Death impacts characters strongly by influencing their choices and thoughts. Death, as a result, personifies as various characters which impact the cast in different ways. In Hamlet, “Porphyria’s Lover,” and Wuthering Heights, death is characterized as controlling because of its impact on the characters’ emotions and actions. The act of death influences a character’s perceptions through the various ways that death is personified in each story. Personification creates death as an authoritative figure, a god, and manipulative. Together, these traits alter characters’ perception of death which in turn causes them to carry out specific tasks. In Hamlet, revenge on King Claudius is sought after, in “Porphyria’s Lover,” power over Porphyria makes …show more content…
This ties back into how death is portrayed in literature. The personification of death plays a vital role in the stories, impacting the characters’ emotions and actions. In Hamlet, death being personified as an authoritative figure drives Hamlet Jr. to near insanity as he plots revenge on King Claudius and foreshadows the downfall of the cast during the final scene. In “Porphyria’s Lover”, death acts as a catalyst, overlooking Porphyria and her lover’s actions. It showcases “Porphyria’s Lover” as being higher than a god, taunting the figure and demeaning them whilst he does what he pleases. Wuthering Heights shows death as manipulative, due to the way that Catherine is able to impact Heathcliff after her death. Catherine is cast into purgatory, raising the question of whether or not she is destined for a life of torment towards Heathcliff. Together, the way that death is personified creates a larger question of how, in society, any sort of peace is found? One of the ways that people seek peace is through the process of mourning of death. Death is commonly mourned, both everyday life and literature, allowing for the cast to express their true feelings toward another character, without them being present. This process is related to the way that death is personified because of the connection between them. Without the various characteristics and stipulations surrounding death, people cannot find peace through the process of