The Management of Grief: An Analysis of the Stages of Sadness

Category: Emotions, Grief
Last Updated: 21 Mar 2023
Essay type: Analysis
Pages: 4 Views: 2148

The central theme to Bharati Mukherjee’s fictional story “The Management of Grief”, based on real-life events, is that of being both a part of something tangible and in an ethereal and cultural sense apart from it. There are several binary focus points of this piece and all put the work into the context of opposing sides. There is life versus death, new versus the old world, Hindu versus Sikh. There is, also, a broader theme of bringing multiculturalism to the forefront of the complications of grief. In this way, it cannot be said that there are stages of grief, as the social worker suggests, but various moving parts that cannot be connected to any group of people, those similar in culture or otherwise.

Essentially, grief is unique in its individual personification and can be seen affected by culture, but understood by all, if only in different ways. But, in this, it can be said that there is a culture of grief and that everyone becomes a member of this community, regardless of iconic culture. So instead of stages of grief and binary opposites in its aftermath, there is a tone in this piece of the necessity of shared sadness, but, also, the secret, solitary acceptance of it.

This piece is interesting in transmitting the confusing and impossible undertaking of conveying individual grief.  The detachment displayed by the main character points to this detachment from others in both an ethereal and real sense. Denial is a stage of grief, but this piece points to a larger component and that is the detachment from the grief of others in a shared tragic event. Though the value of friendship is notable in this work, the eventual letting goes of a friendship, as it formerly was into a new dimension, is introduced.  At the beginning of the stage of accepting the reality of the tragedy of the destroyed planet, the friends and neighbors of the protagonist, Shaila, are depicted with humor and detachment. Shaila uses the metaphor of the connection she attempts to keep with her lost family, “I hear their voices all around me.  I hear my boys and Vikram cry,

Order custom essay The Management of Grief: An Analysis of the Stages of Sadness with free plagiarism report

feat icon 450+ experts on 30 subjects feat icon Starting from 3 hours delivery
Get Essay Help

‘Mommy!, Shaila!’ and their voices insulate me, like headphones” (1505).

A concerned doctor’s wife, also, adds to the writer’s usage of the binary opposites of the life and death central to the theme.  She is visibly pregnant and accompanied by her living children, as she tries to help Shaila.

A visit to the site of the plane crash, which also remained a mystery for some time and later revealed to be a bombing by Sikh fundamentalists, adds imagery and impact to the suffering and shared sadness of others. Over a bay in Ireland, the protagonist and friend look over the endless water, imagining an island there. Shaila has not had her family’s remains identified and holds on to the hope that they are out in this vast body of water on an island. This is a useful metaphor for her own position of aloneness, an island unto herself. The flowers were given to the mourners by the Irish point to the attempt to share in this grief, but it is not flowers that Shaila wishes to place there in her family’s memory. “But I have other things to float; Vinod’s pocket calculator; a half-painted model B-52 for my Mitchum. They’d want them on their island.  And for my husband? For him, I’d let fall into the calm, glassy waters a poem I wrote in the hospital yesterday. Finally, he’ll know my feelings for him” (1510). Related Article:  “a solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left here still”

When Shaila arrives in India, she is struck by the pull of old versus new world ideas. Her parents shun the idea of Vedic rituals and she becomes as she says “I am trapped between two modes of knowledge...like my husband’s spirit, I flutter between two worlds” (1511). Shaila does find her refuge in the old world ideas that her parents disapprove of and believes that she sees her husband in an abandoned temple and he urges her to return home, to the life they began together. When she returns to Canada, she has dreams of her family. Many of the other families have moved away and what is left is explained as, “We’ve melted down and been recast as a new tribe” (1513). This idea of being “melted down” can be viewed as a multicultural metaphor, a group that has assimilated into their new country, but not assimilated fully into their acceptance of grief.

The character tries to help others with their grief and a climactic moment occurs when she attempts to help a Sikh family with their financial crisis. She realizes that there are barriers to culture and the expectations of the outcomes the social worker has for all of the relatives of the lost. Putting grief in a simple package for all is impossible. This formulates the profound ending with an allusion to this package of grief that is only held by the individual experiencing it.

 “Then as I stood on the path looking north to Queen’s Park and went to the university, I heard the voices of my family one last time your time has come, they said. Go be brave. I do not know where this voyage I have begun will end. I do not know what direction I will take. I dropped the package on the park bench and starting walking” (1516). This use of symbolism of this package sums up the complexities of individual grief and the mystery of what is inside the package, as it is never stated. But, leaving the package behind and walking on reveals to the reader that the protagonist has reached their individual acceptance.

Bharati Mukherjee. “The Management of Grief” in The Middleman and Other Stories. (1988).

 

Related Questions

on The Management of Grief: An Analysis of the Stages of Sadness

What is the theme of the management of grief summary?
The theme of the story "The Management of Grief" is the power of resilience and the ability to cope with grief and loss. The protagonist, Shaila Bhave, is able to find strength and courage to move forward despite her immense grief and sorrow. She is able to find solace in her faith and in her community, and ultimately finds a way to cope with her grief.
What is the theme of management of grief by Bharati Mukherjee?
The theme of Bharati Mukherjee's "Management of Grief" is the struggle to cope with loss and grief in the face of tragedy. The story follows Shaila Bhave, a widow who is struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband and two sons in an airplane crash. Through her journey, she learns to accept her grief and find a way to move forward.
What is the message of the management of grief?
The message of the management of grief is that grief is a process that must be experienced and accepted in order to move forward. It is a reminder that although grief can be overwhelming, it is possible to find a way to cope and eventually heal.
Who is Kusum in the management of grief?
Kusum is the protagonist in the short story "Management of Grief". She is a widow who is struggling to cope with the death of her husband and two sons in an airplane crash. She is also trying to find a way to manage her grief and move forward with her life.

Cite this Page

The Management of Grief: An Analysis of the Stages of Sadness. (2018, Feb 10). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/the-management-of-grief-an-analysis-of-the-stages-of-sadness/

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

plagiarism ruin image

We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. By continuing we’ll assume you’re on board with our cookie policy

Save time and let our verified experts help you.

Hire writer