In the short stories Killings by Andre Dubus and By-and-by by Amy Bloom, the authors demonstrate the effect of grief on their characters.

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                                                            Tolerating Grief

         All people go into a period of grieving when they lose a loved one. Even though there are many different ways of handling the grief one cannot get rid of it only tolerate it. It will always devour at what a person is. In the short stories “Killings” by Andre Dubus and “By-and-by” by Amy Bloom, the authors demonstrate the effect of grief on their characters. Greif can only be tolerated because it empties out what the person use to be. It drains them of who they were before the person they loved died. In both short stories imagery is used to help show what is happening within the characters hearts as they deal with grief.

To describes their characters feelings the authors used imagery and connected it with scenery that evoked universal feelings. Dubus used Matt’s environment to open a window into Matt’s soul and feelings.  Matt found himself to be lifeless and disembodied as soon as he killed his son’s murderer Richard Strout. Killing Richard was only to help his wife to be able to deal with her grief. With this goal fulfilled he had to sufferer through his own guilt that he had ignored. Even though he ignored it the reader was made very aware of what was going on through his mind. Throughout the story he describes mundane fall scenery such as the dead leaves on the forest floor. The way that the trees look is used in a metaphorical way to illustrate Matt's state. As fall progresses the once fruit barring trees become barren, and leaf-less. The stillness of the forest as him and his friend Willis Trottier buried Richard's body reflected how empty he felt as he tried to cope with his emotions.  The narrator of "By-and-by" described how the heart and its four different parts operate as the body dies. She invokes the image of the heart again but it being her heart and it being a reliquary for her grief. The description of a dying heart and how cavernous it becomes illustrates more vividly what grief does to a person. The narrator of “By-and-by” stated how all of them were in the dark, damp cave that Anne would ultimately be found. The cave is a concert image of the grief and sadness that all of them would be in after the burial of Anne. This also is a powerful image for how hallow, dark and abandoned both protagonists must have been feeling. 

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        To cope after the death of someone they hold dear people will often use each other as support. In “By-and-By” both the narrator and Anne Warburg’s mother do this for one another. Talking on the phone with each other they retell old stories about Anne. It was a way for them to cope but at the same time not letting Anne die. They talked as if she was still alive but out of town. They felt as if that there was still a chance she was in a mountain still in New York State somewhere and would be home soon. ...

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