Abisha Ali

Professor Richard Raspa

Hon 4200

11 December 2017

Art and Mortality

Rick Riordan wrote, Life is only precious because it ends. This quote expresses that life

is valued and life is short. It brings up ideas of mortality. One day all of us will die. When this

time comes, will we have regrets? Or will we be happy with the quality of our lives? Most of us

are not faced with the concept of mortality very often and we probably choose to overlook it

when it is brought up. However, there is art and beauty in the concept of mortality. We, as

humans, value our time because it is limited. It might feel like we have forever to live our lives,

but we know that someday it will end. This notion is what drives us to reach for our dreams. It

makes us work harder for the things we really want in life. When we find a passion, we want to

hold on to it, improve upon it, and experience every day. In this, there is beauty. The same

concept of mortality is presented in the film, Departures, and the novel, Being Mortal by Atul

Gawande. In Departures, a young man, named Diego, who loses his dream job of being a cellist

takes up a new career working as an undertaker. In Being Mortal, Dr. Gawande discusses issues

in modern geriatric care and improvements that can help better the lives of people nearing the

end. Diego and Gawande (and his colleagues, such as Dr. Bill Thomas) are confronted with the

idea of mortality in their daily lives. This concept affects not only the way in which they work,

but other aspects of their lives as well. Due to this, we see several forms of art in both the film

and the book. I will argue that there is similarity in how the art of living and dying, the art of
 Ali 2

healing, and the art of working are represented in the film and the book. This similarity is

revealed through the manner in which Diego and Dr. Bill Thomas perform their jobs.

The art of dying is presented in the film, Departures. The film deals primarily with

Diegos work as an undertaker, helping to prepare dead bodies for burial. He initially took this

job in order to make money and pay off the debt from his cello. However, throughout the film,

he comes to love the work and finds peace in it. He becomes skilled at the job and takes pride in

the work that he does. When working on a dead body, Diego works delicately and with

precision. He takes his time to make the dead body appear how the person looked when they

were alive. By preparing the bodies in such a beautiful manner, we see that there is spiritual

restoration associated with it. The ritual of preparing bodies in this way honors the deceased. The

ritual allows the family members to mourn the loss of their loved one. The practice also prepares

the spirit or soul of the dead person to move on into the afterlife. By practicing the ritual in the

manner that Diego does, we see the spirit of the deceased brought to life for the family. The

practice reveals that the dead persons spirit is alive and able to move on. It allows the family to

accept what has happened and move on with their lives as well. Not only is there a spiritual

restoration of the dead body, but also a spiritual restoration for the loved ones who are able to

carry on with their lives in a meaningful way, knowing that the deceased is in a better place.

Through this spiritual restoration, we can see that there is a form of art associated with death.

A similar idea of spiritual restoration is presented in the book, Being Mortal. In this case,

the spiritual restoration is associated with the art of living. In the book, Gawande discusses how

the elderly are treated based on modern medicine. Modern medicine has a strong focus on fixing

health issues and extending life. When presented with aging people nearing the end of their lives,

doctors do not know what to do since the problem can not be fixed. Due to this, elderly people
 Ali 3

are thrown into nursing homes where they are essentially going to die. When discussing possible

solutions for this issue, Gawande talks about the ideas from Dr. Bill Thomas. Dr. Thomas was an

emergency physician who came to work as a medical director at a nursing home. He immediately

realized there was something missing when helping to treat the residents at the home. He argued

that life was missing. A bunch of elderly people who were all preparing to die were placed in a

building together that contained no life and no hope. They were surrounded by the idea of death

in every aspect of their lives. Dr. Thomas proposed that they bring dogs, cats, and birds into the

nursing home to interact with the residents. Although other people thought that this idea was

insane, Dr. Thomas believed it would help the residents. The proposal was approved and the

animals brought life to the nursing home. The residents became more active and involved with

the animals around. Some residents treated the animals as their own pets and took responsibility

of them. By taking care of these animals, the elderly found reasons to keep living. The animals

allowed the residents to gain some control of their lives. In the case of the suicidal man, Mr. L,

he was able to move back home after spending just a few months with the animals at the nursing

home. Doctors claimed that he did not have much of a chance at recovery. However, when

surrounded by ideas and the notion of life, he found a reason to keep living. In this way, bringing

life into the nursing home helped to restore the residents spirit of life. People who were dying

found a purpose for life. Through the actions of Dr. Thomas, we see that there is spiritual

restoration in the elderly which reveals the art of living.

