Do You Value Your Life?

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.

In literature, themes shape and characterize an author’s writing making each work unique as different points of view are expressed within a writing’s words and sentences. This is the case, for example, of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” and Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” Both poems focus on the same theme of death, but while Poe’s poem reflects that death is an atrocious event because of the suffering and struggle that it provokes, Dickinson’s poem reflects that death is humane and that it should not be feared as it is inevitable. The two poems have both similarities and differences, and the themes and characteristics of each poem can be explained by the author’s influences and lives.

Steven Herrick’s verse novel “By the River” is very successful in conveying the significant ideas about human nature. He uses key themes such as grief, environmental influence and coming of age to explore these ideas. To convey the themes Herrick uses multiple techniques such as imagery, repetition, personification and positive and negative influence throughout his text.

Secondly, Dillard’s work “living like weasels” effectively projects her perspective through the use of her radical comparisons. Throughout the essay, Dillard’s use of comparisons often helped familiarize her audience in connecting complex and abstract concepts together into concrete context. This is first seen as she states “His journal is tracks in clay, a spray of feathers, mouse blood and bone: uncollected, unconnected, loose-leaf, and blown.” Through this, Dillard connects a concept most would be familiar with: writing journals, to describe what goes on in a weasel’s mindset. In addition, she illustrates that not only do weasels act out of survival, but simply that their “journal” is a transcript of their physical actions. Dissimilar to humans, weasels do not render their thoughts nor “write in journals”, but rather react out of instinct. It is often seen through the content of the piece that she also enjoys to contrast and compare through the occurrences of juxtaposition. This can be seen in the phrases such as, “Our look was as if two lovers, or deadly enemies, met unexpectedly on an overgrown path when each had been thinking of something else: a clearing blow to the gut”. Through these lines, the ideas of man vs nature are continuously

It is true that life is a precious commodity much like a diamond. But unlike a diamond, life has no set monetary value. But today’s

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.

Mourning and mortality is a constant concern that transcends time. Slessor’s poetic treatment of these ideas continue to engage readers as it evokes a sense of awareness. This is evident in Kenneth Slessor 's poem Five Bells as the persona 's grief for his deceased friend, Joe Lynch causes him to realise the significance of time and the strength of spiritual attachments. This further leads him to question the purpose of human life.

Peter King’s comment on Phillip Larkin’s novel is reasonable because Larkin’s main themes are about death and failure. It is possible to outline both sides of the argument and Larkin’s use of imagery and characterisation supports this.

As people near the time of their deaths, they begin to reflect upon the history and events of their own lives. Both John Keats’ “When I have Fears” and Henry Longfellow’s “Mezzo Cammin” reflect upon the speakers’ fears and thoughts of death. However, the conclusions between these two poems end quite differently. Although both reflect upon Death’s grasp, Keats’ displays an appreciation and subtle satisfaction with the wonders of life, while Longfellow morbidly mourns his past inactions and fears what events the future may bring.

In the short story “Living Like Weasels” authored by Annie Dillard, the role of a small, furry, brown-colored rodent’s life develops an extreme significance as the story progresses. According to Dillard, the life that a weasel lives is care free and passionate. Weasels are very tenacious creatures and what they have their eye set on something they want, they go and get it. Also, when Dillard says “The weasel lives in necessity and we live in choice” in “Living Like Weasels,” the words can be deeply felt by the reader; we are able to not only feel Dillard’s passion for this underlying opinion of hers, but readers can also develop their own view on what she is saying and find evidence to prove their thoughts (121). The way that everyday

The multiple repetitions of the word “fish” embody the vulnerability of the abundance of prey (4, 6, 8, 12, 24). The threat within ecosystems is embodied through the continual use of “fish”. These fish not only represent themselves as being unlawfully preyed upon but also represent the collective term for prey in the poem. The prey within this scene are referred to as the prize especially if the “wisest and fattest fish” were caught (24). The significance of the prey is found within their role of their ecosystems. Where the fish seem to be vulnerable prey in the sight of the fisherman, the fisherman seems to be also vulnerable prey to the fish.

The poem “Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant reveals a very unusual aspect of nature. While most people think of nature as beauty and full of life, Bryant takes a more interesting approach to nature. He exposes a correlation between nature, life, death, and re-birth. Using nature as a foothold, Bryant exercises methods such as tone, setting, and imagery in a very intriguing way while writing “Thanatopsis.”

In Turtles Hatching, Mark O’Connor effectively conveys the power of life in numerous ways. The metaphor of turtles being in a “life – race” explains the determination in the turtles to reach safety which is the water. Another use of a metaphor is when O’Connor compares the turtle to a “high revving toy” this metaphor also shows the turtles determination to bypass all the complications and go to their natural habitat. “A determined as cats”, this simile suggests that nothing will stop them. Most of the metaphors and similes about life in turtles hatching display the sheer tenacity of the hatchlings, which gives the audience a sudden image in their minds as to how the turtles are trying to return to safety. This type of figurative language engages

Death of naturalist This poem is a fertile mixture of imagery, sounds and an impression created by nature on people’s mind. Heaney sensualises an outstanding fear of the physical wonders of the world. He vividly describes his childhood experience that precipitates his change as a boy from the receptive and protected innocence of childhood to the fear and uncertainty of adolescence. As he wonders along the pathways of salient discovery, Heaney’s imagination bursts into life.

People would not want to hear that their loved ones merely gave up and died passively. This poem in itself is a celebration of life, the poem is not only about death but it is an affirmation of life. To further emphasise the points being made Dylan Thomas utilises a wide range of literary devices. Parallelism is used from lines seven to fifteen to juxtapose the different attitudes of the so called “genres” of men at their death. This is used to outline that if you continuously lead one set type of lifestyle whether it is as a “wild man”, a “grave man” or a “good man” you will not be satisfied when your time comes to die. The only true way to be satisfied is to live a life of balance; only with a good contrast can you be at peace.