“Their First Patient” by Virginia Holman uses a lot of sarcasm to lighten the mood. He starts by describing the gross anatomy laboratory at Duke University Medical Center as a “cherry place.” He is very descriptive throughout and his descriptions were helpful to me as the reader. He asks a lot of questions such as, “What, exactly, would science do with me?” He questions whether or not his body would be appreciated by the students, “Would my remains be unceremoniously tossed out in the orange biohazard trash container?” There’s a quote that mentions that the bodies wanted to be there so they could be a gift to science. It seems like he includes this to give himself comfort and peace of mind. He’s very descriptive and honest, without being overly graphic and gruesome. I believe he is respectful of all values. He describes how the process of human dissection is a gentle and respectful process, “The moment between the living and the dead is remarkably gentle.” He also ends his piece with how there’s a memorial service when the human dissection is complete. His piece lacks humor, but paints a vivid picture that describes something that most people never have the chance of seeing firsthand. There is a great deal of respect and understanding for the dead in this piece. “The Last Stop” by Brian Cable uses a lot more humorous elements, but isn’t offensive or too over-the-top. One of the first humorous remarks I noticed was, “What the hell, I though, mortuaries are concerned with time, too.” As I read the piece, I could tell that Cable was uneasy because early in the story he mentions that “mortality reminds us all too vividly of our own.” He uses very visual descriptions, music like Holman’s “Their First Patient.” His preconceptions about what an undertaker looked like were accurate and funny, “Indeed, he looked like death on two legs.” The way he described the undertaker almost reminded me of a Tim Burton character. Cable brings up the question of burial vs. cremation. “Do burials serve an important role in society?” He questions cultural and religious values. He also mentions how 60 percent of people prefer cremation, this maybe be because of the expensive costs of caskets and burials. He ends with, “As I walked out, I felt glad to have satisfied my curiosity about dead bodies, but all too happy to let someone else handle them.” I took from this that it was too much for him to handle and made him uncomfortable. Both stories are very playful with the way they use their descriptions. Neither overstepped boundaries, in my opinion or showed disrespect of cultural values. They were merely trying to understand and learn through a rather uncomfortable experience.