Axolotl By Julio Cortázar

Death fascinates humans because it represents the unknown. In Julio Cortázar’s story “Axolotl”, he conveys a fascination with the stillness that provokes a notion about death. The story follows an unnamed character who goes to see the axolotls at the aquarium. In the first paragraph, the narrator reveals that he is an axolotl. Then he explains how he came upon the axolotls. One spring morning, the unnamed narrator goes to the Jardin des Plantes. When he gets there, he sees that lions are sad, and the panther is sleeping. He decides to see banal fish at the aquarium, but he feels a connection with the axolotls and watches them for hours. An axolotl is a Mexican salamander that retains larval characteristics into adulthood. After his first encounter