Death of a loved one is a tough thing for all humans to deal with, especially when it hits one unexpectedly. The theme of book is death and how many people deal with it in different ways, and takes place where thousands of people’s lives are suddenly ended, the emergency of 9-11. All the characters in the book are affected by the disaster, yet all respond in different ways. This book shows that people deal with death in good ways and bad ways, and some people deal with death better than others, such as how Mrs. Bennett, Will (and his family), and James deal with what happened.

Firstly, Mrs. Bennett dealt with the death of her husband very poorly and the worst out of all the characters. This is true because firstly, she seemed to be stuck on, what Mrs. Fuller called, first stage of death. the Mrs. Fuller called this “denial” and it means that she was pretending that everything was alright and Mr. Bennett would be found in a matter of time. This was a very bad way to deal with Mr. Bennett’s death because it isn’t good to cling to false hope and keep waiting for the truth than to just accept it. As Mrs. Fuller said, “Sometimes its much better to know, to have closure and start the grieving process.” this quote signifies that Mrs. Bennett should move closer to acceptance and that she’s stuck on denial. Out of all the characters, Mrs. Bennett is the only one who doesn’t seem moving to acceptance, and that is why that she dealt with death the worst out of all the characters and could have dealt with it better.

Secondly, Will (and his dad and mother) dealt with the events of 9-11 second best of all the characters in United We Stand. Although he didn’t deal with the death of someone close to me, he was in denial about what he went through and how close he came to dying. It becomes very apparent and obvious when Will’s mother talks to him and how he says it looks unrealistic when the plane crashes on television. However, he realized he needed to see in person when he talks to his mother and when he goes with James to the wreckage. The best part of how they dealt with it and accepted it is when they resolved to see the wreckage of the buildings so they could know what the survived not just in their mind, but also in their hearts.