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Savannah Williams
Brother Brugger
ENG 252
February 17, 2016
Research Paper
Godfather Death; A Timeless Use of Personification
Death, as a character, has made a lasting impression upon literature. For centuries,
authors have attempted to put a face to the intangible and inevitable name and call of Death to
add depth and texture to a piece of literature. As a literary device, using Death as a narrator or
major character domesticates its presence, which can then serve to diffuse the fear it creates
within the story or to build upon the fascination which is shared between the teller and the
audience. There is a human need to document the uncontrollable, and this need can be satisfied
through characterization, and thus, humanization. There is a fairytale of a man who has twelve
children and is struggling to take care of them. When the thirteenth child is born, he goes into
the streets to beg for a godfather who would help him to raise his youngest son. After he turns
down offers from both God and from Satan, he receives an offer from Death to be the godfather.
The man made the determination that Death was the best choice because death makes everyone
equal.
Scott Bonn, a professor of criminology and sociology at Drew University, said that the
human fascination with death is a form of escapism. . . . Theres an inherent need to get close to
the edge of the abyss and look in without falling in (as cited in Sotille). Authors can hold
audiences at the edge when they create a believable persona for death; in fact, encompassing
times and genres, authors have created a masterpiece of characteristics that can be understood by
humans who suffer with IOD syndrome (those who face the Inevitability of Death). We all
know that death is our godfather, or merely an inescapable transportation from this life into the
next. By definition, death means ceasing to live in a physical body on the earth, yet the fear of
and fascination with death has given life to an undeniable presence that writers sew into the
pages of their literature. Death, who is characteristically unavoidable, can become something
very human, even something that readers can relate to. In this process, readers can come to
understand Deaths essence through a narrator or character. Many authors have successfully
established meaningful connections between the storyteller, the story, and the audience, which
either alienates the fear of death or intrigues the fascination with its stark inevitability.
Death has been portrayed by a number of writers in a number of ways. In fact, in a
collection of characterizations of Death, readers can observe how portrayals of Death overlap
between writers and time periods. To begin, Markus Zusak, in his book The Book Thief, created
Death with a rather unique perspective. Zusaks Death is calmly inevitable, parental, and an
employee to the disaster reaped by humans. He dutifully retrieves souls during World War IIan
exhausted persona, one who needs a distraction from all of the grief he is exposed to. He is not
kind, but he is not ruthless. Death takes pride in the artistry that goes into removing a human soul

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from previous embodiment, but his pride is accompanied by a humility instigated by the humans
who so often open the doors for mass death..
In A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Death is represented by Marley, Scrooges
business partner who died following a cold and lonesome life. Marley returns to the living world
to provide a warning to his old croney Scrooge about the burden that he must carry into the
eternities if he does not change his life. He tells Scrooge of his own unbearable load: I wear the
chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will,
and of my own free will I wore it (Dickens 23). Marley is weighed down by the chains he
created for himself during mortality. In Dickens portrayal, Death is very much a consequence of
the life that individuals choose to live, consequences of mortal life decisions. Marley is heavyladen, transparent, and forlornthis is a portrayal that exhibits personal responsibility. Perhaps
this is a result of the fear regarding the way we live our lives, which we project into our deaths.
In a retelling of The Appointment in Samarra, W. Maugham Somerset recounts a
chance and brief interaction between a servant and Death at a marketplace. The servant instantly
leaves for Samarra in order to avoid Death; however, Death was actually expecting to make this
appointment with the servant in Samarra later that evening. The servant could not escape, and
Maugham envelops the inevitability of Death in the story: humans cannot avoid their fate. In this
particular retelling, Death is depicted as a woman with an air of unavoidable indifference. The
use of the word appointment in the title also distinguishes some form of deathly employment
similar to Zusaks interpretation. This is a Death who is not sly, vindictive, or cunning; she is
merely employed to remove human souls from this life and take them into the next. The Death in
Samarra is unique because she is approachable and visible; in fact, Death is humanized so that
themerchant speaks calmly to Death about the interaction with his servant.
J.K. Rowling compiled a series of stories into The Tales of Beedle the Bard, one of which
is titled The Tale of the Three Brothers, in which death is personified. This is a tale of three
brothers who are given the opportunity to cheat death. In the beginning of the tale Rowling says,
Death was cunning. This instant observation of Death clues readers into what they should
expect in her characterization of Death. In the case of all three brothers, Death is inevitable,
smart, and patient. Rowling claims, Human efforts to evade or overcome death are always
doomed to disappointment (94). Rowlings Death is a more stereotypical idea of Death: a
cloaked figure eager to whisk souls away. He is displayed as less of a result and more of a cause.
He is cunning, devilishly clever, and menacingly patient. All three of the brothers believed they
had cheated Death when, in reality, Death won in the end with each one. A repeated theme which
is found in Rowlings portrayal is the utter inevitability of Death. He is inescapable. He will wait.
Even the youngest of the brothers, who avoids Death the longest, greeted Death as an old
friend in the end (93).
Applying Death as a literary device could be a way for writers to dispel their own deep
feelings of fear of death onto their readers. Zusak, on his interpretation of Death, said:
I guess there's a little bit of death in me, but it's probably true for everyone. I think I just
applied the thought of how scared I am of death and reversed it. I thought, What if he or

