This Way to the Gas..
The short story, "This Way To The Gas, Ladies And Gentlemen" by Tadeusz Borowski and the poem "On My First Son" by Ben Johnson, both deal with death. They are very different types of death and are told in different ways but through some similar approaches, a similar feeling is portrayed to the reader of each.One of the first similarities of the two is that they are both told in the first person as well as being personal accounts. Ben speaks, as himself, about the death of his son and Borowski tells of events at a death camp that he was in during WWII. They both tell their stories through their own voices which adds a lot to the experience of reading. It allows the reader to except just how real the story is. Once the reader accepts that, then the reader is able to more fully understand and relate to the feelings of the authors especially because of how reality based they are. For example, in "On My First Son", when Johnson says "Oh, could I lose all father now!"(Johnson, ln.5), the reader is able to feel the deep sorrow in that line. That is because it is told to the reader by Ben Johnson, the father of a dead son. When the story is made that personal, it is impossible to not share the passionate feelings that are expressed. Bor
Borowski set a mood that showed the numbness he developed surrounding death through his descriptions of the events occurring at the station. His violently described vomiting shows his disgust with the extreme deaths surrounding him. "Rest in soft piece, and asked, say, Here doth lie/Ben Johnson his best piece of poetry" (Johnson, ln9-10) He is still sad about the death, but he focuses instead on his son's "resting in soft piece". This is very poignant and heartbreaking especially because we know that Borowski truly experienced this. That is a clear example of acceptance. Both the Borowski piece and the Johnson piece show a true aspect of death. The realness and intimacy that the first-person voice gives us makes the reader more able to relate and understand the feelings and ideas being expressed. The two authors use mood, voice, and detail to express their feelings on the death they deal with their respective texts. He is ready to admit the death and wish his son well. My heart pounds, jumps up to my throat. "Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; My sin was too much hope of thee, loved boy. By the end, the shield finally breaks and he has a different attitude about the horrors surrounding him. This shows his numbness to sights of horror and death.
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Acceptance Essays
