The book Death Be Not Proud has many points of significance, all of which were realized after the tragic death of a son. The points of significance all reflect major life lessons that all people should live by. Those life lessons include never taking life for granted, a person should always strive to succeed, having a positive attitude leads others to be happy, and to stay by the people you love through rough times. These lessons helped one young adult, Johnny, live his short life the best he could.
The first point of significance is that a person should never take life for granted. The book Death Be Not Proud is about a young boy and his struggles with a brain tumor. While Johnny, the young boy, was a very mature seventeen year old it is still very tragic that he did not get to live as long as most people. Many people in our society do not stop to think about the small things in life until something grave has happened. Johnny lived his life to the fullest before and after he found out about his illness. He had great aspirations for his life. He wanted to do many things with his life. He wanted to be a chemist, mathematician, physicist, poet, and a cook. Johnny did not stop with his schoolwork or his chemistry experiments unless absolutely necessary; he loved doing both. Johnny's illness was much unexpected. His parents never would have guessed that he would get as sick as he did, and could not understand why it had to be his brain. Many people thought that was the best part of Johnny. In today's society, many people become ill and the families do not understand why. Throughout the book, Johnny's father tries to understand why Johnny was the one to become ill and why it was his brain instead of his arm, for instance. Johnny never gave up on his life or the fact that he would live through the illness.
The second point of significance is that a person should never lose hope. Throughout his battle with the brain tumor, Johnny was continually hopeful and optimistic that he would win. Although many different complications arose over the course of the fifteen month battle, he only showed fear and uncertainty a handful of times. This is a brave and courageous feat for such a young person to accomplish.
I always looked at death as such a sad thing that is eventually going to occur to everyone. However, after reading this book, it made me realize death can actually be a beautiful thing. Death allows a person to go to a next life, one where they will be loved and others will be there for them. It was interesting to be able to read about stories that these hospice care workers witnessed themselves. I have experienced a few deaths within my life and I never coped with them very well. After reading this book, I honestly believe I will be able to look at the positive side of death and be able to deal with my emotions better. I can also help others surrounding me deal with a death that they are experiencing. This book was filled with information that I loved learning. For example, I never knew that a dying person can choose a time to die. The thought of this never occurred to me before. I always thought that when it was someone’s time to go, they had no choice. But, a dying person can “put off” passing on until they see a certain person or event that has great significance in their life. Nevertheless, there are still people who will wait to die until they’re all alone in the room. This book makes you think of real life situations and think what you would do in them. Taken as a whole, it was a very in depth book that changes the way you would naturally perceive
Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther is a classic work of literary merit. The genre of the memoir is one that will never die. The life of young Johnny Gunther takes place in the 1940’s, but the courage and wisdom he portrays can be understood forever. The message Johnny sends will endure the test of time.
The theme of this novel is to look at the good you do in life and how it carries over after your death. The moral of the book is; "People can make changes in their lives whenever they really want to, even right up to the end."
... loss of loved ones like Junior in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Andi in Revolution or faced your own inevitable passing like Hazel Grace in The Fault in Our Stars, you are not alone. In confronting and facing death, these characters learn that death is merely a small part of living. It is an element of the human experience. To return to the wise words of the late Steve Jobs, “Almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important…There is no reason not to follow your heart.” Living is the adventure. In facing their fears and sadness, these characters learn how to be courageous, how to hope, how to love, and how to live. Join them on their journeys by checking out one of the spotlighted books at your local library.
	How would you cope if you were going to die? In the memoir Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther, his son Named Johnny is faced with this situation. At an early age, Johnny was found with a brain tumor, and struggles to survive. Johnny later died from the brain tumor. Johnny was loved by many people; much of whom tried his/her best to help Johnny through this ordeal. Although Johnny was faced with death, Johnny faced death with courage throughout the book.
In the short story “A Rose for Emily” death plays a major role in developing the story. It also shows how the death of one person can change a city as a whole. However, if you compare this story to the life of the author, William Faulkner, you can see how death in his life can contribute to why he wrote the story the way he did. The death of the people is used to add to the meaning of the work altogether. William Faulkner’s experiences add meaning to his work, “A Rose for Emily,” through several deaths and Emily’s ultimate demise.
Veronica Roth’s book demonstrates, in a few key ways, how great literature must include life lessons. The story teaches readers to never give up and to push on even in hard and rough times of struggle. Beatrice prior (Tris), the protagonist in the book, leaves her home to live with the danger seeking “Dauntless”. During the evil plot set by the antagonist, Beatrice’s mother gets fatally wounded by a gun shot. Tris watches this horrible moment unfold right next to her as her mother lifelessly crumbles to the ground. Beatrice loves her mother very much and doesn’t want to leave her body there, but knows she has to uncover the strength to move onwards. Not only was Beatrice brave after witnessing the death of her mother but her mother was also brave. Beatrice’s mother was also brave, having to die like that for her people, sacrificing herself for her daughter and family. Beatrice shows how she feels about her mother’s braver when she says,” My mother’s death was brave. I remember how calm she was, how determined. It isn’t just that she died for me; it is brave that she did it without announcing it, wi...
