The Theme of Death in Fiction-Writing Essay

Introduction

Death is a sensitive discussion and topic when it comes to fiction and story-telling. Certain instances of lapses may become apparent to readers no matter how good a writer may present it in all its forms as chronic cases, murder, killings, homicide, and even on suicide and terminal cases. Problems about biases, lapses, “holes” and presentation of data may leave readers a negative impression on the narrative itself or against the author.

This paper shall try to present stories about death and how their authors dealt with it throughout the narratives focussing on the significance of their endings and how the writers resolved the un-resolvable through the use of their own, unique approaches to story-telling.

Stories

“Killings” by Andre Dubus

This story is an emotional one that involves a family which loses a son at a young age to a wayward drunk just because he fell in love with a woman previously married. Nevertheless, while it is emotional, having to deal with death, the pain of losing a son, and having to deal with the sympathy of people around them, the story disguised the emotion of the individuals involved in the story, downplaying their turmoil. It instead presented as if a journalistic hard news report, a narration of what is seen and heard, what was perceived to have happened.

Dubus (2007) resolved writing the ending of the story with a justification of having the once-abused Matt Fowler, father of the murdered youth Frank Fowler, by providing a premise for the murder of Richard Strout, the drunkard who killed Frank. Matt was a peaceful ordinary small-town father who approved of his son’s relation to Mary Ann Strout, getting a divorced and with children. But his wife Ruth, probably influenced by maternal instinct, did not.

In the death of Frank, it was Ruth who was deeply affected and almost hysterical. While Matt could have been able to accept the reality of having to move on, Ruth was tortured of seeing her son’s murderer out on bail and the loose. The sympathetic eyes of the people around him added conviction on Matt to do something, which is to take Richard Strout’s life. In the end, the reader while may not be actually summoned to believe is convinced that a man can only take so much.

“A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor

This story is a presentation of the inevitable encounter of death, whether it be by an individual or a group such as this family of six. From the beginning, the grandmother tried to keep the family away from the tragedy, for some reason or another. Throughout their journey, they were made aware of the presence of danger, which is the Misfits and his gang, within the area, towards Florida. But the family remained clueless.

O’Connor (2007) provided a lot of instances using symbolism such as the encounter of graves by the family while on their way to Florida, a hearse, an accident involving the car, stories of the people they encountered I their way to Florida indicating the cruelty and senselessness of the Misfits, here presented as a monster of the sort.

The grandmother, too, tried her best to dissuade the family from continuing with the journey to Florida. She provided an alternative place, she made excuses, and yet, on the day of the journey, she dressed her best and was the first to occupy her seat in the car. With her almost ubiquitous personality, she refused to be absent where the action could be (O’Connor, 2007).

The family eventually encountered the Misfits and their end. In fact, the grandmother once again played a crucial role in resurrecting the “good” side of the master Misfit in case he would have a change of heart. But O’Connor has shown along the way the absence of the “heart” of the Misfit’s head, indicating how he has seen the world as a grave itself.

Towards the end, the reader is convinced that with the narrative laid out, premises given by O’Connor, the family did deserve the death they sought for.

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Emily Grierson came from a wealthy family, with an influential father. She was as magnificent as her family house was when it was newly built, imposing among the common folks, almost unreachable. But a time came when the pride of Emily which she inherited from her aristocratic and proud father came tumbling down little by little.

But what was bygone had to impose itself on Emily, of which she soon was not able to relate. This includes the disintegration of the old house, as all of its residents one by one went to their grave, and only the old lady Emily left. Emily fell for the only man that pass by her way: Homer Baron. But he, too, became a victim of Emily’s disillusion with reality as she murdered the only person whom she thought she loves with the fear of losing him (Faulkner, 1993).

Conclusion

Dubus was able to present an emotional story disguised as a detached narration, almost a police report in its objectivity. The reader is given a factual count on what was seen, heard, and actually happened, devoid of the turmoil that might have tortured its characters. But the lead character was convincingly able to allude to the pressure of Matt’s wife as well as the sympathetic eyes of his neighbors and he was eventually swayed to do the inevitable: take justice into his own hands.

O’Connor on the other hand was almost religious and superstitious in the presentation of the narrative of the stubborn family. The author took the role of the deity through the grandmother who did her best to convince the family not to take the journey, delaying as much as she could. Beyond the grandmother, the author took the mythical route of keeping the family away from the danger of an inevitable encounter, ruthless as it seemed, as if to say, “I did my best to warn them, but they did not listen.” As it is, the reader will be left without sympathy to the murdered family any more than Misfits, as it seemed, everything was done to prevent it, but they did not take heed.

Faulkner used the pigment of recollection of the southern town folks to describe the situation of Emily Grierson. Various views of common folks are presented, even the imaginary which is the desire to dance with Emily when she was young and beautiful, among those males who were her age. The decline and decay of the family and of Emily including her sanity were likened to her family house which became old and has to cease existence.

Overall, the authors’ approaches to justifying death were varied, but with originality that is quite identifiable to real situations, from the past or even the present, and to places or neighborhoods that are real. They capitalized on the human reality of understanding and emotion in order to make their readers understand and relate.

Reference

Dubus, Andre (2007). “Killings” from The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 8^th ed. (Michael Meyer, ed). Bedford/St. Martin. Pp 107-119.

O’Connor, Flannery (2007). “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 8^th ed. (Michael Meyer, ed). Bedford/St. Martin. Pp 445-455.

Faulkner, William (1993). Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner. Modern Library. Pp 47-59.