The Attraction Of Death Should Have Stemmed From Lack Of Hope

There are many ways for a man to die, but there is no way to bring him back after he has entered the world of dead. Catch-22 is a novel satirizing war, and because of this, it inevitably has a strong underlying theme of death. But unlike many war novels, Catch-22 doesn't use violent depictions of fighting or bloody death scenes to denounce the evils of war; it utilizes humor and irony to make an arguably more effective point. And even more importantly, Catch-22 is ultimately a novel about hope, not death. Although the inevitability of death is still a prominent motif, it eventually leads the main character, Yossarian, to realize that the desire to live is important and also that he

The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” (Mark Twain). This quote from the famous American writer is the basis for what became one of the hardest ideas to comprehend, death. Death has always been a complex term, causing one to struggle with what the true definition is. It is also hard to wrap your mind around what does it truly mean to die. These are the questions we long for the answer. Whether we acknowledge it or not, death has always been feared by many. Death remains an impossible question, one that has been unexplained since beginning of time. Even though dying is a natural, we as a human race still fear it. What can be done to defeat this never-ending battle? According to Montaigne’s “To Philosophize is to Learn to Die” and Cory Taylor’s “Questions for Me About Dying” we can overcome this by living to the fullest, living with no regrets, living a legacy, and lastly not fearing the inevitable. If you want to conquer the question of life, live in the moment.

Even with the nightmares happening around her, Rowlandson is able to avoid the horrific fates others undergo by staying focused on her religion and God’s work. She describes an encounter with a fellow captive, saying that one poor woman “came to a sad end, as some of the company told me in my travel: She having much grief upon her Spirit, about her miserable condition, being so near her time, she would be often asking the Indians to let her go home” (77). Ultimately, the Indians, being annoyed by her constant begging and pleas, decide to burn both this woman and her small child alive. However, unlike that unlucky woman, Rowlandson survives because, instead of pleading to her captors, she takes her pleas to God and turns toward her religion, which keeps her mind healthy and positive throughout her tribulations. She is mentally tough due to her focus on positive religious messages, making her able to handle her situation well and ultimately leading to her survival.

Nearly everything could be represented by a god or goddess. Death and the afterlife was represented by Osiris. Aten and Ra were sun gods. The Egyptians felt that they needed to pray and build temples for these gods and goddesses to stay in their favor. These gods were believed to control everything, and if the Egyptians pleased them they would be rewarded. They worshipped their gods by making offerings. They would leave flowers and food in temples to show their respect. Commoners were not often allowed in temples. Priests had plenty of power because the gods were often feared. Most Egyptians did not actually love the gods, but feared their wrath. Commoners could occasionally attend ceremonies. At these ceremonies animals were often sacrificed.

The crucifixion of Christ is treated differently within the bodies of Old English and Middle English literature. The values of each era's society are superimposed on the descriptions of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Christ is depicted either as the model of the hero, prevalent in Old English literature, or as the embodiment of love and passion, as found in Showings by Julian of Norwich.

The theme death has always played a crucial role in literature. Death surrounds us and our everyday life, something that we must adapt and accept. Whether its on television or newpaper, you'll probobly hear about the death of an individual or even a group. Most people have their own ideas and attitude towards it, but many consider this to be a tragic event due to many reasons. For those who suffered greatly from despair, living their life miserably and hopelessly, it could actually be a relief to them. Death effects not only you, but also those around you, while some people may stay unaffected depending on how they perceive it.

People throught out the world and throughout time all had different perceptions of death. Some people accepted death cause they knew sooner or later it was going to get them and there is no way to escape it. Other people ran trying to escape death cause they were afraid of death but they still could never escape death. Death is one of the few forces in reality that is absolute.

One could argue that although the soldiers were starving, they had high spirits that overcame the starvation. As in Document C Dr.Waldo writes, “Yet they still show a spirit of Alacrity (cheerful willingness)” Even so, the current situation is difficult to surpass as in Document E, Washington quotes, “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.” Even with their high spirits, it doesn’t stop the fact that people are starving. The fight is going to be immensely hard and to some soldiers, it’s just too hard. Link. Not only that, but without proper food, the body is more susceptible to

Everybody on this earth is different and they all have a different way of handling the concept of death. In the book, When by Victoria Laurie, a sixteen year old girl, Maddie Fynn, has the ability to see people’s death dates in person and in pictures. When Maddie was in first grade her father died and her mother couldn’t cope with the loss of her husband, so she became an alcholic. Maddie’s mother couldn’t keep a steady job so her uncle helped pay the bills. On the side, Maddie had clients come to her so that she could read their death dates or dates of their loved ones. Everything was going okay until one client had a son that was going to die in a week. The client thought Maddie was lying and it was all a scam until he actually died. After

Prior to the major journey Aminata had lost both her mother and father before her eyes. At that point who else was going to fight for her because she lost everything she ever had before the sun came up. Although at times she begins to lose hope because she has lost so much but remember that her father told her strength is the most important thing you can have, “beauty comes and goes. Strength, you keep forever” (Hill, 2007). Even though her parents died, their voices never died; instead they lived along side Aminata through her treacherous journey. These are the voices that gave her strength in time of despair when she needed it the most to continue on the journey especially at the times when slaves that didn’t make it through the walk died, their bodies were just left on the side of the path. There was no grave for them, or no empathy shown to the people who passed away before they even worked as slaves. Each day, “each rising sun...more people died” (Hill, 2007), and “the loss of lives before the journey across the Atlantic was great” (Bolt, 2007). One must understand that Hill portrayed this image in the reading because he wanted to show the devastating cruelty against humanity. While they endured the journey on the ship to America the condition on the boat was hellish and not just on the ship but the

It did not matter who it was, if they had food or more clothes, then they were a dead man. The hunger and fight for survival took over people’s life and minds, including

Margaret Atwood tells a story about a woman who is plagued with some kind of disease, what we are assuming it is Porphyria. Throughout the story, we get an idea for how her family, doctors, the community, and even herself; view this disease. At the beginning of the story, the protagonist almost agrees with the views those around her are seeing. The protagonist says ““ Curse or disease, it doesn’t matter,” said my older sister. “Either way, no one will marry me if they find out.” I nodded my head: true enough. She was a pretty girl, and we weren’t poor, we were almost gentry. Without me, her coast would be clear” (225) In this quote, the main character is agreeing with the view that she is making life “more difficult” for her sister. The protagonist also states “It was decided that I should die. That way I would not stand in the way of my sister, I would not look over her like a fate. “Better one happy than both miserable,” said my grandmother, who had taken to sticking garlic cloves around my door frame. I agree to this plan, as I wanted to be helpful.” (226) After reading this sentence, my thoughts about whether or not the protagonist actually agreed with her family, changed. I believe that protagonist felt almost guilty and saddened that she was causing pain to her family, and agreed that maybe it was best if she was just dead. Not to feel better for herself, but to better the lives of those she loves. They have now all agree to have the protagonist “die” to relieve her sister of the burden of having an ailing sibling, making her more eligible for a successful life. The protagonist says “Now that I was dead, I was freer. No one but my mother was allowed into my room, my former room they called it.” (226) I believe that the protagonist felt freer because now she gets solitude. At this point of the story, the solitude is welcoming.

At the most basic level of subconscious thought, every living animal possesses a desire to stay alive. Usually, this instinct lays dormant, although in dire situations, we can be led to do unexpected things. In addition to this subconscious drive, there is a socially constructed motivation for fearing death. Thanks to the pervasive nature of religion throughout history, much of humanity has, at some point or another, feared the prospect of eternal damnation and torture during one’s life after death. Although not every religion has a negative aspect of the afterlife, or even any semblance of an afterlife at all, those religions which do contain some such construct receive much more attention in this regard. Throughout history, many

In The Stranger by Albert Camus, the main character, Meursault, is an absurdist who lives in the moment and refuses to be distracted by societal norms. He views the world as random and is indifferent to it. But to many French people living in Algeria, religion, social order and character are intertwined and are imperative to human life. Camus uses the crucifix and the courtroom to convey the idea that religion is man’s desperate attempt to create meaning in life where there is none.

Although a scene of a funeral home might come to mind when a reader first hears a short story aptly named “The Dead,” the tale actually takes place in the festive setting of a winter dance at the home of the two aunts of the main character, Gabriel Conroy. James Joyce’s short story “The Dead” has a literal title, because its main concept is death – both physical death and spiritual death.