Book Report: How We Die by Emile Zola | coacervates

I wrote this in French, and then did a [nearly] literal translation back to English. So that?s why it sucks.

How We Die by ?mile Zola consists of five stories, all having to do with death. And of course, how we die.

Zola paints a picture of life during his era: The Catholic church controls life and death. Of the five deaths in the story, all receive a Catholic funeral ?and are buried in a cemetery?also Catholic.

That is where the similarity between the deaths ends, however. The dying come from divergent economic situations. Money shows itself to be the main theme.

Maybe you say to yourself ?The rich die better deaths,? but that is not the case in How We Die. The richest dying person dies alone, his face against the wall. His wife didn?t care, and she didn?t go to the funeral; instead she laid back on a couch and dreamed blissfully.

The second piece is about a widow with three sons, whom she did not trust. She kept them ?in her house after they all lost their inheritance from their father. She becomes sick, then dying, and her last thought was that her sons were stealing from her. Again money is not a defense against misery.

In the third piece we find husband and wife Rousseau. They worked hard to get a business that earned them enough money to live comfortably. When Mrs. Rousseau becomes sick ? and it?s evident that she will die ? she says to her husband ?Marry again?. That was true love. She died, but love conquers all.

The fourth piece is about a poor family during a winter without heat or bread. Their son, Charles becomes sick and his health is worsened by the lack of food. Their neighbor avoids them because she knows the little one is going to die. As soon as he dies the neighbor returns and she helps to guard the body. The next day the dead child is buried in the public pit in Montparnasse cemetery.

The last story takes place on a farm, owned by a large family headed by the grandfather, Jean. Like the others, he becomes sick. It was harvest time and the whole family had to work in the earth, and Jean knew that. He died like a wild animal; silent, alone yet he didn?t have any regrets or cares. To be a wild animal is to be innocent. The next day, Jean is buried by an impatient priest, at the end of the day.

Jean?s death was, for me, the best death. I had a large family who cared for him?enough. The family knew that Jean would die, but there is always work on a farm. For them, dearg is as natural as life. It is necessary.

Throw out the modern notion of death?our ancestors didn?t have them.

Source: http://danruisi.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/book-report-how-we-die-by-emile-zola/

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