I believe I was mistaken in my last post in stating that the book Death Be Not Proud was authored by John Donne. It is actually a work by John Gunther, however, I was not entirely off base because the introductory poem is by John Donne, "Divine Sonnet X," goes as such:
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so:
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death; not yet canst thou kill me.
From Rest and Sleep, which but thy picture be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow;
And soonest our best men with thee do go--
Rest of their bones and souls' delivery!
Thou'rt slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke. Why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And Death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die!
I am not going to attempt to critically analyze either the poem or the novel - the novel should not be read in one week in the hours before bed, and the poem has a very beautiful analysis at this site: http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides3/DeathBe.html, which I would only be tempted to plagiarize (; Kidding. However, this books speaks volumes of a father's love and devotion to his son, in both life and in the months leading up to his inevitable and untimely death. A person who as not experienced it (such as myself), cannot begin to explain the whirlwind of such a situation. So, at the risk of saying foolish and false things, I will leave this one be.
Next Week: My most favorite book in high school, Ender's Game. Since I've read it 1,000 times, I'm thinking of researching the philosophies behind Locke & Demosthenes, Ender's siblings' pseudonyms. Something I only think about when I'm reading the book and completely neglect once I'm finished.
