So it goes.

Death is an inevitable part of life. Whether it comes today, tomorrow, or 60 years from now, we will all die one day. So it goes, Vonnegut would say. Vonnegut pushes the idea that life is about experience, not specific points in time. As a reader, you learn the beginning, end, and climax of the novel in the first chapter of Slaughterhouse Five, but that does not detract from the story whatsoever. You learn as a reader that life is not about death, but in fact about the experiences between the beginning and the end. As Billy Pilgrim travels through time, it becomes about the compilation of those times into a whole new level of time. A level of time not comprehendible to humans. But the Tralfamadorians are another story. These extraterrestrial creatures Vonnegut introduces act as a clever way to give commentary on humanity from an outside point of view. These creatures can see time as a whole. Something us mere humans could never even begin to imagine. We are creatures of free will, we are creatures of choices, we are not creatures chained by time. But the Tralfamadorians would be quick to correct me of that statement, in fact, they would say something like, "Time is set in stone. There is no such thing as free will, silly human."Therefore, there is no use fearing or trying to stop death. It is a natural occurrence with which we should not battle. Death happens, and we can't stop it. Death happens, so it goes.

We, as humans, have a paradoxical mindset. We value life to no end, saying things like "life is short". But then turn around and murder masses with an excuse called "war". We, as humans, have done terrible, irrevocable, grotesque things to our fellow human beings. But we (try to) practice kindness on a daily basis, and say things like, "do unto to others as to others do to you". I wish it was that simple. I wish humanity's kindness made up for its cruelties. But that is not the way it is. We continue to be hypocritical and passive. Perhaps, my use of the word "we" is a little too broad and pessimistic, but nonetheless I digress. Vonnegut makes a clear point of the irresponsibility and cruelty in the implications of war. He demonstrates the innocence of the soldiers being put into war with his character Billy Pilgrim, who waddles around in his silver (non-combat) boots. Mary O'Hare says that children are being put to war. It's true, we are killing are youth's carelessly. Vonnegut also impresses upon the reader that this detached killing affects these people for the rest of their lives. Billy lives with the image of a moon-like Dresden, after one of the worst bombings in world history, for the rest of his life. The barbershop quartet lips still haunt him, even in daily life. This killing, called "war", not only destroys human life, but even destroys animals. One of the most memorable moments in the book, at least for me , is when Billy cries for the first time in the war when he sees the cruelly treated horses carrying the carriage Billy is at peace within. We, as humans, inflict pain upon others to enjoy something for ourselves. War is the sad, dark side of humanity. Perhaps, war is just a part of life, so it goes.

Please let me make myself clear here. I'm not trying to say that all of humanity is inherently evil. I'm not trying to say that humanity is entirely doomed. I'm just saying that we have done terrible things. We will continue to do terrible things. But that does not mean everything is horrible. There are still smiling children, there are still weddings, there is still hope, there is still laughter, and there is still humanity. A binary of all opposites. We are the dark and light, we are death and life, and we are the beginning and the end. So it goes.

Contemplating Death and Religion

James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man delves into Stephen Dedalus' inner psyche on his journey of becoming an artist. Although there is no specific death is this novel, the ideas of life and death and religion are largely questioned by Stephen within the novel. According to the Catholic religion, there is a heaven and hell in the afterlife and your actions determine where you will end up when you die, or at least that is how Stephen sees it. Stephen deals with sin, guilt, redemption and questioning when it comes to his faith, but he also deals with the idea of mortality. This realization of mortality is seen throughout his development as a writer and as a young man. He struggles with being a man of the church and chasing his dreams of being a writer. Will choosing to be a writer mean he will go to hell once he dies?
Personally, I am still developing my religious ideals, but the idea of heaven and hell frustrates me to no end. I relate to Stephen with his struggles to be the best person he can be and fit into the church definition of being a "good" person. I also am an artist, although not a writer like Stephen (even if I write on occasion), and I feel that you have to take a step back from any religion to view the world artistically. Perhaps that's not true, but I feel that it helps me at least. Regardless, I think the fear of our human mortality and the question of our afterlives haunts us all at one point in time. We can hope for the best, but aren't we all a little scared of the possibility of going to hell? There are many religious and personal beliefs of what happens in the afterlife, not just heaven and hell. But Stephen directly faces this question of heaven and hell with his art and his curiosity. Just like Stephen, we may not directly find an answer, but will we learn how to live and how to deal with the idea of our human mortality and the possibility of an afterlife. After all, learning to how to truly live is more important than learning how to accept death.

