"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"
Dylan Thomas
As his father dies, Thomas uses paradoxes to reject the common acceptance of death. However, he eventually accepts the universality of death.
"Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night" (Thomas, 968). Ultimately, wise men must one day accept that their wisdom is limited to life. However, they inevitably rebel against the natural order. Likewise, the deeds of good men seem inconsequential, wild men desire more time, and grave men rescind all acceptances of death in favor of blissful ignorance.
Overall, the actions of dying men seem to defy logic. Nevertheless, this paradoxical behavior seems to unite all types of people. To Thomas, this phenomenon seems like the only reasonable course of action for someone whose entire life is coming to an end. He wants this show of humanity from his father.
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