Woterstorff's Reflctions in Lament For a Son, Kubler-Ross' Five Stages of Grief

WOTERSTORFF’S REFLECTIONS IN LAMENT FOR A SON
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Grief and denial are often terms that come alongside each other. One is a prerequisite of the other. When an individual suffers the loss of a loved one, it is often a tough moment for him or her to come to terms with the situation. Death is often received with shock and to a bigger extent, anguish. Sometimes people often try to perceive it as the deceased has just taken a small break and that he or she ‘will be back.’ People take different routes towards finding some closure in the case of death of a loved one.
Kubler-Ross, through her work, provides a broad understanding of what denial and anger did to her in her later stages of life. According to her, there are five stages of grief; denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and finally, acceptance (Axelrod, n.d.).Denial usually sets in when one tries to withhold his or her emotions towards a certain tragic experience, such as death. It should be noted, however, that it is not that obvious for an individual to be entirely gripped with anger when one suffers some loss, such as that of a loved one. Wolterstorff demonstrates denial by imagining how things would have been different, had David not gone up the mountain (Wolterstorff, 2009).
A loss is usually associated with every term that can depict it; anguish, sadness, anger, and grief. When one is critically sick, for example from a life-threading disease like cancer, it is often common for them to bargain with their creator, so that they can have more time on earth. This is particularly one first allusion made by Wolterstorff after the death of David. Anger, as the second stage of grief, is usually manifested by the bereaved being annoyed with the deceased or circumstances that made him die. Wolterstorff, as early stated, displays such angry tendencies by asking what if David hadn’t climbed the mountain.
This is possible since one still has life in them. However, once an individual passes on, it becomes desperate for the same to be the case. The relatives who are left behind will be at a loss to try bargaining with God...