Question

Read the diary entry written by Charles Hooper on the day he received the order, Charles Hooper is appointed Assistant National Sales Manager.”
March 1, 19… Thursday 10 pm
Last four years have been eventful. The day I brought Duke home… (Marcy was almost impolite to him because she would have preferred a Pomeranian to a Doberman)… to a stage on October 12, 1957 (when she would not allow anyone else to carry the injured Duke to the vet)… much water has flowed under the bridge. From being a very fit high-charging zone sales manager, I was reduced to a paralysed cripple forced to lie on a bed alone with my thoughts due to a small error by a car driver. Despair had led me on to helplessness… Was I to be a vegetable for the rest of my life ? I never wanted to be a burden on Marcy.

Duke’s re-entry into my life lifted my numb spirits. The day he made me take my first step, there was a rekindled hope. Duke assumed all the responsibility for leading me back to my office desk… Life had taken a full circle. From shock to denial and helplessness to anger, Duke taught me to cope with the challenge and led me to accept the changed mode of life. I am happy to be living as well as working successfully.

The order that I have received today is my tribute to Duke who would always be alive with me and be a part of everything else I achieve in my life.

When a person loses something, he is shocked and gets into a state of denial leading to anger. In such a situation coping well leads to acceptance and a changed way of living in view of the loss. Taking clues from what happened or might have happened with Hooper, write your views in the form of an article about’ ‘Coping with Loss’ in 150-175 words.

Answer 1

Coping With Loss
Gain and Loss are the two facets of the same coin human life. Loss is inevitable at one time or the other in life. A man’s real courage, perseverance or endurance are tested only when a person loses something. The strong and the brave accept the loss. They say what can’t be cured must be endured. The weak lose their balance of mind and behaviour when they lose something. They lose their nerves to deal with such a thankless and unhappy position. The result is disastrous. They are shocked. They get into a state of denial leading to anger. They withdraw themselves. They are alienated from the mainstream of life. Coping well with such a situation leads to acceptance. And the acceptance leads to a changed way of living in view‘of the loss. 

The protagonist of the story ‘A Dog Named Duke’ Hooper was a very dynamic, healthy and successful man before he met with a terrible accident. The accident reduces him to a paralysed cripple. He is forced to lie on bed. Despair leads him to helplessness. But Duke’s entry lifts his numb spirits. He decides to cope with the loss and accepts the reality. He moves to a changed way of life. The day he makes his first step, it rekindles hope in him. He accepts a desk job at the headquarters. But life must go on. So, he declares that he will start doing a full day’s work from March 1. He does succeed. His long patience, endurance and the ability to cope with the loss is rewarded. He is appointed Assistant National Sales Manager of his company