He becomes attached to them, and then one day he must collect their soul when they die. Memories of those select few haunt him forever as he knows it was his fault they have left. Surely this could drive one to insanity. Therefore a final example of this theme is found where Death is always coming for himself. In conclusion, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak contains the theme ‘Death Is Inevitable’ in three prime examples.
When faced with a potentially dangerous animal, one must decide if they should attack the animal before it attacks them. In the short story “The Rattler”, a man is walking close to his ranch when he encounters a rattlesnake. He is faced with the decision of whether he should kill the snake to keep the people around the ranch safe or let it go, ultimately deciding to kill the snake. Through diction and tone, the author makes the reader feel as though the snake should have lived through sympathy for the snake. Throughout the story, the author uses strong word choice to indicate that the snake did nothing wrong.
Alcott never describes John as weak or ill, even in death she sees him as brave and noble. Through comparing his body to that of a sleeping knight, Alcott informs her audience of how his self sacrifice immortalized him as a hero, revealing the lasting impact of selflessness. Although his death was no happy affair, Alcott wants to convey that John’s death was an honorable one. Accordingly, she uses a metaphor when she describes death as a “. .
He sets out to hunt the monster, but gets sick and dies on his journey. The monster comes to Victor's dead body, and is saddened by his foes death. With his foe dead and only chance of creating a companion gone he wanders off into the snowy north to die. These deaths were included to “end plot complications”. (90) The unfortunate demise of Victor is foreshadowed at from the beginning of the book.
The entire passage, voiced by Death, is told in a first person point of view. When a boy places a teddy bear on the dead man’s lap, Death describes it as a “smiling bear”. The phrase, “smiling teddy bear”, is repeated again later in the text. The word “smiling” is not something that is normally linked to death.
The man witnessed a “forest fire was making its way… flaring and shimmering against the overcast like the northern lights” (pg 31). Forests, typically lush and ripe with life, were rendered dead by the quick spreading fire. The destruction that the spreading fires caused is seen all throughout the environment. Fire can burn to destroy, but one may burn with a fiery
When it comes to death, no one will ever be ready because it is an awful feeling to know one will no longer be with loved ones. Overall, the short story “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” by Katherine Porter is a great example of what it is for one to be in their last days of life on ones “deathbed” taking their last breath. She does a great job in describing Granny’s last day of life. In general she does a great job in describing death itself the way it is for one to be on their
He lived on the farm with the fellow, but Old Ben (the snake) disappeared, unknown at the end of the story. The second story is "A Glow in the Dark". It was quite an unnerving narrative; however, it had an amusing end. The story was set in harsh, cold lands, and the narrator was dog-sledding when he came across a particular beam of light. This light reminded him of ghosts.
All of these shifts contribute to the poem’s deeper meaning that although death is unavoidable people still have the ability to resist it. One of the most notable shifts in the poem is in the scale of death in the poem. In the first stanza Sarton describes the death of a small turtle. In the eight lines she describes many aspects of the turtle’s death including the “emerald shell” (line 4) of the turtle that grew soft. The turtle is an insignificant creature in the poem.
The narrator struggles with accepting the lack of love in the relationship and still finding gratification with his past. The scene ends with “a dead boy” that Ray “cradles him gently as though the boy weights nothing, a baby” (My Father Running with a Dead Boy 448). The image of a baby alludes to the narrator’s adolescence and even innocence. The narrator longs to be carried and comforted by his father like the dead boy. The scene reveals the pain and sorrow that the narrator felt during his childhood and his desire to find peace with the past.