# Death and Mortality in North of Boston

> Theme guide for North of Boston by Robert Frost.

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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/north_of_boston_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/north_of_boston_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/north_of_boston_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/north_of_boston_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/north_of_boston_se/chapters/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.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/north_of_boston_se/themes/death_and_mortality
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/north_of_boston_se/themes