How Death Taught Me to Live: A Love Letter to Terry Pratchett's Reaper Man

The Paradox of Death

What does it mean to live a completely “fulfilled” life? This simple question can hold so many different answers to so many different people. I would hazard to guess that many would say that fulfillment comes with success. You made a difference in some way, either financially or emotionally. You were able to leave your mark on the world, and there were people that were affected by it, positively or negatively. Your life is composed of so many moments, big and small, that in the end, those moments might seem to bleed together. Your brain can still recall memories even as it’s dying, and I think there’s some subtle beauty in that. The presence of memory, even in our final moments like joy, fear, anger, sadness, love and longing. Terry Pratchett’s Reaper Man is a story that tackles all of these in such a poignant and human way, and I think that’s why it has still resonated with me long after I’ve read it. So, today, I’d like to discuss why this book not only entertains us, but enlightens us on what truly matters when facing our own mortality and the love that humanity can share, even long after death.

Terry Pratchett’s Death: More Than a Grim Reaper

Death as a character comes from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. If I had to briefly describe Discworld to someone who had never heard of it before, it would probably be the worldbuilding of an author like Tolkien mixed with the satirical wit of Monty Python or The Princess Bride. The books themselves don't take their own reality very seriously – I mean, the world itself Is a flat disk on top of four elephants standing on the back of a giant turtle floating through space. You can’t get much sillier than that. However, in spite of all this, Death acts as human as anyone else living on the Discworld. There's a certain level of characterization that Pratchett gives to Death that humanizes him beyond the concept of his status as DEATH. He's very dignified when it comes to approaching people about their own demises, curious about how humans can make joy out of their lives, and he has a certain fondness for cats. There are many moments and dedicated stories as to how Death interacts with humanity, often in very absurd and comedic ways.

 In the third book in his series, Hogfather, Death has to take on the role of Discworld’s version of Santa and I'm sure you can imagine how insane and funny that may be (whatever you’re thinking of you’re right, and any other question can be answered with “yes, and”). In Reaper Man, however, Death gets fired from his position as DEATH and gets shunted onto the Disc and becomes mortal. After meeting an old woman named Mrs. Flitworth and becoming her farmhand named Bill Door (he just chose a random name and the first object he saw), Death gets to witness humanity firsthand. To give a few brief but major examples, Death can finally appreciate and understand the beauty of a sunset or the joy and laughter of a packed-out bar room after a long day's work. Whereas other forms of media portray the character of Death as detached and unfeeling when it comes to life, Discworld’s Death approaches and embraces humanity with a pure tenderness and curiosity for understanding what it truly means. Funnily enough, Death’s stories are often the most human and relatable, and I believe there’s something that we can take away from Death’s time as being mortal; the key is that we are mortal ourselves and time is as precious as what we make of it.

Mortality as a Mirror

We don't know what life will bring to us when we’re born. There's not a finite calendar number of days of how long we will live, or what we will do in the days that we have on this planet. Time moves ever on, and time is something that we cannot fight against. We are all mortal, and there will be an end for all of us. That is not to say that the world is completely bleak or that we can’t all make something out of it. I firmly believe that there can be creativity and love and life in all things. You just have to be willing to change your perspective and look at life from a different angle. I'm still growing and changing in my own beliefs and worldview as much as anyone else. I’m young, but I still see the death and destruction caused all across the world, the immense amount of hurt that one human being can do to another without any feeling or remorse. It's honestly disheartening to see that sometimes we can't all just stop and take a step back and look at the bigger picture. There can equally be as much love in this world as there is hate. Change does not have to be something that we fear but can embrace with the knowledge that there’s always room for improvement and reflection.

In the final scene of the story, Death finds himself remembering the golden cornfields that stretched out across the plains of the farm after he's returned to being DEATH. I read this moment as not only the culmination of the story’s themes about mortality, but also the bittersweet joy and poignancy that comes with forming relationships and their connections to memory. We all can have relationships, whether they be platonic or romantic, friends or family, or even our pets. There is a connection that we share to them that makes them valued in our lives for however long they are in it. I believe that this time should always be cherished, and even if things didn't go the way that you originally planned it, you still had the time when they were part of your life and there's no discounting that. One of the more famous quotes from this book is,              “What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man?”

To me, this quote symbolizes that The Reaper Man (i.e., Death) will still take care of you (i.e. the harvest) after you're gone but there's still hope that has to be maintained. You can look at that in any way that you like, whether it be from a more religious standpoint or an existential stance, but there's no one true answer. Anyone can have their own view on it, as much as anyone can ask the question of what is a completely “fulfilled” life? There's nothing wrong with that. That's the beauty of being human. We can all be different on our beliefs and perspectives and views on things, but we know that it's all going to end the same way. As Alexander Graham Bell says, “When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.”

Death is more than just a closed door. It’s a step towards whatever you believe in.

A Love Letter to Terry Pratchett

It's hard to really talk about or think about any of the Discworld books without thinking about Terry Pratchett. Pratchett passed away from complications due to Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 66 in 2015. Even though he had written over 59 stories (41 of those that had been in the Discworld series), he had a lot to say about his own view of mortality and the way he viewed the world. The Discworld series has been criticized for some of its views on other topics, such as religion, war, and even death and mortality. Even though these books are criticized as much as they are acclaimed for their satire, wit and charm, there is some value in viewing another person's way of life. It's just another perspective that you can view and acknowledge if you wish, and for me, I think that Reaper Man (as well as the Death series of Discworld books in general), are a very interesting way to look at life from the complete opposite perspective. Death may be the end, but there’s still humanity in death and knowing that you had a life worth living in the first place.

So, thank you, Sir Terry Pratchett, for allowing me to feel a little more human from the perspective of a Death who has an unequivocal love of humanity (and cats).

If you want to read more about Discworld, I would check out the other books in the series! You can read them in any order, but I would suggest with the Death series first since they are the easiest to get into. If you want to maybe listen to another comedic take on art and death, watch this special called “Randy Writes a Novel”. It’s a fun way to kill an hour if you have time (or simply as silly background noise).

Thank you for reading if you read this far, and I hope you enjoyed! Featured Image by REGINE THOLEN on Unsplash Cornfield photo by Benjamin Merkle on Unsplash