Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
Theme of death and loss in literature
Theme of death and loss in literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Theme of death and loss in literature
Theme of death and loss in literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In “Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson, John Ames III is the 3rd minister in a small town in Iowa. He is dying and he is aware that he is leaving his wife and children with nothing except books of his work. Ames sole purpose of the novel was to write to his son so that he would understand his family's history and along that get to know his father that most likely his son will have no recollection of his father. Ames started writing his book when he was eight years before his death which gave give a good time to write his thoughts, his regrets, his sad life, and the joy of having his son but, to not be able to be part of his life. He has never truly experienced a happy life and has lived in solitary for 40 years after the death of his sweetheart Louise and his first born son who died after birth.
Grief and its complex journey to either recovery or non-recovery is a universal condition long examined in literature. Steven Hall’s novel, The Raw Shark Texts, delves into the complications and impacts of this experience, following protagonist Eric Sanderson as he navigates through the various stages of mourning. Hall captures the intense anguish and desperation of grieving as Eric confronts dangerous creatures that prey on memories, and battles with the ghosts of his past due to severe memory and identity loss. Various emotions, including denial and self-rejection, remorse, fear, rage, bargaining, and ultimately acceptance, are seen throughout Eric’s grieving process. This essay will trace Eric’s progression through these several phases of
Grief is a complex and multifaceted emotion that is an inherent part of the human experience. It manifests in various forms, ranging from the death of a loved one to the loss of a way of life, and it impacts individuals differently. In Richard Wagamese's novel Indian Horse and James Joyce's short story Eveline, grief plays a significant role in shaping the lives of the main characters. Through their narratives, these works explore the nature and role of grief as a transformative force, influencing the characters' actions, decisions, and perceptions of the world around them.
The poem, “The Skater of Ghost Lake” has an overall tone of eeriness and dark mystery brought upon by Benet’s use of figurative language through imagery, metaphors and similes within the stanzas. In the poem, the vivid imagery used to describe the setting of Ghost Lake leaves the reader with the sense of uneasiness and suspense. “Ice black as ebony, frostily scrolled; […] Steep stand the sentineled deep, dark firs” (Benet 254). The lake, as explained provides the setting, therefore creating the mood. Jeremy and Cecily who are here alone, seen through a third person point of view, are influenced by the author’s description of the intimidating wilderness.
“’Dead? Polly’s dead?’ I couldn’t have heard her properly. ‘Polly Logan?’ The sweat on my neck turned to ice and I shivered.
White: Once More to the Lake The selection’s dominant impression is about how time passes and how memories fade away in the aspect of change. In other words, the father implies that change and time are constant and that they cannot be escaped. This is illustrated when he says, “I wondered how time would have marred this unique, this holy spot—the covers and streams, the hills that the sun set behind.” Through this statement, he suggests that time might have impacted the place that he liked when he was still young. The main concept is that as time changes, people’s ability to recall memories is a sophisticated process that consists of both negative and positive experiences.
Richaunti Williams AP English 3 4th period PART I: The Color of Water by James McBride Memoir Published in 1995 James McBride is our protagonist of this story. A biracial man just trying to figure out where he comes from, and by that I mean, where his mother comes from.
In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien explores the human mind and the psychological mechanisms that people use to protect themselves from the truth. The novel follows John Wade, a politician who just lost a race for senator because the truth came out that he was involved in the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam war. Wade and his wife then go on vacation on the great lakes in Minnesota. The story examines Wade’s childhood and his relationship with his wife Kathy. One night Kathy goes missing and a boat is missing.
A fire sparks and the grand bird burns, leaving nothing but ashes. From these ashes, a new bird is born, restarting the cycle. Thus is the story of a phoenix, the immortal and legendary fire bird. Fire and water commonly appear in literature and can represent positive or negative symbols. Water is usually associated with baptism, rebirth, cleansing, but as an element it can also represent negative signs of death and destruction.
Since The Road is more about the Boy’s journey than his father’s, the supreme ordeal at the end of the novel is the death of the Man. The death of the Man, who acted as the Boy’s mentor during the many challenges faced by the duo, represents the largest and most devastating challenge faced by the Boy. Not only is this due to the fact that the Boy feels unprepared to continue on without his father, but it is also because the “reward” and “road back” are not immediately apparent to the Boy. Compared to even the most challenging obstacles the Boy faced in the past, the death of his father leaves him both physically and mentally pained and exhausted. However, relief from his situation arrives promptly in the form of the stranger who claims to be a “good guy,” though the Boy’s future remains forever uncertain.
The techniques, such as, imagery and tone, help create the theme of memory and loneliness throughout the poem. The poem is very simple and complex as the same time where the speaker is using simple everyday objects to represent life and death. Using those literary techniques, Lee creates a tone and image of grief over the father’s death where the speaker lives through his memories leaving him forever
The reading “Once More to the Lake” characterizes the meaning of family by showing the relationship that occurs between a father and a son. When the writer, E. B. White, tells the readers his memory of a campground his father once brought his family to, it gives them an in-depth look into the people he cares about and the loving memories he made. Throughout “Once More to The Lake,” White tells the readers that he brought his son to that same campground as well, the reason
In enduring these complex emotions, this section was the most remarkable part. One of the first apparent emotions the boy experiences with the death of his father is loneliness to make this section memorable. The boy expresses this sentiment when he stays with his father described as, “When he came back he knelt beside his father and held his cold hand and said his name over and over again,” (McCarthy 281). The definition of loneliness is, “sadness because one has no friends or company.”
In the passage “Once More to the Lake,” by E.B. White, White relives his most memorable childhood memories with his son, at the lake he used to visit with his father. In the beginning, White gives his reasons for going to the lake to spend time with his son. Everything at the lake remained the same from the last time White left it, which soon after brings back memories of the time he spent with his father. Throughout the rest of the passage White shows his close observation of why his memories have been triggered and what triggered them. During Whites revisit at the lake White realizes how much his son reminds him of his younger self, and how he now impersonates his father 's
The themes and relationships that Coelho is telling us to watch for throughout the story are selfishness and narcissism. In exemplifying the grief of the lake due to its own self-centeredness, he is giving a forewarning to the readers about how regardless of