Gig Harbor AP Language reads Dead Man Walking discussion
Period 4: Chapters 4 and 5: Question 7
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Honestly, I'd laugh out loud at the irony. "Nun" and "Murderer" both have such conflicting connotations. According to society, a nun is usually considered to be someone who would help others compassionately at the will of God, someone who pretty much has a non-expiring pass to heaven. In contrast, a murderer is someone damned by both society and God who has a one-way ticket to Hell. Both of them seem to be polar opposites on the surface, and this large difference makes people squirm, and like in the book, they complain and argue the murderer as "unworthy" of being buried in such a sacred place. But through burying the murderer there, people will (or should) look beneath that person's name that gives them a bad reputation and look at who the person actually is.
It is highly ironic for a murderer to be buried next to a nun, as Yalan pointed out. However, I think that the act of allowing Pat to be buried amidst the sanctuary of the nunnery cemetery accentuates the kind, forgiving nature of these nuns. They preach a gospel of love and forgiveness, and by allowing a man who, despite his reputation, has no where else to be buried, they are showing the compassion of which they preach.
I don't understand what the fuss is about (meaning I don't understand how it can be construed as a good OR bad thing)... It's a dead body. Big deal. Either toss it in the dirt or burn it and throw the ashes in an urn. With that said, if a murderer was buried in a plot reserved for the allegedly holy, I wouldn't care. Nuns, priests, bishops, etc. are only allegedly holy. They are no more important than any other man or woman. They are sinners too. They are as filthy as any other human being. So to be appalled that a murderer would be buried with nuns and the like is a bit absurd.
On the other hand, to think that it is a beautiful symbol of redemption, acceptance, and forgiveness doesn't make sense to me either. A grave is just a hole in the ground where a dead body can rot in a way that it doesn't offend people. Big deal. What a gesture of love that is.
Firstly*: To further the enlightenment of my fellow scholastic schoolmates, I should like to make it public knowledge that "cemetery for nuns" anagrams to "fumy snore center" or "free my nocturnes." How about that.
Secondly:
I don't care much about nun cemeteries and the exclusivity of the aforesaid, beyond the fact that "cemetery for nuns" is just about the funniest-sounding three words I've ever heard. As for the cause of my apathy toward this whole affair, I simply feel that it's a bit stupid and snobbish to make such prim-and-proper distinctions over where a bunch of decomposing organic matter is interred when, as Myke points out, every single human being is sinner. Why should we squabble over I-art-holier-than-thou arguments when "none art holy at all," when none of us really deserve to have anything special happen to our very dead corpses in the first places. I'm not saying that a God-fearing nun and a serial killer are morally equivalent; I'm just saying that, while we could get technical in doling out holiness points and tomb real estate, do we really have to? Is it really worth our while? Do we even have the right?
No to all three, I say. Pretty lazy philosophy, but I'm tired. I want to go to bed.
*Haha, Mrs. Gilbert. With the "-ly" stem and all... :-D
I really don't think what you do to/for the dead after they die makes any difference. I mean-- putting yourself in harms way if your dad died to save you from harm is one thing... but I don't think it matters where they are buried. i would have just as much respect for George Washington if he were buried in a burial ground for satanics. For one, pretty sure he wasn't satanic, and two, it doesn't mean anything about him, as much as the people who put him there. Bad example?Like egyptians. I don't think being put in a World Wonder with organs of your pets makes you more highly honored....
Just a thought, it doesn't completely relate, but everyone here seems to agree that it doesn't matter that Pat was buried in the nun cemetery. But what about wanting to be buried next to a certain person? Like a husband wanting to be buried next to his wife?
Remember that you have to answer 2 questions for credit for our lesson in addition to the responses required by Mrs. Gilbert.