an occurance on owl creek

English - Book Reports Bierce and Hemingway Death is an intriguing thing. From time immemorial we have feared it, used it, pondered it. Frequently, stories allow the reader into the minds of those immediatly surrounding the one who will die; but all of us "will die." Our morbid interest is in dying, the going, that threshold between death and life. What happens there? There are similiarities and differences in how death appears to the protagonist, …

…characters as retreating from death, one more than the other. Perhaps this is an accurate portrayal of the human mind as it nears its end. Perhaps the instinct for life is too strong and we really have no choice but to "rage against the dying of the light." One thing is certain: niether author knew unequivocally the accuracy of his portrayal. We will each find out when we reach the place where "all is white."