The theme of death in literature?

Question

Opinions on how they are handled and what books are trying to tell us about death? Thanks.

Answer 1

I don't think the books are trying to "tell" us about death as much as they are writing about it rhetorically. There is no real answer or explanation but people continue to wonder about it because it is a human inevitability. It's just like writing about love. There is no real answer as to what it is. For the definitions of love and there are are no right answers but there are a million or more wrong ones.

Answer 2

Death Theme

Answer 3

Death is handled quite frequently in literature, but more so as a subject than a theme. The theme occurs when characters reflect on their own impending death or when other characters in the book deal with their grief.

Some books treat the subject with high sentiment and drama, like Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Other books are more philosophical about it, exploring its intricacies and possibilities for reflection about life; an example is Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop, My Antonia, and O Pioneers.

Some books treat the subject with much bitterness and regret, like Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome.

Still others treat the subject of death as a way of reminding the living characters (and, in effect, the reader) to live life to the fullest and not to waste individual moments; an example is the popular books Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.

There are also books that deal with death satirically, like Faulkner's As I Lay Dying.

Answer 4

A good work of literature is "What Dreams May Come" by Richard Matheson.

A classic novel of love after death, from one our greatest fantasy writers. The premise is deceptively simple: Chris Neilson has died in a car accident, but his life-force--his spirit--is still conscious of this plane of reality. And he is still too in love with his wife, Ann, to completely let go. She in turn does not want to go on living without him, as each regards the other as their soul mate. What Chris will do to get back with Ann after she dies makes for one of the most unusual love stories ever told. Even though the story can be enjoyed as pure fantasy, what makes What Dreams May Come unique is how the author spent years researching the subject of life after death. (An exhaustive bibliography is included to verify this.) And while Matheson admits that the characters are of course fictional, he also states that "With few exceptions, every other detail is derived exclusively from research." Whether, after reading this novel, one believes in life after death is of course a matter of opinion. At least you'll entertain the possibility that, even though we may not live forever, true love can be eternal.

A movie by the same name with Robin Williams was based on this book.

Answer 5

Death is one of the most frequent themes in literature...from short stories, to poems, to novels. I don't know that these works are "telling" so much as "showing." That is, it's not defining death in an abstract, concrete, objective way. It is making it personal, subjective, and descriptive.