Jacob Hickey
English 110-H4
Professor Miller
In Jessica Mitford’s “The Story of Service”, she angrily argues as well as questions why the funeral service industry would take advantage of people by misleading grieving families to pay for embalming their loved ones. She loudly exclaims in the beginning of the essay, “spokesmen for the funeral industry tend to become so carried away by their own enthusiasm, so positively lyrical and copious in their declarations” (Mitford 41). She states that this industry is not “clear cut” and that the funeral service directors often dramatize the number of hours it takes to produce an eloquent funeral. This can lead one to question whether funeral directors really care about their clients or rather making money. She states, “Our informant has lumped a lot of things together here. To start with ‘the most important of all, the service of your clergyman’: the average religious funeral service lasts no more than twenty-five minutes” (Mitford 42). She finds it interesting how “long” they have to work, or as they say, to produce such a short service. She feels they are lying and getting paid for hours they do not deserve. In this passage, she goes on to say that “the funeral salesman is inclined to chuck in everything he does under the heading of ‘service’” (Mitford 42). She is questioning here if it is truly service or taking advantage of people who are vulnerable due to grief. She uses the word “chuck” to highlight how loose she feels the funeral service industry is with their money and costs. Later on, Mitford questions the embalming method and if what takes place is truthfully explained to the customer. She writes, “A close look at what actually takes place may explain in large measure the undertaker’s intractable reticence concerning a procedure that has become his major raison d’etre” (Mitford 45). She again shows her feelings that this industry cares more about the money and notoriety than caring for the patients. She questions, “Is it possible he fears that public information about embalming might lead patrons to wonder if they really want this service”? In providing insight into this industry, it does raise questions as to how honest these people are with families of the deceased. Mitford calls into question multiple topics that are legitimate and should be asked of these companies.
