Analysis Of St. Augustine's Confessions

Saint Augustine’s Confessions is more than a narrative of conversion. It is a work written in an autobiographical narrative, conveying concepts with deep meaning, mainly about mistakes and the acknowledgment of faults. In Book IV, Augustine describes his relationship with a friend and the friend’s sudden death. Augustine takes us through his mourning process, one in which many people can relate, the feeling of sorrow and despair. These darker times relate to the CIT question speaking of what it means to be human.
When Augustine was a young boy, he friended another boy his age. They grew up together, went to the same school and played with one another. Through shared interests, the two became very close friends. After about a year, Augustine’s …show more content…
To them, not living together is worse than death. When we are young we are open minded, friending everyone we come across. Often a lot of these friendships do not last long for various reasons such as, lost connections from moving to different states, going to different colleges, or simply attitudes and behaviors changing as we get older, becoming people we would rather not associate with ourselves with anymore. That being said, some people are lucky enough to meet their best friend when they are so young, that at the time they do not even know it. This can happen in preschool, on the playground, collecting rocks together at recess. Later, you may see that same little girl you were collecting rocks with a few houses down running around outside with her dad and brothers. The next thing you know you become best friends, doing everything together, attached at the hip. You cannot go a day without seeing or hearing the other’s voice, when she laughs you laugh, when she hurts you hurt. You become part of each other, she becomes your other self. You go through all the milestones together, first day of kindergarten, first day of middle school and high school, junior prom, senior prom, graduation and everything in between. Then comes the dreaded part of your life you have avoided for so long: college. A lot of the time this is where you are forced to depart ways, however, sometimes life works …show more content…
The friendships we make as we grow up sometimes do not always last. Some people we encounter will just be acquaintances, whereas some will be friends, others best friends and even some that will go far beyond the level of best friends to the state where they are part of you and you are part them. The death of someone who is closest to our heart will hurt, we will be sad, weep, sigh and groan, think as if it would almost be easier to just die with them because life without them would be impossible. The death of someone you have a friendship like this with will hurt a lot more than the death of someone you are merely friends with. The death of just a friend will still be sad, but you will be more unwilling to lose your misery than your friend. Augustine feels this way about his friend. He loved him and was wretched when his friend died, however, he felt sorrier for himself and the never ending grief than he did for his friend’s actual death. When one feels this way, it is clear that they would not have given up their own life for them. Whereas if you are willing to die for your friend or die to be with them because life without them would be unbearable, that is the true definition of