North of Boston · Theme
Death and Mortality
How North of Boston develops Death and Mortality.
Death looms as a quiet presence, from the hired man's peaceful end in 'The Death of the Hired Man' to the self-seeker's negotiation over his lost legs, and in 'Home Burial,' where grief over a child's death fractures a marriage.
Where it surfaces
- North of Boston
Silas's death at the Warren farm underscores the inevitability of mortality and the human need for connection at life's end.
- The Death of the Hired Man
Silas's physical decline and eventual death underscore the fragility of life and the dignity of dying in a place of belonging.
- Home Burial
The central theme of the chapter, as the couple grapples with the death of their child and the isolation it brings.
- The Black Cottage
The cottage stands as a memorial to the old woman's life and death, with her possessions left untouched and her memory preserved.
- After Apple-Picking
The speaker's contemplation of sleep as a 'long sleep' akin to the woodchuck's hibernation suggests a meditation on death and the boundary between life and the afterlife.