Disenfranchised grief
There are many models for dealing with grief. The Kubler-Ross model describes grieving in five steps or stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (Kubler-Ross, 1969). In other words, in order to begin grieving one must first endorse the loss, and then express emotion. The griever must then accept the loss and adjust to the change the death or loss caused in his or her life (Cordaro, 2012). Over the years, however, how grief is conceptualised has moved away from predictable stages that lead to 'recovery' or 'closure', towards an understanding of grief that addresses the complexity and diversity of the grieving experience (Australian Psychological Society, 2016). Models such as Worden's tasks of grief (2008) and the Dual-Process model (Stroebe and Schutt,1999) offer frameworks for dealing with grief in a way that enhances the self awareness of the grieving person (Australian Psychological Society, 2016).
Blu's Hanging
Grief: From the very first chapter of the novel, the reader encounters the Ogatas in their moment of deepest and most unconstrained grief. This feeling encompasses the entire book. Poppy's sadness is translated through his repeated singings of "Moon River", whose whimsical lyrics take on a haunting and troublesome edge when Ivah confesses that "I know where he wants to go," and "And who the dreammaker is". Her brother Blu eats to control his grief, "eating away all the sadness until he's so full that he feels numb and sleepy". Finally, her sister Maisie, turns inward. As a young child, her expression of grief is more physical. The fear and insecurity she feels after her mother's death is demonstrated through her refusal to say more than a handful of words and in the frequency which she wets her panties.