Stages of Grief: Woterstorff’s Reflctions in "Lament For a Son"

Grief
Name
Institution
Grief
Every person goes through highs and lows in life. It is a normal cycle, which makes life complete. When it comes to the lows, grief is the single biggest of it all. Grief encompasses virtually all the sad moments that one goes through, especially the episodes of extreme sadness. People handle grief differently, and this is what calls for a better understanding to determine its management. Kubler-Ross gives a description of the stages of grief that are experienced by people in their periods of loss; this enables those who are going through that kind of period to know what to expect. These stages, which are five in number and not to be used as a definitive rule, but it should be used as a guideline on how grief works. A story by Wolterstorff in which he narrates about the loss of his son, he demonstrates how unique and universal the grieving experience is.
1 How does Wolterstorff find joy after his loss?
Like any other parent can be after a loss, Wolterstorff is heartbroken. Right from the beginning of the text, he perceives his future as already gloomy, after having planned and hoped for it. He now seems to be in the shoes of the Jewish parents, when Hitler’s henchmen made them sacrifice one child over the rest. He is, however, hopeful by believing in the bible that his son will be raised from the dead. He believes that if God can create, he can also re-create. He, therefore, believes that he will meet his son again someday.
In this story, he explains how the pain stuck with him, but as time went by it faded away. Joy and pain were the things that he was capable of feeling all the same time as he continued to have faith and hope for the future. The author felt unbearable pain the days that followed immediately after the death of his son. The pain eradication for the author is not something that he could describe as wanting. To him, the pain he continues to have is a show of respect for his son in acknowledgment of his existing and sharing a bond with him. The five stages of grief as Kubler-Ross describes them; they can cover a wide range of emotions, that is, anger, depression, denial, bargaining, and its acceptan...