In The Gloaming Analysis

In this short story, “In the Gloaming” by Alice Elliott Dark, the main characters learn that you should spend as much time as possible with family, make and never forget memories together, and how to accept death. Although the characters learn these lessons the hard way, in the end they come to understand the value of them. People will always tell you how valuable time is, but I didn't realize how true this statement is until reading this short story. In the story, it is mentioned how Laird’s dad and mom didn’t spend a lot of time with him. In the story, it states, “She had as much of him now as she had when he was an infant.” This is talking about how Janet spent most of her time with Laird when he was a baby, and she was spending that same amount of time with him now. When she realizes how much time she has lost with her son, and how little time he has left, she decided to make the most of it. This story really made me realize how important time is because it doesn’t last

Janet got so attached to her son during the gloaming, that it never occurred to her how soon Laird would pass away. She wasn't ready to accept his death, and even after he died, she still wouldn’t accept it. “‘A child shouldn’t die before his parents.’” Janet says to Martin because she isn’t ready to lose him so soon. Accepting death is hard on everyone, but I understand how hard it must be for Janet because she never spent any time with her son until now, and she barely got to know him before he died.
For all of these reasons, this is why I think it’s very important to spend time with loved ones, never lose memories, and learn how to accept death the way it is. The sooner you learn to accept these facts, the better off you will be in the long run. Unfortunately, Janet learns this the hard way, and so does Martin, making Laird’s death much harder on