John Donne's Meditation 17

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Life for people today is full of technology that helps extend our lives. It connects us and keeps us together as a whole. The meaning of life is a philosophical question concerning the purpose of existence. Not everyone in the world is ready to face death, even though we all have to hit the hay at some point in our lives. We humans believe we are invincible whether we mean to think that or not. Perhaps one of John Donne’s most famous written works is called “Meditation 17” and it highlights on death, society, and isolation. In John Donne’s “Meditation 17,” the bell tolls on a church which signifies that a death has occurred. All people are connected through the church, according to Donne. What happens to one person affects every person. Someone who dies is not lost but is translated into heaven because “God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God’s hand is in every translation.” The bell rings for prayer, for the suffering, and those who have died. Almost any person believes that the bell tolls for him...

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