Death Without Weeping Analysis

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Pages: 3

In Nancy Scheper-Hughes’ Death Without Weeping, Hughes firstly argues that the mortuary ritual of angle wake in Alto Brazil is a culturally institutionalized “defence” against grief and mourning in a context in which infant death occurs often. Secondly, she argues that emotions are constructed in language and human interaction, and cannot be understood outside of their cultural context. Hughes substantiates her claim by elaborately explaining the mortuary ritual of angle wake, and by referring to numerous anthropologists who explain the importance of culture in constructing emotions in rituals. Firstly, Hughes begins by contextualizing her argument by discussing the high infant mortality rates. Alto women attributed the high infant mortality