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The Process to Heal

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Experiencing a sense of loss causes great pain for many people, but how the grief is dealt with shows their strength as a person. English playwright, William Shakespeare, wrote his famous work “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” in 1603. In this play, Shakespeare demonstrates the idea that when characters come together with mixed emotions, it may result in failure at what is trying to be accomplished. Lorraine Hansberry, an astonishing playwright and writer, published her well known play “A Raisin in the Sun” in 1959. This play shares the challenges of racial segregation a family faces, but proves that in order to move past the judgment from society they must succeed to accept one another first. These stories relate because they both find a way in dealing with their grief by starting off in denial and resulting in acceptance. Everyone’s journey through grief is similar in many ways, but it is how one chooses to handle it that makes their journey unique.
A first reaction to devastating news usually results in denying the facts that have been brought up upon the unfortunate event. It is hard to believe what can’t be seen, but if what is seen seems unrealistic people begin to think they are delusional. “He waxes desperate with imagination” (Shakespeare Act 1, Scene 5, Line 87). Horatio desperately wants the “Ghost” to be Hamlet’s father, but is then pulled back when realizing that maybe it is all in his head. Charles Kamen, a graduate from Stanford University School of Medicine states that denial is used as a sense of protection (1330). People feel safe when denial is used as a shield to protect others from the truth. Denial is a defensive trait used to block all sorrow and problems. In “A Raisin in the Sun”, Ruth denies having money to gi...

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