The Theme Of Loss In Head, Heart And Nebraska

Almost everyone can say that they have experienced some type of loss during their lifetime, whether that be losing car keys or the loss of a loved one. Loss is hardly ever easy and can vary in the amount of pain or heartache one may feel. Some might feel nothing at all when something is lost. It is important to evaluate how loss impacts characters in literary works in order to gather a true understanding of both the novel and the persona of the individual characters. Head, Heart and Nebraska have similar literary elements, including plot, characterization, setting, tone, and type of narration. All these pieces are used in various ways throughout each literary work in order to convey an overall theme of loss. The plot in both Head, Heart and

Line 4 says, “You will lose the ones you love. They will all go. But even the earth will go, someday” (Davis ITC). Head is explaining to heart that nothing lasts forever no matter how badly one may want it to. Heart does not feel better for long after this and begs head for help. Though it is only ten lines, there are multiple types of loss in this Lydia Davis poem. It is evident that heart has lost something or someone that it loves dearly and is experiencing a great amount of pain. Additionally, head reminds heart that everything must be lost eventually. In comparison, the plot of Nebraska also holds loss but in a different way. In this Bruce Springsteen poem, an individual goes on a killing spree and feels no remorse for the things they have done. They were sentenced to death by the jury but does not seem to care much, stating in lines 23 and 24, “They want to know why I did what I did. Well, sir, I guess there’s just meanness in this world” (Springsteen ITC). In this poem, there are ten lives lost in the town of Lincoln, Nebraska and the life of the killer is lost later in the poem. The loss of one life can be extremely heart wrenching, let alone eleven. The