How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"That's what it all comes down to in the end," he said. "A person spends his life saying good-bye to other people. How does he say good-bye to himself?" (37.198)
It's not easy to admit that we're going to die. In fact, grappling with the fact of our own mortality might be the core of life, at least according to Murray. We spend our lives watching other people die. We can't watch ourselves die because we're dead at that point, right? That's part of what makes it so hard to admit we're going to die: we can't actually picture being dead.
Quote #8
"It's a way of controlling death. A way of gaining the ultimate upper hand. Be the killer for a change. Let someone else be the dier." (37.147)
How do we get over our fear of death? We could try killing somebody, according to Murray. His logic is this: we spend our whole adult lives cowering in fear of death, but we might feel like we can take control of death if we kill someone else. For Murray the world is divided into killers and diers, and each of us has to choose which one we are. That being said, we don't see Murray running around killing people in this book, so he might just be spitballing on this one.
Quote #9
"I'm afraid to die," she said. "I think about it all the time. It won't go away." (26.72)
When Babette reveals to Jack that she's terrified of death, Jack is crushed. He always thought he was the one in their relationship who feared death. He thought Babette was his rock. But now it turns out they're the same: just a couple of fifty-somethings who can't stand the thought of dying.