Death in American Literature: Four Distinct Perspectives

Perspectives on Death in American Literature

Discuss the topic of death in at least three works of two different periods:

Death is a central topic in many different literary works and a particularly important one in American literature. However, different authors approach it from distinct perspectives.

• Jack London: Focuses on death (natural death) and the survival of the most apt, where nature cannot be defeated. He presents a less neurotic view; death is a natural phenomenon.
• Edgar Allan Poe: Representing American Gothic in The Raven and The Cask of Amontillado, he was also obsessed with death.
• Puritan Literature: Views death only as a transition to a better life.
• Emily Dickinson: Death is the principal subject in Dickinson’s poems; she was obsessed with death. She held a more neurotic view of death, but she found relief in religion.

Comparative Analysis of Literary Views

Poe and Dickinson present a more neurotic, less healthy view of death, while in London’s work, we see a more natural, less neurotic approach (death is generally portrayed as a natural phenomenon). Puritans, on the other hand, because of their belief in the afterlife, see death as something trivial—a mere transition to a superior, better state of life. We have, therefore, three different representations of death in American literature: neurotic (Poe, Dickinson), natural (London), and religious (Puritans).

Literary Examples and Case Studies

Jack London: The Stoic Naturalist

In Law of Nature, an old man is abandoned to his fate in the snow. He still has a stoic mentality: death is not that terrible, and he is resigned, patiently awaiting death. He says to himself things like, "It is well; all men must die." The constant repetition of such ideas prepares him mentally for death: death is unavoidable and, hence, not that serious.

Edgar Allan Poe: The Tormented Gothic

In The Raven, the raven symbolizes death. The presence of the raven, a reminder of death, torments the narrator, who therefore has a neurotic view of death (unlike the old man in London’s Law of Nature).

Puritans: The Path to Heaven

In Anne Bradstreet’s To My Dear and Loving Husband, a praise to her husband, love is seen as a path to heaven—something that will survive death. Death is, therefore, not a problem at all from the Puritan point of view. In fact, it is so irrelevant that it is not explicit, just implicit in the poem (there are references to the afterlife, but not to death explicitly).

Emily Dickinson: A Complex Transition

Emily Dickinson is an interesting case. In Because I Could Not Stop for Death, she shows a calm attitude towards death; she is relaxed, especially because of her belief in the afterlife, as we see towards the end of the poem. We know, however, that she was neurotically obsessed with death until she found relief in religion. In Dickinson, therefore, we see a transition from a more neurotic to a more relaxed view of death.

Summary of Perspectives

• Poe: Negative view of death (a terrifying phenomenon).
• London: Neutral view of death (a natural phenomenon).
• Puritans: Positive view (a transition to the afterlife as a spiritual phenomenon).
• Dickinson: Transition from a negative to a more positive outlook.