At the moment of conception in the womb to the moment of birth and afterward, the journey of life begins that has so many unknown probabilities and often mysterious in Nature. Just as anything else that has a start, life has to end in one way or another, and this may happen at any time. It is inevitable.
Most of us, at some time, think about our death, and this does not bring a good feeling knowing that someday it will get to us. Lewis Thomas essay “On Natural Death” is a curious analysis of death as a striking phenomenon in animal and human life. In the essay, Thomas critically analyses significant facets of death rhetorically to bring the idea of death (Thomas, 1979, pg.84). This paper is a synthesis on Thomas essay and aims at combining different ideas of three writers to support his essay.
In the On Natural Death by has been discussed in various context by the authors such as Thomas Grey in the poem “Death in an Elegy” the “Life and Death,” by Socrates and John Keats “When i have fears that i may cease to be.” The concept of death and its effects on those who are left and the perception of it to those who are dying can be equally compared in the three writers work in conjunction with that of Lewis Thomas.
127 our experts are availableright now
We can vividly see the assurance of the author to the audience about the unpredictability of death and how to handle the ending moments “if you know not how to die, never trouble yourself; Nature will in a moment…instruct you; she will …do the business for you…” (Thomas, 1979, pg.275). Many people are not certain on how to deal with it, Thomas stress that Nature is the only friend in this trail and will take care of someone during their last moments. He outlines that Nature absorbs the pain and dissolves it somewhere else in a way to relieve the victim’s body.
Keats says, “When I have fears that I may cease to be” (Keats, 1816, line 9-12) displays a form of frighted for death. He fears leave the loved ones in a journey which he is not sure of where he is headed and whether there is a chance ever to see them again. As a strategy to thwart the fear, he opts to turn into his family and live without any thought about his end “Till Love and dame to nothingness do sink.” (Keats, 1816, line 13-17) the awareness of death and its unpredictable visit is not a solution to handling it nor does it eliminate its forthcoming.
In the “Life and Death” by Socrates, he explores the theme of death and dying in the light of “meaning of life.” As a philosopher, the point of view in which these aspects are explored is in the form of knowledge gain and understanding in the most way logical way of life’s perspective. Socrates declares that death should not be feared and the fact that it is in the realm of the unpredictable and unknown, people should accept it “The fear of death is indeed the pretense of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being a pretense of knowing the unknown” (Harten & Alice,2011,pg. 7).
In the history of Socrates, he receives a death sentence but is not shaken by the acknowledgment that his end is near. He does not perceive death as evil “those of us who think death is an evil are in error” (40c). He can know about death by deserting it in a philosophical point of view and finally puts forth a theory that “either death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as many says, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another” (40d).
Grey’s “Death in an Elegy” perceives death as an equalizer (Grey, 1799, line 4-7). He further stipulates that simple people are the ones supposed to be living in the society and that there are those left behind are the ones that matter and nothing else. He states that those who are gone are no longer a concert regardless of their former statutes “The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave, Awaits alike the inevitable hour, The paths of glory lead but to the grave.”(Grey, 1799, line 10-14) the conclusion of this is that the inevitability of death is real and everyone is a subject to end no regardless of their status.
In conclusion, the concept of death cannot be fully fathomed or explained in our humanly Nature. The description in which we try to comprehend is only in a human point of view that is sometimes obstructed by our fear of the same. Thomas has brought out the concept of death in a manner that suggests that Nature is the only friend of the final moments. Socrates encourages the audience to fear not when it comes to, and that death should not be perceived as evil. Seeing that no one has ever come back from the dead, it is not possible to gather the experience of life afterward. I finally say that death is a cycle of life and this is how Nature performs course collection.
Work cited
- Keats, John. When I have fears that I may cease to be. Virginia Tech, 1816.
- Read, Before You. “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” (1799).
- Thomas, Lewis. “On Natural Death.” The Medusa and the Snail: More Notes of a Biology Watcher (1979): 83-86.
- Van Harten, Alice. “Socrates on life and death (Plato, Apology 40C5–41C7).” The Cambridge Classical Journal 57 (2011): 165-183.