The spiritual restoration in the art of living and dying further leads to the presence of the

art of healing in both the film and the book. In the film, Diego is portrayed as a broken character.

He is holding onto anger and pain from when his father left him and his mom. Through his work,

he finds peace as he is confronted with the reality of death everyday. When he is informed of the
 Ali 4

death of his father, he goes to him and preforms the ritual of encoffinment. Through this act, we

see Diego heal. He learns to let go of his anger and pain from the past because he knows that life

is short. He comes to terms with what happened in the past and makes his peace with it. After

performing the ritual on his father, we see that Diego is healed in the sense that he has forgiven

his father for what happened and is choosing to move on with his life. There is art in this process

of healing because his mind and body are both cleared of suffering by letting go of his anger.

Similarly, we see the art of healing in the book. In the case with the animals being brought into

the nursing home, the residents were able to heal not only spiritually, but also physically. In the

story, we see that the emotional and mental healing due to the animals also brought physical

healing (to an extent) in some cases. Some elderly people who were disabled began to physically

move around when surrounded by health and life. Here, we see the art of healing similar to that

seen in the movie. Dr. Thomas helped to relieve emotional and mental suffering for the residents

in addition to helping relieve physical suffering. The presence of art in healing is seen through

the treatment of both mind and body in an effort to clear any suffering.

Additionally, there are similarities in the way that Diego and Dr. Thomas approach their

work. In the film, Diego knows there is shame associated with the type of work he does. He tries

to hide his new job from his wife and friends. When his wife finds out that he works as an

undertaker, she gives him an ultimatum. He can choose her or his work. In this scene, he says

that he will not quit his job. Although he knows that there is a negative perception of the work he

does, he continues to do it due to true passion. Due to this strong passion and dedication to his

work, it can be considered an art form. In the film, we see Diego perform the ritual in a manner

that shows his true love for the work he does. The loved ones of the deceased thank him for

doing a great job. He takes his time and does not get exhausted. He puts his full effort and
 Ali 5

concentration into every dead body that he prepares. The courage it takes to follow his true

passion, despite what others may think of him, further reveals the art associated with Diegos

work.

Dr. Thomas is also passionate about his work. We see this when he gives the proposal to

the leadership team that they should bring animals into the nursing home. At first he only

mentions two dogs. The group thinks that the idea is crazy and they claim that it goes against the

nursing home regulations. Dr. Thomas further proposes that four cats and a hundred birds be

brought in. At this point, the group thinks that he is completely insane for suggesting such an

idea that clearly violates their regulations. However, Dr. Thomas is dedicated to this experiment

and works on it until it is approved and the plan is put into motion. Despite, what other people

said or thought about his ideas, he knew it would help the residents. He believed in his ideas,

even when no one else did, and worked to make them a reality. This shows his dedication to the

work he does. He truly wants to help the elderly residents maintain a good quality of life during

the end of their lives. He is persistent on having his idea approved and when it is, the outcomes

are very positive. Dr. Thomas shows a similar courage as Diego by continuing to do the work he

is passionate about and disregarding others thoughts about it. Working can be considered an art

from when it is approached in the same way as Diego and Dr. Thomas approach their work; with

passion, dedication, and courage.

There is similarity between some of the art forms present in both the film and the novel,

such as the art of living and dying, the art of healing, and the art of working. These similarities

become apparent through the analysis of how Diego and Dr. Thomas do their jobs. Spiritual

restoration is present in both the art of living and the art of dying. It functions in a similar manner

by helping people move forward with their lives. We see the art of healing in both works through
 Ali 6

cleansing the mind and body of suffering. The art of working is present in the way that Diego

and Dr. Thomas show their passion for the jobs they do. Overall, each of the concepts of art tie

into the idea of mortality. There is an art to living due to the perception that life is precious and

limited. There is some art in dying as it marks the end of valued time and possibly the beginning

of something better. The art of healing is necessary because life is too short to keep suffering.

The art of working shows that true passion can be rare and it is important to embrace it while still

possible. Mortality is a fixed thing and there is no way to fight against it. All we can to is accept

this and live life to the best of our ability.

 Ali 7

Works Cited

Takita, Yjir, director. Departures. Madman, 2008.

Gawande, Atul. Being mortal: medicine and what matters in the end. Metropolitan Books Henry

Halt and Company, 2014.