Death and Impermanance
Death and Impermanence
I chose to write my comparison of the two stories under the theme of Death and Impermanence.
I chose death because of the unknowns of death and how people face their fears and accept death, how people go through their ending days and facing their everlasting time with God. I chose “Dog’s Death” by John Updike (1993) and “Used to live Here” by Jean Rhys (1976).
One is a poem and one is a short story and they are about death, which makes them similar to each other, but at the same time different. How the poem and the story show how they cope with death and facing their choices in life and is there life after death. How they experience the unknown.
“Death-life comes to an end, the total and permanent cessations of all vital functions” www.dictionary.com
“Impermanence-not permanent or enduring transitory” www.dictionary.com
“Transitory-lasting only short time-brief short-lived; temporary. Not lasting enduring permanent or eternal. www.dictionary.com, I use these words, to show what death and Impermanence mean, as the poem and story are about death.
How do they cope with death? In the story “Used to Live here Once” (J.Rhys, 1976) the girl in the story was dead and she was by the river looking at stepping stones and each one was probably representing her life. “There was the round unsteady stone, the pointed stone, the float one in the middle-the safe stone where you can stand and look around. The next one wasn’t so safe for when the river was full the water flowed over it and even when it showed dried it was slippery”. (J.Rhys, 1976) I feel that everyone after dying has to reflect on their life and the time they spent on earth. As she was stepping on the stones as she was crossing the river she was reflecting on her past life. Each one of these stones might have represented a certain time in her life. But to get to the other side of the river she had to step on these stones, and reflect on her life that had already passed on to the
I chose to write my comparison of the two stories under the theme of Death and Impermanence.
I chose death because of the unknowns of death and how people face their fears and accept death, how people go through their ending days and facing their everlasting time with God. I chose “Dog’s Death” by John Updike (1993) and “Used to live Here” by Jean Rhys (1976).
One is a poem and one is a short story and they are about death, which makes them similar to each other, but at the same time different. How the poem and the story show how they cope with death and facing their choices in life and is there life after death. How they experience the unknown.
“Death-life comes to an end, the total and permanent cessations of all vital functions” www.dictionary.com
“Impermanence-not permanent or enduring transitory” www.dictionary.com
“Transitory-lasting only short time-brief short-lived; temporary. Not lasting enduring permanent or eternal. www.dictionary.com, I use these words, to show what death and Impermanence mean, as the poem and story are about death.
How do they cope with death? In the story “Used to Live here Once” (J.Rhys, 1976) the girl in the story was dead and she was by the river looking at stepping stones and each one was probably representing her life. “There was the round unsteady stone, the pointed stone, the float one in the middle-the safe stone where you can stand and look around. The next one wasn’t so safe for when the river was full the water flowed over it and even when it showed dried it was slippery”. (J.Rhys, 1976) I feel that everyone after dying has to reflect on their life and the time they spent on earth. As she was stepping on the stones as she was crossing the river she was reflecting on her past life. Each one of these stones might have represented a certain time in her life. But to get to the other side of the river she had to step on these stones, and reflect on her life that had already passed on to the
References: Clugston, R.W. (2010) Journey into Literature, San Diego; Bridgepoint Education (J. Rhys, 1976, Used to Live Here Once) (John Updike, 1993. Dog’s Death) www.dictionary.com (death, impermanence, and transitory) Chattanooga Times Free Press, http://proquest.umi.com Ashford Library Orange County Register, http://proquest.umi.com Ashford Library A Teaching on Death and Impermanence. (n.d) Retrieved January 9, 2012 from http://www.yachenlama.com