What would you do if you were told that you had one month to live? Would you spend more time with your family or would you do things that you've always wanted to do? Throughout our lives, we never like to think about the inevitable result- death. We take many things for granted and we don't realize just how valuable they are until they are threatened or gone. These things, such as our health, family, time, are the things we miss most when our possession of them is threatened. Above all, we take life for granted. Life is the most precious thing we have and everyone reacts differently when they learn that they are dying. We see these varying reactions in Colin Harrison's book The Finder. The wife of a pharmacy financial advisor, Ann, is a physician. She works with elderly patients, many of whom are near death. She describes her views on humanity, "We are animals and subject to the mortification of the flesh. Born so that we may die" (109). This morbid view is essentially true when you strip down all of our romanticized views of human life. Humans are basically animals and they are subject to disease and the ravages of old age just like any other living organism.
Everyone deals with death differently. Some live in a constant state of denial and refuse to acknowledge the fact that they will die soon. Others succumb to their pain and the allure of pain medications, choosing to drift away the last hours of their lives. This is the case with Ray's father. He is not able to stand the pain that occurs when he is not medicated. He describes his dependency, "He loved the drug more than he could say, craved it, yes, of course- no wonder people destroyed themselves for it. I'm addicted. But these minutes were when he was most clear, the pain rising quickly yet bearable, the veil of the morphine pulled away just far enough to let his mind work" (117). He realizes that he is living under a cloud, but he cannot live without the morphine. He craves and hates the medicine that keeps the unbearable pain from consuming him. He has not chosen this fate but he must deal with it. These situations are what determine the type of people we are. We must never take anything for granted and we must always make the best of any situation we face.
2 comments:
Nice analysis, I can clearly see how each character views life. It is true how we take things for granted. The fact is being young, we take a lot of things for granted because our parents always deal with them. Once we get out on our own I know many people will get an abrupt wake-up call. Sometimes its good to think about the things we take for granted.
Your attention getter at the beginnig is fabulous. After reading the first sentence I had to keep reading. I agree with you that every one tries to avoid the subject of death and I commend you for bringing it up in you blog. Your analysis is detailed and interesting! Great post!
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