We are all going. People always say it when they talk about death. But
where and when? No answer. As a finale of human existence, death sounds like a
horrible term that people would rather avoid discussing. Because it naturally oppos-
es life, it is usually regarded as the darkness of light. Yet, to embrace the light more
fully, knowing the cruelty of darkness is helpful. We find life is precious because
we never experienced death and nobody alive could ever explain what it is. But
during our existence, the understanding of death closely relates to life, and even
becomes a part of our life. In the process of growth, everyone experiences, and
every piece of life experience may possibly shape one’s value. In general, science,
philosophy, and religion influence the way people perceive death. Due to different
experiences, different people view death differently. We can explore teenagers’
attitudes toward death by studying what affects them.
In the novel Looking for Alaska written by John Green, main characters
Pudge, Colonel, and Alaska live an uncommon life of great perhaps in Culver
Creek Preparatory School. They love, booze, smoke, and play pranks. Apart from
their disobedient part, all of them have their own mysteries. Pudge is talented at
memorizing last words, but he then figures out that a life with only last words is
unimaginably boring. Therefore, he comes here for greater possibilities. Colonel
deeply loves his mother, he dreams to buy her a bigger house and give her a better
future. Alaska obsesses with reading and does well in calculus, but no one can
predict her next actions. One day, the sudden death of Alaska breaks their original
life. She has a car crash. The news of her death evokes a series of shockwave
among the whole school and casts a shadow over her friends. Her tragedy makes
Pudge and Colonel take on this heavy topic very seriously.
So, what is death exactly? Generally, death is a result of human state
change, from the state of being alive to the state of being dead. From the perspec-
tive of science, according to Medical Dictionary, death is briefly defined as the
cessation of all vital body functions, including heartbeat, brain activity, and breath-
ing. Which means, when your heart stops beating, your body stops functioning,
your brain stops working, you die. More specifically, an official document named
International Guidelines for the Determination of Death clearly demonstrates how
to determine death with details and examples. Based on its “Operational Definition