Maybe you missed the fact that Jesus did not die in the end of the story. His followers were so convinced of this that they chose death themselves rather than renounce their beliefs. Even many of the faithful today would do the same.
On another note, the deaths of our hero’s is the hardest to accept. That “hero” can be a person well known in literature or someone closer to home like a parent, spouse or sibling.
We are drawn to the macabre like moths to a flame. It can haunt or even terrify yet we go back for more. I had to stop watching the walking dead as it became too nerve wracking. The creators did such an engaging job of character development that it felt truly traumatic to see them killed off so routinely. I still watch the occasional thriller movie and if it’s a good one I vow once again to swear them off.
Two more important deaths in Dostoevsky's Demons: Stephan Verkhovensky's death always feels profoundly sad—a final end to a life perhaps wasted. It's very symbolic, too. But Shatov's death is heartbreaking in a different sense: coming right after the return of his wife, it feels so unjust. I was actually angry when I first read it. And I think that's what Dostoevsky wanted—he wanted his readers to feel anger towards the kind of people who would kill this man.
I need to think more-but thank you for mentioning King Maciuś the First..actually several of kids' deaths Korczak writes about stayed with me in a very deep devastating way( "Fame" etc) . Also Flannery O'Connor's deaths are horrifying. Besides that story ("A good man's hard to find" I think it was?..) , several others come to mind. Also thanks for mentioning Berlioz. Nightmare of my childhood, indeed.
Don't forget the Count of Monte Cristo! He didn't plan their deaths as much as he wanted to take away everything they had like they did to him which made some of them kill themselves.
Maybe you missed the fact that Jesus did not die in the end of the story. His followers were so convinced of this that they chose death themselves rather than renounce their beliefs. Even many of the faithful today would do the same.
On another note, the deaths of our hero’s is the hardest to accept. That “hero” can be a person well known in literature or someone closer to home like a parent, spouse or sibling.
We are drawn to the macabre like moths to a flame. It can haunt or even terrify yet we go back for more. I had to stop watching the walking dead as it became too nerve wracking. The creators did such an engaging job of character development that it felt truly traumatic to see them killed off so routinely. I still watch the occasional thriller movie and if it’s a good one I vow once again to swear them off.
This is a great list. I like how you look at the different types of deaths and in what sense they can be considered the best.
Two more important deaths in Dostoevsky's Demons: Stephan Verkhovensky's death always feels profoundly sad—a final end to a life perhaps wasted. It's very symbolic, too. But Shatov's death is heartbreaking in a different sense: coming right after the return of his wife, it feels so unjust. I was actually angry when I first read it. And I think that's what Dostoevsky wanted—he wanted his readers to feel anger towards the kind of people who would kill this man.
New category: mass comeuppance--Penelope’s suitors and the faithless maids, a patriarchal fable.
I need to think more-but thank you for mentioning King Maciuś the First..actually several of kids' deaths Korczak writes about stayed with me in a very deep devastating way( "Fame" etc) . Also Flannery O'Connor's deaths are horrifying. Besides that story ("A good man's hard to find" I think it was?..) , several others come to mind. Also thanks for mentioning Berlioz. Nightmare of my childhood, indeed.
Don't forget the Count of Monte Cristo! He didn't plan their deaths as much as he wanted to take away everything they had like they did to him which made some of them kill themselves.