The Nature of Death in Life

Paper Summary:

The paper shows how death stands as a continuous presence in the two books, serving as a motivator, a metaphor, a threat, and a theme all at the same time. The paper gives a brief summary of "Lolita" and explains that it portrays American culture as a denial of death. It shows how the main character is an aging man trying to return to youth and in so doing so trying to escape death. The paper then summarizes "Catch-22", and details how the characters are surrounded by death and the threat of death at all times. It shows how the characters are haunted by the image of death. The paper then compares the two novels showing that death is both a threat and a way out in both stories.

From the Paper:

"The entire structure of the army in war becomes a metaphor for life, with death always hanging over everyone, and with no way of escaping it. Numerous characters die in the course of the novel, some in seemingly normal ways during wartime, hit by enemy fire, and others in inexplicable ways, like Clevinger, who just flies into a cloud and disappears. Doc Daneeka becomes a living metaphor for what has happened to everyone--he is made "dead" by a bureaucracy that can make a man seem to die by writing it in a report. He is truly a dead man among the living, just as they are all living men constantly among the dead."

More papers on The Nature of Death in Life:

• Analytical Essay # 142302 : "The Nature Of Life: Epicurus And Aristotle"
• Analytical Essay # 66137 : "Death in Literature"
• Book Review # 148449 : "The notions of life and death in Ben Okri's "In Arcadia"

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