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Comparing Vonnegut, And The Old Man, By Ernest Hemingway

995 Words4 Pages

The Concept and Reality of Death Death is a most powerful theme in human life, and therefore is powerfully addressed in literature; yet, it can be shown to have differing values as depicted in the story lines of various authors. The concept of death and its implications is treated differently in three popular novels: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut , The Road by Cormac McCarthy, and The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway . Moreover , in each of these novels death is presented and can be evaluated by utilizing three measures. One would be the role of death and its importance in the human psyche. Furthermore, how the thought of death shapes human behavior, and additionally, the consideration of the authors on how the killing of living …show more content…

According to the storyline, the father and son have a loving relationship but the father, for a time, considers killing his son so that he will not have to continue living a horrible life in the post-apocalyptic world. Therefore, in order to end his future potential suffering, he asks “What would you do if I died? If you died I would want to die too. So you could be with me? Yes. So I could be with you. Okay.”(McCarthy, 151). Consequently even though the concept of an afterlife and belief in it is apparently not held by the protagonists, still being together in death is considered momentarily to be a positive romantic notion. Moreover, in another discussion, the boy expresses his feeling that it would be better for him to be dead because he wants to join his dead mother. However, in response to this statement the man replies, “You mustn't say that.[The Boy:] But I do.[The Man:] Don't say it. It's a bad thing to say.[The Boy:] I can't help it. [The Man:] I know. But you have to.”((McCarthy, 56). Clearly, the boy’s loved ones have died and the man and his son are left to struggle in a horrific environment threatening them with death daily. As a result, the boy’s …show more content…

In this respect, Nicholas Kaufman qualifies the novel to fit under the horror genre: “death would be welcomed.” While traditional mainstream religion attempts to express the idea that death is a definite end of life, it can just as easily be viewed as a transition to a better world; in heaven or a dimension not of this world. However, in the Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway treats death not as a necessary evil, but as a way for man to test his courage, and therefore to evaluate his work and sense of pride as a human being. In the story, the old fisherman considers his fishing expedition as a contest, not to simply catch a fish and to sell the meat but to test his skill, courage, and pride against a formidable opponent:the sea and its noblest creatures. The old fisherman, Santiago, had not caught a fish in 85 days and this caused sadness and exponential aging. But, “Everything about him was old, except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and they were cheerful and undefeated.”(Hemingway,18) Here Hemingway, denotes that the old man, while thought to be finished by the villagers, had another fight in him, and this

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