Analysis Of Donald Barthelme 's The School

As I searched for an editorial to write on, the Op-Ed, “What Our Cells Teach Us About a ‘Natural’ Death,” immediately caught my eye. It may have been due to recent events that left death on my mind, or the alien combination of ‘natural’ and ‘death’. Nonetheless, Warraich’s piece snagged my attention. His article provides an interesting interpretation of death and human relations towards the sore subject, and gives a sound argument to support it.

The narrator questions at the end of the poem “how could Arthur go?” (50). Even though she is confused by death, she is still afraid of it. Bishop’s poem is unique in a sense that it is written through the point of view of a small child. Furthermore, the child is experiencing a life changing and painful concept for the first time. The child’s innocence is shown by her response to death. By finding distractions through comparisons, word choices, and even a stuffed loon in response to the inability to comprehend the painful concept of death is the theme Bishop was trying to portray. She also touches on the idea that trying to comprehend the finality of death, takes a toll on some

Again, a main protagonist, Henry, links to the theme of death through some key events involving a character who was once alive in the novel but is now dead. This theme is evident when Henry’s “friend” named Trot, dies in an unexpected car crash. “Trot was dead. Dead. The word, although Henry had not said it out loud, began to take on some form, as if it was solidifying. He’d never had to deal with the word, or the world like this before. Trot was dead. He was gone. Now. Gone. Henry sat, hands draped, the silver case of his watch glittering at the corner of his eye. He felt weak and infinitely clueless.” (pg. 174) This quote establishes how Henry was completely and utterly shocked about the death of his friend. He couldn’t even bring himself up to saying the word. This shows a huge similarity to how individuals react to the death of a friend in today’s society. Metzenthen strongly represents the theme of death using Henry’s character. Similarly, with Henry, we sense that he is weary and heartsick over the thought of death. Throughout the novel, the author is able to illustrate the idea of death, and show how many people in today’s society also see it as a horrible and heartbreaking

By biological logic, we human beings will face death sooner or later in our life and death has its very own ways to approach us - a sudden deadly strike, a critical sickness, a tragic accident, a prolonged endurance of brutal treatment, or just an aging biological end. To deal with the prospect of death come different passive or active reactions; some may be scared and anxious to see death, some try to run away from it, and some by their own choice make death come faster. But Viktor Frankl, through his work Man’s Search for Meaning, and Bryan Doyle; in his essay “His Last Game” show us choices to confront the death, bring it to our deepest feelings, meaningful satisfaction. To me, the spirit of the prisoners at deadly concentration camps, Frankl’s Logotherapy theory of “. . . striving to find a meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man.” (99), as well as the calmness of Doyle’s brother on his last ride, like an awaken bell, remind us of how precious life is, how we should find the significance in every act of living, determine to live a meaningful life at any circumstances; hence, when death comes, we can accept it without anxiety nor regrets.

This essay will focus on the theme of death in this story. There are lot

“The School” is a short story written by Donald Barthelme and published in 1974 in The New Yorker. Donald Barthelme is a post-modernist writer known for his deceptively simple yet powerful and insightful short stories. “The School” is a story that takes a good hard look at the sensitive topic of death. The theme of this story is about the cycle of life and how death is an integral part of it. The story is written in first person narrative. The narrator here is the teacher and he talks about how he and his young students of 30 kids encountered death throughout their time together in class. He uses edgy humor and a conversational tone in his seemingly complex plot with a surprising effect that will stick with the reader long after they are done reading it.

In the play “everyman” death is depicted as something that is terribly feared as no one seemed ready for it, death is perceived as something that takes one away from the pleasures of this world.

Donald Barthelme’s story, “The School,” takes on an untraditional way of explaining life and the meaning behind it. Donald Barthelme was an influential writer during the mid-1900’s and was an especially important part of flash fiction. Many of his stories were very short. His approach at writing enabled him to highlight his themes in an unusual way. He uses escalation to emphasize the deaths of plants and herbs going all the way to the death of people. Michael Byers, an assistant professor of English at the University of Michigan, writes about “The School” saying, “curiosity, love, personal connection - all sources of solace in the face of death, and once that solace arrives, the dead world returns to life” (Byers). I agree with Byers that these things are sources of solace; however, I do not think Barthelme was trying to imply that after death we return to life. I believe Barthelme was trying to emphasize the meaning of life when answering the children’s question by saying, “life is that which gives meaning to life.” He was saying that death is a natural part of human life which exists all around us. Barthelme emphasized his theme of life by using the escalation of death throughout the story. I think Barthelme wanted readers to see that life and death are the basis for existence and that one cannot exist without the other; humor through escalation is brought into effect to create the harsh contrast of life versus death.

