On Death and Dying Study Guide

Kubler-Ross describes the increase in modern humanity's fear of death with the rise of technology and medical science. She feels that, although we are able to prolong our lives as never before, it has contributed to our emotional problems and inability to cope with the prospect of our death. We associate death with a bad act, or "malicious intervention" from someone else, or, at least a negative event. As children, we cannot grasp the reality of death, but as adults we continue to carry the fear of death with us, and experience grief, anger and shame when a loved one passes on. Kubler-Ross tells of death in her native Europe, where family and friends accept the transition quietly, not trying to make the dead look alive with enbalming or makeup. Although pain medication and fluids are ... (read more)