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Andrew Kim
Professor Maharaj
English 1302
16 October 2014
The Embalming Process
In Jessica Mitford’s reading “Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain,” she represents a
very dark, disturbing view about what is embalming and how it works. Mitford starts out
her essay by having a unique title; the readers will be thinking what is meant by the title.
Mitford represents her point of view about embalming in a mocking kind of way
throughout her essay, since she represents embalming in a vulgar way to her audience.
Mitford also is shocked on how the dead corpse body has to go through when being
embalmed. Even though Mitford seems like in her essay she may be against embalming,
she is just showing her disproval of embalming. Mitford gives her readers a very
informative detail about a body that is going through the process of embalming,
describing in a very well detailed step. Mitford is letting her readers know what really
happens to a corpse body before it is put into a casket for a funeral, that is going be
shown out in the public. She wants to let her readers have a thought in their mind about
the details of what really goes on through the embalming process for a dead corpse, hence
the title of her essay being called “Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain.”
Mitford begins her essay by informing her readers why embalming exist in an
informative way. Mitford first gives her readers thoughtful information to what is
embalming. She starts by implying embalming helps have a presentable view of the
corpse in a casket for the public to view the body during a funeral. Then goes on about
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how North America is the only place in the world that uses embalming and spends
millions each year. She also includes in her essay that many people don’t know what goes
on through embalming. Mitford implements that embalming is like a surgery, but except
it is on a corpse body. She is trying to indicate her audience a more broad view of why
the embalming is being done. Mitford is expressing her thoughts on how it is unusual for
embalming to exist to her readers.
After Mitford is done representing why corpses go through the process of embalming,
Mitford then moves to talk about the preparation for a body going through embalming.
She gives her readers an example of a corpse body being prepared to be embalmed