Death of a Past Self, One Invisible to Others

Ellison's nameless narrator begins his story by claiming himself as invisible, hence the title, Invisible Man. Throughout the story, the reader learns what this invisibility truly means. It means the underdog, it means the oppressed, and it means the unrecognized heroes. In this specific situation, the narrator's oppression is derived from his skin color. Being a mulatto young man, he does everything he can to obey society's obligations but eventually learns to go against the tide. He finds that no matter whether he follows the crowd or goes against the grain the world keeps on being unjust despite his fervent efforts. The novel is a recollection of his journey from his hometown to his underground hole in Harlem, and many times along the way the reader witnesses the death and rebirth of the narrator's self.
As mentioned before, this metaphorical death of a self, is very pertinent throughout many pieces of literature and art. In fact, many cultures are filled with stories of becoming anew and the death of a past self. In some way this represents the synchedoche of the human psyche and within it human identity. We are never just one person, but many, all at once. Perhaps this type of metaphorical death implies a transcendence of some sort, or a reincarnation in some sense. A transcendence of the past and a reincarnation of what used to be. For in the novel, the narrator keeps on moving through his life and the past selves he once knew are invisible to the new people he meets. He knows of their existence, but those past selves are invisible to others.
Besides the significance of a metaphorical death of a past self, Invisible Man also displays death in a couple other lights. Ellison displays the despair death creates in one's life by Mr. Norton's story of the loss of his daughter. Death is a sad and uncontrollable happening in our mortal lives. And Mr. Norton's daughter's unexpected death demonstrates exactly that. Another example of death in Invisible Man would be martyrdom. When Brother Clifton is shot and killed by the police officer, his death seems to give motivation and passion to the narrator and the black community. Death reaches far beyond the actual event of death itself. Whether it be martyrdom, despair and tragedy, or a rebirth of oneself, death always plays a role of change in the lives of the living.

The Death of a Thief

Within Henry IV, Part I, Prince Hal's identity is one of the most important evolutions within the play relating to a metaphorical death. Similar to that of Oedipus, Hal's evolution from a rebellious thief to an impartial king is a representation of the death of his past self. Hal's soliloquy in the first act tells the audience the truth of Hal's plan. He plans to act rebellious and disappointing until the time is right and he will look even better in the public eye for shedding his badly reputed past self and becoming the wonderful king figure. Death of Hal's past self is arguably one of the most important themes in the play, and the question of whether he will or will not fulfill his plan. Both Falstaff and Hal "fake" a death for the betterment of themselves. Hal's being the death of his thief past and Falstaff more so in a humorous and witty way to evade death itself. Either way reinvention of oneself can almost be considered as a death of one's past self.