In the short story “The School,” written by Donald Barthelme, many different literary devices are being utilize like order of events, phraseology, point of view etc. The literary device that stands out the most in the short story “The School” is point of view. Barthelme uses point of view by making the teacher the story teller which gives the story a different mood than it would if it was told from a distinct perspective. Point of view is a position or perspective from which something is considered or evaluated (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)Barthelme’s use of point of view leads to the interpretation of the story in a totally unusual way which makes the story much less creepy than it should be.

“Death, the one appointment we all must keep, and for which no time is set” (Charlie Chan). Although many believe it to be ominous, death, signifies an end to this earthly and material life; the life of which we are sure of. Plato’s Phaedo and Shakespeare’s play Hamlet offer different perspectives on the life we are unsure of, namely death or the afterlife. Through the characters of Socrates and Hamlet, readers are offered two contrasting outlooks on death. On one side, Hamlet is haunted by the fear of the unknown, and leads his morality astray. Inversely, Socrates portrays a man who is relieved by the prospect of death. Both Hamlet and Socrates demonstrate inherent differences in their internal characteristics, but most notable difference is the characters’ contrasting outlooks on the meaning of life and death. Socrates, considered the leader of philosophy, WANTS to die, because only in the afterlife will he be able to see the truth without the distractions of his body. Hamlet, on the other hand, fears what will happen in the afterlife. He would like to escape his life, which at the moment is nothing short of depressing, but he worries that the afterlife might prove to be a bad dream, even worse than his life at this moment.

The essay ‘Against the school’ by John Taylor Gatto draws our attention on to all the cons of attending twelve years of high-school. Gatto has experience in teaching profession for twenty-six years in schools of Manhattan, he shares from his experience that he majored in boredom and could see that everywhere around him. He also points out the initial reason why schools came into existence and what the purpose it fulfils now. He also educates us on the fact that all the great discoverers never attended school and were self-educated.The main idea Gatto addresses in his article are that public schooling is doing the youth an injustice.He implies that the purpose of schooling, now is to turn children into good employes and someone who follows orders.

In “On Natural Death,” Thomas appeals to the readers by contemplating the subject of death with an academic approach that includes facts, data, and information. Thomas successfully transforms death from an awkward, emotional subject to a more comfortable intellectual one. This engages the readers by placing contemplation of death and dying within the confines of a more manageable and rational context. His gradual exhumation of death eases the audience into pondering the subject in the absence of emotional stress. The essay transitions from the death of an elm tree to that of a mouse. This is followed by Thomas giving a significant amount of attention to a scientific explanation of death, and then finally the description of the near death experience of a human. This use of an academic appeal moves the audience to a comfort zone with the subject of death and circumvents the common response of avoidance. The reader is simultaneously desensitized to the gravity of subject matter and given permission to consider death and dying without the normal societal negative stigma associated with the subject.

This essay will address the theme of death in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 12 (1609) and George Herbert’s poem Virtue (1633). Both Shakespeare and Herbert explore notions of death in their poems, in terms of the tension between the psychical and the spiritual in a religious context. However, where they differ is that Shakespeare places emphasis on the importance of the corporeal, and of what is left behind on earth after death. In contrast, Herbert focuses on the impermanence of the physical, instead advocating a focus on the eternal life of the soul in heaven.

Regardless of race, caste, religion, or age, every human has wondered about the one fact of life that unifies us all: What is death? Both poems, “Death of a Young Son by Drowning” by Margaret Atwood and “Because I could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson share a common subject of death. Using figurative language, both poems illustrate distinct takes on a similar topic.

Death is a topic that unites all of humanity. While it can be uncomfortable to think about, confronting death in unavoidable. “Dying” addresses that discomfort and universal unwillingness to consider the inevitability of death. Pinsky’s use of imagery, symbolism, and tone create a poetic experience that is like death, something every reader can relate to. In “Dying,” Pinsky describes how people are oblivious and almost uncaring when it comes to the thought of death. Pinsky is trying to convince the reader that they shouldn’t ignore the concept of death because life is shorter than it seems.