Cemetery Visit

Cemetery Visit

This assignment is due __________________, and is worth 20 points.

There is a wide range of variation in recognizing those no longer alive -- and is itself a tribute and evidence that diversity makes the human species significant and interesting. Cemeteries are of great social interest from which we can better understand ourselves and our fears. Many of these fears are simply that --fear-- and thus groundless. We all have been raised in a particular religion/culture/society that helps to form who we are and how we think about life -- and death. This assignment is to help you better define and be comfortable with that belief system.

Visit a cemetery. Plan to spend at least an hour. Take photographs or draw pictures and write down the prose from headstones you find especially interesting (to be included with/in your paper). In three pages -- typed, double-spaced; heading should include your name, the date you visited the cemetery, and the name of the cemetery you visited -- please think about, list, and answer the following....

1. What were your thoughts as you walked through the cemetery?

2. What about the surroundings in the cemetery? Did you like them? Did you find them peaceful?

3. Was there anything about the surroundings that were disconcerting, fearful, or anxiety-producing?

4. Rate your “comfort” level.

5. What kind of tombstone do you want for yourself? How would you like the inscription to read?

6. What were your thoughts about the people who were buried there? Do you wonder where they are -- if they still exist in some way?

7. How do you feel in thinking about these issues?