Marley and Me, Week 5, Post B

Dear Mr. Grogan,
I have yet to read the last 20 pages of your novel and I am thrilled! However, at the same time I don’t want it to end because I know Marley’s death is inevitable. I have never had a pet die, but the pain that comes with it is surely just as severe as if a human died. I thought it was interesting how you didn’t truly reflect on your life until the end of the novel. There were points where you let the reader have a bit of insight onto your reflection of a certain event, for instance your children being born, but other than that your feelings were more reserved. I actually enjoyed this technique because it allowed me to conjure up my own emotions about certain events, instead of having them thrust upon me. This is a contrast to a novel I just read, Richard Wright’s Black Boy. At the end of each chapter in his novel, Wright reflects upon events that had happened in that chapter. Personally, this reflection became an annoyance to me, I think it would have been more effective if he had reflected upon significant life altering events like you have done. Anyways, back to your novel! Marley’s imminent death loomed over me as he cheated death several times. Surely you must have been happy Marley was alive, but wasn’t it heart breaking watching him suffer for so long? Did you ever think about putting him to sleep to end his suffering of immobility? If you were in Marley’s dog skin, with old age and terrible hips, would you want to be put to sleep? Personally if I was as old and ill as Marley I would want to end my suffering. That sounds morbid, but I’d rather live a shorter life filled with happy memories than a longer life in which I would be nearly immobile for the last portion of it. This brings me back to your reflection on life’s preciousness. I really enjoyed the quote “I was reminded of what should be obvious but too often is not, that each day, each hour and minute, is worth cherishing” (260). I think it’s totally prevalent in today’s world because too often we are caught up with meaningless, small details. Sometimes we just need to stand back and look at the accomplishments of our beautiful masterpiece, our life.
Sincerely,
Rachel