ideas, and imaginations. Some ways it matters is that literature can be used as a form of entertainment or to find out what is going out in the world. However there are ways in that literature does not matter. In the realm of entertainment, literature is just a means of a small distraction from the cares of this life so as to ease its burdens. Also literature used as a form of entertainment does not get a job done nor does it get a job.