Zack Duker

ENGL 101
September 29, 2016
Death
The deaths of people are categorized into five separate groups. These groups are the
Near, the Far, the Valid, the Trivial, and the Warranted. There is nothing wrong with dividing
people into any of these groups. It all depends on how their passing has made me feel.
However, where I may classify one person, someone else may put the same person in a different
group.
The Near are people whom I am closest to. This group contains my direct family
members, my closest friends, or any others that I have fond memories of. Most everyone will
agree that they would not like to see many people classified in this group because of the
emotional pain that comes with their demise. One may encounter the five stages of grief with
any addition to this group, which takes a varied amount of time to cope with from person to
person.
The Far can be a wide variety of people. These people can be friends or family that I
have lost touch with over the years. Friends of friends and acquaintances are also commonly
found in this sorting. Their passing does affect me, but it is not as debilitating as the loss of
someone from the Near. I may feel as though they can carry on about their day with the
knowledge that someone categorized in this group is no more, but my mind may still wander to
memories and thoughts about them.

The Valid pertains to people that I do not know directly, but still share a connection with.
I may hear a story of someone who has died that comes from a similar background as me. I
often read or listen to a story about someones death on the news or another type of media and
think, That could have been me. I may learn of the death of someone involved in a club or
organization that I am a part of. Since we obviously shared similar interests, it almost becomes
personal. Ultimately, I feel something because of their death, but there isnt an overwhelming
amount of sadness that takes over.
The Trivial are the people that have no significance to me. People I have not met, people
who I cant put a face to, and others that have no impact on my feelings are found in this
grouping. This category will most likely contain the largest amount of people, simply due to the
size of the human population we are a part of, not to mention the immense amount of people that
have already expired before my life even came to be.
The Warranted contain people who are in my disfavor. Any enemies I may have, people
who stand against what I stand for, the corrupt, and the villainous populate this group. When I
hear of anyone from this categorys death, it often brings me joy or elation. This classification is
usually not quick to be placed on anyone, as it takes something significant to be placed here.
Popular examples of this group are tyrannical world leaders such as Saddam Hussein. Due to his
unethical treatment of his people and other offensive actions, his execution was celebrated in
many countries.
As stated before, there is no shame in compartmentalizing death. It all depends on just
how difficult a persons absence affects me. After all, one day I will be placed into one of these
groups. Where can I expect to reside?