Death In a Story

     Well...sad topic for tonight guys. In literature death is quite a big theme. In  a story death can make or break a character; it can drive them toward the goal they seek, or it can crush them and cripple them to a point they can't go on. Death in general is something that everyone avoids, but it seems to be the holy grail in literature. Death plays a major role in several famous  tales such as Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. This novel takes place on an island with ten people invited to a small get together, but one by one they are being killed by an unknown assailant for an unknown reason, so obviously death is a major player in the plot. That story was a mystery and death was perfectly anticipated and in fact encouraged in that genre. However then, there are stories that all about trying to cope with death and not just face it head, one such story is Tears Of a Tiger which is about a high school student who is trying to deal with the death of a close friend. In the story he struggles with depression and ultimately (SPOILER) commits suicide.

     A lot of authors use death so predominately that it has become what they are known for such as Edgar Allan Poe, and Stephen King. Both of them have written many famous stories involving death, Edgar Allan Poe wrote The  Black Cat and A Cask Of Amontillado, Stephen King wrote 1922.

     Outside of literature death basically controls our lives and I think that every decision we make is based on whether or not it is going to affect us and our lives. I mean even the simplest task may be analyzed to the point that we believe if it is done wrong then it will in some way kill us. However at that point it becomes paranoia. Besides all that, death is a major factor in life, the death of a loved one can invoke such strong emotion that we ourselves cant cope with the sheer "rawness" of the emotion. People have written books on death and what it may be like. Ive even heard of a book called 90 Minutes In Heaven, its about a man who had a near death experience and its his story of how he traveled to heaven and back. People are captivated by the idea of death and authors use it because of that...its not just the mystery of death either that captivates us its also the idea of just "not being there" anymore and being "gone" so the mystery of it is perfect for an author to take and shape however they want. I think Death is in almost every part of literature. Thanks for ready guys PLEASE show me to your friends and don't forget to give me some feedback! THANK YOU