Death is, of course, the one thing mankind has feared collectively above all else. It drives more than half of the decisions we make in our day to day lives. Dieting, medical treatment, and belief in a life after death are just a few of the many ways we as humans avoid life’s end, and even attempt to block out the thought of dying. But possibly even more so, humans are drawn to the timeless series of questions when confronted with such a concept. What will death feel like? Will it be painful? Is there any form of conscious realization or continuation after the fact? While the thought of death is a heavy concept, and though there are countless ideas, two stand out to be the most prominent. The first, is the idea that our “life flashes before
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For many years, people have spoken of it when referring to near death experiences, but not everyone truly knows what this would feel like in practice. It’s left to talented writers, such as Tobias Wolff, who paint hypothetical, but no less vivid descriptions of such a phenomenon. In his story, titled “Bullet in the Brain,” the protagonist, Anders, has a run in with a bank robber, who winds up shooting him in the head. Through the shocking and gory picture painted in words, one line drives the point home: “But before [his death] occurred, the first appearance of the bullet in the cerebrum set off a crackling chain of ion transports and neurotransmissions. Because of their peculiar origin these traced a peculiar patter, flukishly calling to life a summer afternoon some forty years past, and long since lost to memory.” The story goes on to speak of several memories taking place in Anders’ life long since forgotten. The memories grow bolder and bolder, adding pieces to the puzzle that made up his past, and turned an otherwise flat character dynamic. And finally, at the very end of the last memory, the bullet “leaves the troubled skull behind, dragging its comet 's tail of memory and hope and talent and love into the marble hall of commerce.” Every memory halts, Anders lies dead, and the long string of tales is snuffed out
For many years, people have spoken of it when referring to near death experiences, but not everyone truly knows what this would feel like in practice. It’s left to talented writers, such as Tobias Wolff, who paint hypothetical, but no less vivid descriptions of such a phenomenon. In his story, titled “Bullet in the Brain,” the protagonist, Anders, has a run in with a bank robber, who winds up shooting him in the head. Through the shocking and gory picture painted in words, one line drives the point home: “But before [his death] occurred, the first appearance of the bullet in the cerebrum set off a crackling chain of ion transports and neurotransmissions. Because of their peculiar origin these traced a peculiar patter, flukishly calling to life a summer afternoon some forty years past, and long since lost to memory.” The story goes on to speak of several memories taking place in Anders’ life long since forgotten. The memories grow bolder and bolder, adding pieces to the puzzle that made up his past, and turned an otherwise flat character dynamic. And finally, at the very end of the last memory, the bullet “leaves the troubled skull behind, dragging its comet 's tail of memory and hope and talent and love into the marble hall of commerce.” Every memory halts, Anders lies dead, and the long string of tales is snuffed out