![]() ![]() In this land, he comes across a slit - a crack in the earth - which, according to him, has been forming for 10 million years. ” In this essay, Eiseley travels through an old silent prairie filled with black pits that refuse to give back any of the sun’s light. Loren Eiseley’s confrontation with death begins in “The Slit. As such, the death of any living thing serves a purpose for those that are alive. The species that are less adapted to their environment will ultimately go extinct and their “weaker” genes won’t get passed on to the next generation, allowing the more adapted species to prevail. ![]() According to evolutionary theory, death is, inherently, a good thing. Only through constantly dealing with death, can the anthropologist understand those who are alive – humans – and their role in the universe. He or she observes the remains of dead beings: skulls and bones. ![]() For Dylan Thomas, there is a space in which rebellion against death can become manifest: “Rage, rage against the dying of the light…” For Edgar Allan Poe, only love can survive and transcend death, or at least that’s what he tells us in “Anabel Lee.” For American biologist and essayist Loren Eiseley, however, death is a profession.Īn anthropologist deals with death all the time. For Emily Dickinson, death is a loud fly, incessantly buzzing behind her ear. Yet, the concept of death is one of the most important and complex recurring ideas in literature. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |