Death Be Not Proud: SparkNotes Literature Guide by SparkNotes

Author:SparkNotes [Sparknotes Editors]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Study Guides
ISBN: 9781411474796
Publisher: Spark
Published: 2014-09-10T00:00:00+00:00

Analysis

A cap is again placed on knowledge in the struggle against death; there are some things Johnny is incapable of understanding (note his request to go rock- climbing, which is out of the question); some things that are hidden from him (the encyclopedia article on tumors and Penfield's recommendation of the amputation that causes blindness); and some that are simply unknown (the myriad questions the doctors are unable to answer). Knowledge can only get one so far in a struggle against death, and courage is required to face the inevitable fate that knowledge cannot help one avoid.

Gunther says he is omitting his and Frances's emotions at this time, which are "terrors and horrors of anguish." These feelings are all onlookers can manage, while Johnny must brave death alone and cannot afford to fall into self-pity or fear. Gunther also says that he cannot answer the philosophical questions about why suffering exists, especially not why it has afflicted Johnny's brain, his most refined part. Johnny professes at one point, in seeming contradiction to his typical optimistic outlook, that the "worst thing is to worry too little" about death. He implies that one must not agonize over these questions, but nearly revel in them, accepting them as a battle. As Gunther points out, he eventually dies with a dignity that overrides his condition, and it is clear that his brave behavior leading up to this—what made his life special—also makes his death special.

Johnny also grows more realistic and even skeptical in this section when he sees that a promised two-day hospital stint will truly be a long-term stay and when he jokes about meeting Cushing, knowing that his case requires drastic measures. His parents try to defy death, using the desperation methods of the mustard gas and Gerson's diet, but Johnny knows he can defeat death by accepting its imminence. Despite his steadfast conviction he will return to school, his remarks that he will be an historic case suggest he knows that death is inevitable. Instead, he applies his energy to things he can solve before death, like the ammonia experiment. Still, his mini-breakdown at hearing of the further treatment, long overdue, shows that he has been privately enduring great stress and misery despite appearances. His recovery the next day, however, suggests that he thinks first of others and how to make them feel better in an effort to make himself feel better.

As a side note, Gunther notes that only Frances spoke with Johnny about death. Perhaps Gunther's silence on the issue is compensated for by his writing Death Be Not Proud which, as he mentioned in the Foreword, is an attempt to share their experience with others.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.