# the old man — Short Fiction character guide

> the old man in Short Fiction by Walter M. Miller Jr..

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0000-conditionally-human

## Snapshot

Old Donegal lies gaunt and unshaven in his rented flat, joking about the moon-run while his body goes dark around him, humoring Martha by pretending he isn't ready to die.

## Who they are

He is a dying man who has decided that the dead must humor the mourners, so he complains about the bed and proposes returning to the moon-run at sixty-three to spare Martha the sight of him accepting death calmly. His hands no longer obey him, his thoughts blur, and he hears the Keiths' servants setting up a party next door with detached, almost comic clarity. His performance of stubborn vitality is the story's whole emotional engine.

## In the story

### [The Ties That Bind](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_57_se/chapters/the-ties-that-bind)

Elderly gentleman behind the desk who chairs the conference and decides to land on Earth.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_57_se/characters/the_old_man
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_57_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_57_se/characters