TOW 16- IRB

            The one thing that every single person on this planet has in common is our mortality. We will all die one day, regardless of our profession, wealth, or morality; we all share the same mortality. John Gunther explores our human instinct of fending off Death in his memoir Death Be Not Proud, which shares the story of his son’s relationship with Death. This boy, against all odds, survived and thrived while fighting a malicious tumor that threatened to hijack his most prized possession: his brain. His father, John Gunther, speaks in bursts of descriptive anecdotes and in the first person in order to give his audience much-needed perspective on the reality of the “problems” that they face.

            Gunther spends the first half of the book sharing the early stages of the tumor; the early sacrifices Johnny and his family made; the early struggles Johnny faced and the profoundly optimistic spirit he maintained. By the second half of the book, Gunther’s audience is already in love with his son. Johnny is a truly amazing individual, as we learn through Gunther's touchingly detailed anecdotes. When Johnny briefly got his full-vision back, Gunther describes Johnny’s face to have “the most beautifically happy expression…ever seen on a human being” (108). The loving, descriptive way with which Gunther continually describes Johnny maintains the audience’s admiration of the young boy, making them more susceptible to Gunther’s message that one must address their obstacles with a fierce determination accompanied by an optimistic mind. Gunther’s first-person narration gives his audience a front-row seat to Johnny’s struggle, allowing them to struggle alongside Johnny. This, combined with their love for him, makes the audience hope, pray, and yearn for Johnny’s recovery. Our attachment to him makes us admire him for all of his remarkable qualities; we put him on a pedestal; we want to be like him. This provides us with perspective; makes our problems seem petty and trivial and our complaints seem bratty and horribly unnecessary compared to Johnny: someone who is dying but rarely complains, and, if he does, insists that he be punished for it. Someone who never once puts himself first, someone who encompasses all the traits of considerateness, kindness, brilliance, stability and courtesy even in the face of his impending doom. Gunther’s detailed anecdotes and strikingly honest first-person perspective gives Johnny the characterization necessary for his audience to strive to be just like him while facing their problems; after-all, as anyone who has read this book can attest to, the world would be an exponentially better place if we all had the qualities of Johnny Gunther.