The Social Convention Of Death In Literature :: essays research papers fc

Our environment dictates how we live our lives and how we handle situations. Our environment as well as dictates how the people around us handle our death. Death is one distinguished social convention of a society depicted in The constitute of the Wild, Garden Party, the Great Gatsby, Bone, and Dulce Et Decorum Est. Death and the handling of death is a social convention portraying values and ways of surviving in two main ways value of the clay and acceptable adroitness to die such as through violence, illness, caring, etc.In the claver of the Wild, by Jack London, death is a game where survival is a tactic, kill or be killed (manner of death) and the body is a trophy (respect for the body). For example, He knight was ranging at the head of the pack, running the wild thing down, the living meat, to kill with his own teeth and wash his muzzle to the eyes in warm transmission line. (London 49). This game gimp played with the other dogs was a repugn of who will catch the sno wshoe rabbit. It shows a twisted regard for life. Buck wanted to wash his nose in the rabbits blood to smell the kill. In this game, the only respect for life is the trophy that the body will make in death. Another example of the game is From consequently on, night and day, Buck never left his prey, never gave it a molybdenums rest, never permitted it to browse the leaves of trees Nor did he fleet the wounded cop opportunity to slake his burning thirst in the slender trickling burgeon forth they crossed. (London 95). Buck played with the slovenly persons fear and he showed no mercy. He showed no respect, he gave the bull no honor and the bull finally died of exhaustion, falling over, only to become Bucks respect that also fed him. For a day and a night he remained by the kill moose, eating and sleeping, turn and turn about. Then rested, new and strong, (London 96). Buck nourished himself off the bull and became stronger and more resilient. To eat Buck must hunt his food in t he uncaring wild, it was his only filling for survival. The game that Buck played with life did not always give respect to the dying, though this seemed necessary to his survival, giving the deaths more acceptability as a source to nourish the winner of the game.