Accepting Death
The following quotes illustrate the topic's ambiguity. Use these to establish the scope of your topic--to begin to develop a guideline for your reading.
"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome." Isaac Asimov
"Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear is increased with tales; so is the other." Francis Bacon
"What is there to do when people die, people so dear and rare, but bring them back by remembering." May Sarton
"It is possible to provide security against other ills, but as far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls." Epicurus
"Life is a preparation for the future; and the best preparation for the future is to live life as if there were none." Elbert Hubbard
Bacon, Francis. "Of Death." The Essays of Francis Bacon. Ed. Clark Sutherland Northrup, Ph. D. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1936. Pages 7-10.Bly, Carol. "The Dignity of Life." The Best American Short Stories 1983. Ed. Anne Tyler. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.
Carver, Raymond. "Errand." The Best American Short Stories 1988. Ed. Mark Helprin. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1988.
_ _ _ "A Small Good Thing." Short Cuts. New York: NY Simon and Schuster, 1997. Pages 1-26.
Gillespie, Alfred. "Tonight at 9:36." The Best American Short Stories 1971. Ed. Stanley Ellie. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1971.
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies.
Lopez, Barry H. Of Wolves and Men. New York: Charles Scribner and Sons, 1978.
McCourt, Frank. Angela's Ashes. New York: Scribner, 1996.
Mukherjeez, Bharati. "The Management of Grief." The Best American ShortStories 1989. Ed. Stanley Elkin. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1989. Pages 150-166.
Oates, Joyce Carol. "Nairobi." The Best American Short Stories 1984. Ed. John Updike. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984. Pages 177-185.
Ozick, Cynthia. "Rosa." The Best American Short Stories 1984. Ed. John Updike. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984. Pages 184-223.
Puller, Lewis B. Fortunate Son. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1991.
Sartre, Jean Paul. "The Wall." World Literature. New York: Doubleday, 1993. Pages 206-229.
Stevenson, Adlai. "Farewell to a Friend." American Short Speeches. Ed. Bowen Aly. New York, NY: MacMillan Company, 1968. Pages 122-123.
Shaw, G. B. "A Letter by George Bernard Shaw on the Death of his Mother." The College Board Advanced Placement Examination. 1981.
Singer, Isaac Bashevis. "The Safe Deposit." The Best American Short Stories 1980. Ed. Stanley Elkin. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980. Pages 312-324.
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden and Civil Disobedience. New York: New American Library, 1980.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
_ _ _ "Letter From the Recording Angel." The Complete Essays of Mark Twain. Ed. Charles Neider. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1963. Pages 685-689.
Updike, John. "Deaths of Distant Friends." The Best American Short Stories 1983. Ed. Anne Tyler. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980. Pages 27-43.
Wiesel, Eli. Night. New York: Bantam Books, 1960.