Assisted Suicide In 'Me Before You' By Jojo Moyes

“And I think if you exist with that situation close to you, you are very conscious of issues of quality of life, the right to die issue, all those things,” is a quote from the author of Me Before You, and her opinions on assisted suicide. Me Before You, written by Jojo Moyes, is a modern day tragedy, it is a story of love, loss, romance and pain, all combined in a cliqued story of meeting the right person at the wrong time, and a painful tale of no matter how hard you try in life, sometimes it is never enough, even for the person who loves you. Me Before You, is the devastating love story of a quadriplegic named Will Trayner, and his dorky, personality filled caretaker, Lou Clark, who fall deeply in love, and have to live as much as they can

A main technic Moyes used to create a theme of depression was via suicide, and the continuation of the topic. With the quote, “Will tried to... he tried to kill himself.” (Moyes, 133.) the audience can automatically notice the depressing topic, and the shift in the tone of the story from a dark, twisted comedy, to very serious. The use of the ellipsis also assisted Moyes, as it made the audiences’ subconscious aware the seriousness of this topic, and the conversation between Camilla Trayner, Wills’ mother, and Wills’ sister, as they discuss his attempt at suicide for the first time. Moyes used the quote, “You know, you can only actually help someone who wants to be helped.” (Moyes, 65.) to show the audience Wills’ lack of a will to live, that even his sister thinks he is beyond assistance. Once the audience comes to this realization, there is once again a shift in the stories major theme is dark, depressing, and all together just

An example of this is the quote, “I can’t believe you’re even agreeing to it. What about your religion? What about everything you’ve done? What was the point in you even bloody saving him last time?” (Moyes, 124.) this quote is an excellent example of a negative capability because the protagonist is literally saying she does not agree with the antagonist, and it is unsaid, but heavily implied, that she understands she will never agree with Will on the subject of his trip to Switzerland to complete his failed attempt at taking his own life. Another example of this is seen in the quote, “But Dignitas? It’s just wrong. I know it’s hard for him, but it will destroy you and Daddy. I know it. Think of how you would feel! Think of the publicity! Your job! Both of your reputations! He must know it. It’s a selfish thing to even ask. How can he? How can he do this? How can you do this? She began to sob again.” (Moyes, 125.) Very similarly to the previous quote, this is a loved one of Will, his sister, fighting with their mother about how she can not believe will is going to commit suicide, and how their mother is going to quite literally pay