A Fear of Death

Don DeLillo uses the fear of death throughout White Noise to demonstrate the inescapable reality of fear we all face as humans. Jack and Babette's fears regarding death are taken to the extreme. Neither can seem to function without the fear haunting them to an extreme extent throughout their days. Babette is so afraid that she ends up taking an experimental drug meant to destroy the part of the human brain which creates the fear of death. Despite the terrifying and possibly fatal side effects (which is very ironic), Babette is so desperate to eliminate her fear that she will go to any length to absolve herself of it. Jack also suffers from his extreme fear of death. Almost every waking moment Jack wonders if he or Babette will die first, when he will die from his exposure to Nyodene Derivative, or about any other subject matter relating to death on some level. He wakes up in the middle of the night from sweating in his sleep, caused by his racking fear of death of course. Ironically enough, both Jack and Babette's extreme fear of death only brings them closer and closer to death itself. As I discussed in my analytical essay regarding death in White Noise, sunsets are used as a motif throughout the book to illustrate both the fear and awe simultaneously experienced within a human's existence. One fear being death and one example of awe being life itself. Without death, life is a series of monotonous and repetitive events and therefore it carries no meaning. But in the combination of life and death, or fear and awe, the brilliance of existence is recognized. As one of Jack's university co-workers explains, death is a boundary to life. The almost unbearably stunning sunsets after the Nyodene Derivative spill represent just that: the brilliance of existence found within the binary of life and death.
Personally, I recognize that death is a haunting fear, but I also realize that it is necessary to have a conclusion of sorts to life. Although the unknowns of death may be scary, being immortal would be torturous in my opinion. Watching everyone die around you and watching the earth rot, as well, would just be terrible. Life would have no meaning if one's life just continued to exist forever. One can choose to repress their fear, embrace their fear, or be paralyzed in their fear. As demonstrated in White Noise, being paralyzed in one's fear only seems to bring one closer to a morbid death and a meaningless life. Fearing death will not change death itself. Death will happen regardless, so why waste your life consumed in the anxieties of your fears? I say, embrace your life and do not let your fears define you.

A Rejoining of Two Souls

In Bronte's emotionally revealing novel, which delves into the human condition and therefore also the meaning of death, death plays a large part throughout Wuthering Heights as a whole. Death is represented as a passing of inheritance largely throughout the novel. For example, Heathcliff's hunger and scheming for the land and wealth of Edgar after his passing. Death is also repeated as a motif represented by the weather being gray, dull and seemingly lifeless. Wuthering Heights takes on this death-like image in opposition to the Edenic and bright image that Thrushcross Grange is represented as. Although these ideals of death are intriguing, I find that the most meaningful and interesting ideals on death are seen through the demise of Heathcliff himself. After witnessing the death of his supposed soulmate and many others around him, Heathcliff would seemingly see death as a natural and obvious end to life. Having been raised with no real religious ideals, Heathcliff should see death as an ultimate demise. A finality with only blankness and nothingness left for the senses. Interestingly enough, Heathcliff views death as a final consummation with Catherine, as a rejoining of two souls, of something more than just death. Maybe his blind and passionate love leads him to a mentally unstable state and to naively hope for this, and therefore lead him to believe these ideals. But for me, I partially agree with Heathcliff. I wholeheartedly believe that everything that exists cannot be created nor destroyed. Therefore, there is no true death, but only a recycling of matter. So in that respect there must be some sort of "recycling" of souls, or at least I believe so. Perhaps Heathcliff and his true love did rejoin as souls. Or perhaps nothingness ensued. But either way humanity will never know, and there is something quite poetic in that.

The Death of Oedipus

Within Sophocles' Oedipus the King, life and death are a prevalent topic. Oedipus is the high and mighty king of Thebes and, therefore, is defined by that title. As the play continues, Oedipus becomes the very plague of the city that needs to be killed. He becomes a disgrace and a disappointment to his people as the truth about his true self is revealed. Perhaps this reveals that existence is only defined by the views that the "gods" and others cast upon you, but I would argue that identity exposed through others doesn't sum up the entirety of one's existence. Although it may accurately depict a portion of one's existence. On the matter of death, Oedipus' death is more metaphysical than it is literal. Him blinding himself and gaining self knowledge is the death of the mighty and respectable King of Thebes, but is not a literal death. That respectable king is dead and left in its place is a wretched and miserable human being, providing a meaning of death as the absence of someone or something. As opposed to a physical and literal death of a character, in this case it is Oedipus' previous identity.