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she or it is haunted by everything he sees humans do?' In that way, he's also like all of
us, because we all have the same reactions to each other's behavior. Also, I had more
empathy for Death when he was vulnerable like that. (as cited in Schmoop)
Using Death as an influential character blends readers with the text in unique ways,
individualized by each particular reader. Readers may resonate with a particular portrayal given
by the author. The readers response to authors portrayals of Death ultimately come down to
how the author wants the readers to think of Death. Evidence of this is found in a reflection of
previous examples.
In The Book Thief, Zusaks interpretation is of a dignified guardian, a godfather, doing the
job that humans, for so long, have enacted upon him to do. In many passages of The Book Thief,
Death is a very comforting and parental essencethis is a Death that is easier for readers to
comprehend. Rowlings interpretation of Death in The Tale of Three Brothers is of a cunning
omnipotence, making deals with humans that will merely postpone their immediate death. In this
case, readers may feel a sense of impending intimidation. Maughams Death in The
Appointment in Samarra is similar to Rowlings in that Death is unavoidable, and any attempts
at avoiding Death are merely attempts at prolonging the inevitable. But she is also similar to
Zusaks portrayal of a presence going about doing his job. There is almost an air of indifference
about Maughams Death, but an air of pride in Zusaks. The reader-response is completely reliant
upon the direction and tone the author takes in describing Death. If Death seems more cunning,
there is more of an intimidated reaction. On the other hand, if Death is portrayed as parental, as a
guardian of the soul, there is a comfort and a sympathy accompanying the idea of Death and the
inevitable.
What does this form of personification say about humanity? In the book The Gateway We
Call Death, Russel M. Nelson claims that life is lived in three acts: Act One, representing premortal life; Act Two, representing mortal life; and Act Three, representing post-mortal life.
Humans fear the unknown, so we fear the third act which takes us into death. Though, as Nelson
explains, if we do not see all three acts, the play is meaningless (Nelson 1). There is a distinctive
human need for survival, and death seems to ultimately deprive us of our survival. Because of
this, we need to know what it is were all up against in death. Throughout time, humans have
naturally given a persona, an emotion, an occupation, and a fear to the name of death. Zusak
especially humanizes Death when, in the end of The Book Thief, Death admits: I am haunted by
humans (Zusak 550). In The Book Thief, Death cannot comprehend the human ability for
brutality and violencean eagerness to kill and to do so with such indifference and even
pleasure. Without this identifiable and understandable character, we have to face the reality of
humanitys ability to kill. Zusak uses a paradox: using Death to present to humans how deathlike we have the ability to be. Death is revelatory and humbling. The universal fact about Death
is that each individual has to face it at some point. In The Gateway We Call Death, Nelson says,
Death is a fellow traveler with whom each of us will one day walk. Only the time and the place
of that rendezvous are not known (Nelson x).
John Donne, in his undeviating poem about death, Death, Be Not Proud, the speaker
confronts Death by denoting him. Rather than placing humans on the rung below Death, the

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speaker says, Thou art slave (Donne, line 9) to their actions and their evil deeds. Much like
Zusaks approach, Death is merely an employee to the carnage derived by human frailties. The
occupation that Death has been called to do has no nobler ability than that of poppies or charms.
Finally, death comes with one final blow, the speaker says, One short sleep past, we wake
eternally (Donne, line 13). Here the speaker uses what Death is most feared for to humans
advantage; Death is truly doing us the favor of getting us onto the stage of the third act of life,
spoken of by Russel M. Nelson.
How is this poetic? What entices writers to use Death as a literary device? Its charming,
really. With a flavor of irony, Death becomes a reflection of human weaknessand the human
lack of control over Death. There are two poetic elements that appear in the personification of
Death. First, humans constant need for understanding and control reflects truly how fragile and
furtive the line between life and death is. This need, relevant and revealing, in the creation of the
character displays Deaths irremovable dominance over living. Second, ironically, without
humanitys use of personificationfrom even the beginning of timeDeath would be no one.
Death would be regarded exactly as death isa noun. A transportation from this life into the
next: no persona, no cunning wit, no scythe, nothing. Third, humans, especially in Zusaks
portrayal, are what death is frightened of. Yet Donne declares that death, be not proud
(Donne, line 1). Death is a slave to us, and we are slaves to Death. Domesticating death in
literature helps us to recognize death as a fellow life traveler, rather than a stranger or something
of which to be frightened.
Death, as an influential presence in literature, feeds the human fascination while
simultaneously diffusing the inclination to fear Deathan end that will come to everyone. Death
has been an artful character, used by authors not only for the literary advantages, but for the
human need to understand the uncontrollable. Each author has a different relationship with Death
and represents its powerful character through unique and influential portrayals. Readers, in turn,
respond differently to each authors portrayal. The human need to humanize Death is honorable
because it speaks of human willingness to understand for the sake of coping. Poetically speaking,
the irony is beautiful. As we learn from profound literature, Death is nothing without humanity.

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Works Cited

Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. United States of America: Watermill Press, 1994. Print.
Donne, John. Holy Sonnets: Death, Be Not Proud. Poetry Foundation. 2015. Web. 17 February
2016. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173363
Grimm Brothers. Godfather Death. Story 44. 2015. Web. 17 February 2016
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm044.html
Maugham, W. Somerset. The Appointment in Samarra. Kansas State University. 21 August
2000. Web. 17 February 2016. <http://www.k-state.edu/english/baker/english320/
Maugham-AS.htm>
Nelson, Russell M. The Gateway We Call Death. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company,
1995. Print.
Rowling, J. K. The Tales of Beedle the Bard. New York, New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "Death in The Book Thief." Shmoop University, Inc., 11 November
2008. Web. 17 Feb. 2016. < http://www.shmoop.com/book-thief/death.html>
Sottile, Leah. When Death Is a Fascination. The Atlantic. 2015 August 13. Web. 17 February
2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/08/death-obsessed/400880/>
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. Australia: Random House, 2005. Print.