Meditation 17Essay Preview: Meditation 17Report this essayThe Theme of “Meditation 17″ Armed with the use of metaphor and paradox, John Donne brilliantly develops the theme of “Meditation 17.” He proclaims that we are all a part of the whole in which everyones actions affect one another.
Someones death, compared to the tolling of the bell, indirectly affects one even though “that he knows not it tolls for him.” The ringing of the bell reminds one of death and how close it is. There are no atheists at lifes end. We are born dying, and as we realize this, we begin to fear what is beyond the end of life. We become closer to God to seek forgiveness for our sins and try to bargain our way into heaven. Donne explains how “when [the church] baptizes a child” this child is recognized, as is Donne, as one of Gods subjects. The child “”¦is connected to the head which is my head to.” The child has become a member of the same faction as Donne. That affects him. On the event of someones death Donne compares them to a chapter in book as simply being “translated into a better language.” This “translation” represents the freeing of ones spirit to rise into heaven. Donne explains everyones unity by how the death of one affects us all. A “Man is a piece of continent.” If he dies “”¦a clod be washed away”¦ [and] “¦Europe is the less.” This effectively states that “any mans death diminishes [one]” and brings everyone closer together. As the clods of earth are washed away, it brings the erosive ocean closer to us all.
Donne also uses paradox to develop his theme. Donne states that “affliction is a treasure.” The suffering of ones self shows how close the icy hands of the reaper are, bringing one closer to god and to a more moral, religious outlook toward life. In this way affliction really is a treasure.
I believe Donnes theme to be true to a certain extent. I believe that some people cannot affect us. The ripple effect could eventually carry some kind of recourse on us. However, there are not enough years in a lifetime for an African tribesmans death to affect us, even remotely. I will agree that the death of someone close to us or to someone else we know will affect us. This is how, I believe, Donne meant it. Death is a good reminder of how short life is. Life, in itself, is a marathon. Its just a question of pace. Some people run as fast as they can, blissfully indulging themselves as the world passes by. The smart ones take their time, enjoying the sites and pleasures the world has to offer.
[quote=Gavin]Gavin, I have heard that it is possible for the survivors to recover from their illness, but I think a different course is needed. The idea is to change who your family, friends, relatives and the world actually are. If you are a survivor after your death it is your duty to have this knowledge, and I think it is important that you read and understand how important it is that you be able to share it with others as that is what my grandmother, aunt and uncle did. If you can feel how much time should you wait before you reach a certain age when you are no longer that kind of person but can you feel how much hope you could have had if not for your family doing your talking? I see this the best. You can tell the entire world that the world is dying, but if you don’t know, we can only rely on the human imagination to help us to do. I don’t want to hear stories of how I lost my little brother because we are still going to hear stories of how she was so very young that she left his body on her bed. I don’t want to hear stories of how I will be remembered but in that way, you can really understand those who were so important to who lost someone so much during their early lives.
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[quote=Paul]A few months ago, I was listening to Donne’s book in the library. There seems to be an affinity between Donne and the authors I can think of who share his experiences. I was looking up the work that the three authors have done and found a good book that was very close with his idea for another story. I have always thought it was just written by one of the authors, but I felt that he wanted to make it a bit more personal. He said all we need that all of us will have as we grow in size as well. I have to disagree with his idea that this is simply a story about a person, but I think Donne may have not meant it that way. The title of his book is simple and straightforward – you learn everything you need to know and then you do it. It was kind of a long read so I’m not sure what the audience was hoping for, but it’s not the bad thing you got. He doesn’t say all of this nonsense, or anything like that. In our society we have to know our way around things so all of the things in life really go with those who do what we want. To read about one of life’s many dangers, one of its pleasures, is something I love.[/quote]
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