Where I By Robinson Jeffer

For most, the subject of death is a taboo; it is a topic that most avoid, both in conversation and in thought. People have a tendency to fear that which they do not understand. Death is the ultimate mystery, a fate that no one escapes and no one understands. In this mystery, most find fear. Some, however, find it comforting. Robinson Jeffers's "Where I?" Describes a woman at the end of her life who had found comfort and even excitement in death. In the poem, Jeffers considers the inevitability of death, which leads him to wonder whether it is best to die quickly or to prolong life. Jeffers's description of the dying woman is dismal to begin with. He states, "This woman cannot live more than one year. / Her growing death is hidden in a hopeless place" (1-2). At first, Jeffers notices how imminent the woman's death is. He recognizes that she is clearly ailing and will be gone soon. Initially, the revelation seems hopeless. After all, death is finite. It is common to think of death as sad and abysmal. [e-mail]
Jeffers says, "She looks at her own hands and thinks ‘In a year / These will be burnt like rags in the crematory" (5-6). Initially, this line seems to suggest dread toward the thought of dying. However, it is actually just a morbid observation. Although the woman knows she will die and her body will be destroyed, she recognizes that she will no longer be there. "I shall not feel it. Where I? Where I? Not anywhere" finishes the woman in Jeffers’s poem (7). She considers where she may be after her death and ultimately concludes that she will be nowhere. Although the original depiction of the woman's decline is depressing, it begins to foster a sense of