Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

In the Introduction, Roach refers to cadavers as “our superheroes” (10). What doe she mean by this? Explain the ways in which cadaver research, as presented by Roach, endows the dead with a kind of strength.

Roach states that her “first cadaver,” the first dead body she was ever exposed to, was that of her mother. How is the narrative affected by Roach inserting personal anecdotes into the cultural history of cadavers? What would this book be like if the narrator were an impartial observer?

In Chapter Four, we see lab researchers adjusting a cadaver’s limbs into position before testing. Roach observes that this activity resembles “nursing-home work” in that it involves the “dressing, lifting, arranging” of a generally invalid body (97). What are the implications for this comparison? Explain how Roach’s commentary might invoke an emotional response in the reader, and how that response might serve her argument.