Soren Kierkegaard says, “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” Life is like a test, it is up to individuals to find the answers and learn from their choices and mistakes. The most important lesson to learn before dying is to never give up, fight for ourselves and believe in what we want and that we can control our lives instead of being controlled by external forces. This lesson is being shown throughout in the novel "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest J. Graines. The main character, Jefferson fights and stands up for himself as a black man and proofs that he is no hog. Jefferson’s aunt Miss Emma believes that everyone should be treated equally, therefore she fights for Jefferson’s moral. Also, Grant fights for
Furthermore, a broader lesson of these works of literature would be to just get out there and live. Step off the stage, step out of the tower, and hide the mirror. Perhaps take a chance once in a while. Do not just go through the motions of life, and live it to the fullest extent. One can lead a more happy, fearless life if he or she can really go out and experience it.
In Marie Howe’s “What the Living Do,” the speaker deals with the death of her brother Johnny and the effect it has on her perspective of life. At the start of the poem, the speaker speaks to her brother, telling him about issues at home that she is unable to manage due to grief from his death. Constantly, things go wrong in her life, and she realizes that all her problems cause what her brother had called yearning – the constant human want to have more. However, occasionally she realizes that the significance of life is in fact the small daily things that aren’t perfect, and that through remembering her brother and his death, she is embracing the fact that she is alive. Death is a significant event, and especially the loss of a loved one can
Life is short and it is up to you to make the most out of it. The most important lesson that everyone should follow and apply to everyday life is “never give up”. In the novel, “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines, the important lesson can be shown in the characters Jefferson, Miss Emma and Grant Wiggins.
Throughout life, an individual must undergo many obstacles to reach their life's climactic point of success. Regrettably, an individual may not be able to enjoy their life's highest point of accomplishment-because they are deceased! For example, in “A Letter to His Wife, 1861”, Sullivan Ballou (1861) died in the First Battle of Bull Run, a war led by former President Abraham Lincoln. Ballou wrote a letter to his beloved wife named Sarah; the delivery of the letter was contingent upon his death. Ballou fought for what he believed in- civil rights, and the safety of his country; I believe Ballou reached the climactic point in his life when he died for his country: a war hero.
James Baldwin had a talent of being able to tell a personal story and relate it to world events. His analysis is a rare capability that one can only acquire over an extensive lifetime. James Baldwin not only has that ability, but also the ability to write as if he is conversing with the reader. One of his most famous essays, “Notes of a Native Son,” is about his father’s death. It includes the events that happened prior to and following his father’s death. Throughout this essay, he brings his audience into the time in which he wrote and explains what is going on by portraying the senses and emotions of not only himself, but as well as the people involved. This essay has a very personal feeling mixed with public views. Baldwin is able to take one small event or idea and shows its place within the “bigger picture.” Not only does he illustrate public experiences, but he will also give his own personal opinion about those events. Throughout “Notes of a Native Son” Baldwin uses the binary of life versus death to expand on the private versus public binary that he also creates. These two binaries show up several times together showing how much they relate to each other.
life is gone. That to give up life is the coward's way. To his father,
When analyzing the poem, “Life is Fine” by Langston Hughes, at first glance, it may seem like a short and simple poem about life. The poem is much more complex. The poem is about the obstacles that some people face in life and how to find the strength to persevere. This poem helps the reader appreciate life and encourages us to triumph over the most emotionally challenging obstacles rather than considering death as a solution. The character in the poem, although weak and confused at first, finds the strength to deal with the issues he is struggling with and comes to appreciate life, rather than turning to a tragic way out. The character makes a half-hearted attempt to take his life twice during the short poem because of the emotional pain of lost love, but fortunately, finds reasons why he shouldn’t. The character, although very confused, sees that there is good in his life and realizes that his lost love is not worth giving his life up for. Hughes had a tough childhood, being raised mostly by his grandmother. His poem “Life is Fine” very possibly was close to his heart considering he may have faced some of the same struggles he wrote of in his poems. Hughes has written other works such as biographies and short stories about life and its experiences and his works are valuable to readers in their lives as well (Norris). Throughout this poem, the character continuously tries to take their life but cannot do so because there are clearly more reasons to live than to die. This poem echoes the thoughts that people have about death when things get difficult and how they consider turning to death as the answer. Learning to deal with obstacles and appreciate every moment is a valuable skill in life. This poem is an inspiration...