Face to Face with Death in Hagar :: Hagar Essays

exclusivelytock to Face with Death in Hagar As Hagar faces implications of growing old, she starts on a tumultuous journey, not one of her own choice, but one of destiny.  She goes done different stages of denial, angriness, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance of the fact that death depart come, invited or not.             At one time every individual is go ab protrude with death, horrific to the young, or inviting to the sick and the old.  Death is interpreted as the turn back of existence, but to those who believe in the afterlife, as a whole impudent chapter of the unknown.  When Hagar realizes the proximity of death, she is in denial.  She comes to live in a world of memories in the past.  She created her own illusion because she cannot understand the weakness coming forth in her, like her tears the incontinent wetness of the infirm (pg. 31).  All her life, she was hard, never showing emotion, even through the death of John.  You can see her softening pricey the end, although she would not admit it.                    In addition to denial, she reaches a stage of choler and indignance with herself and others in the small world that is her life.  She can no longer cause the simplest tasks such as dressing herself or walking down the stairs.  It irks her to charter help, which is one of the reasons she cant stand Doris.  She is also angry at the lack of frantic control as she perceives how laden with self&8209pity (pg. 31) her voice sounds when logical argument with Marvin in one instance.  She cannot control how her mouth speaks by itself, the words move from somewhere, some half hidden hurt (pg. 68).             After the denial and anger begin to fade, she attempts a short bargaining period where she wonders what if.  She even t ells deity to bless her or not just as You please (pg. 307), but she would not beg.  But even though she attempts to wrestle against the inevitable, there is forever and a day a constant reminder.  She places her belief in herself only and faults others credibility, such as Doctor Tappens, to maintain the illusion now hanging by a flimsy thread.             When Hagar realizes she cannot control or stop the process of old age, she becomes downhearted and distant.  When she hears about Silverthreads, she is overcome with fear, the feelings one has when the ether mask goes on, when the mind cries out to the limbs, flail against the thing, but the limbs are already touched with lethargy, bound and lost (pg.