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Sociology

Minnesota State University, Mankato

Social

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Grave Exclamations: An Analysis Of Tombstones And Their Use As Narrative Of Self, Lacey Jae Ritter Jan 2012

Grave Exclamations: An Analysis Of Tombstones And Their Use As Narrative Of Self, Lacey Jae Ritter

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We establish our selves through narratives--with others and by ourselves--during life. What happens, however, when a person dies? The following paper looks at the way narratives about the deceased's selves are created by the bereaved after their loved ones have died. The paper focuses on the narratives created on the deceased's tombstones, as these are available to the public and last the longest of all final declarations of the person's identity (i.e., obituaries, funeral programs, eulogies). Because I am interested in the way narratives of the self are constructed postmortem, a symbolic interactionist approach was used. The study focuses on …