When I first think of death, I usually see a creepy figure dressed in dark clothing. However, in “death is not a native new yorker” by Maeve Brennan, death is portrayed as a regular guy having a conversation with one of his fellow riders. Brennan shows that death is not from New York by describing him holding a subway map upside down, which most native New Yorkers would not do. This depiction of death was done wonderfully because it shows death in an amusing form that most people would not normally see.
This piece stood out to me because of death’s strong characterization. For example, he is confident when talking to the narrator about his experiences of killing people. He states, “every soul i pick up explodes in a thousand different colors as soon as my shadow grazes their skin…” Death even laughs when the narrator asks why he enjoys riding the train. This action of his shows that he is strongly opinionated and doesn’t mind showing it. Additionally, the closing lines flow together well with the assistance of wisely-chosen figurative language. The final line ends as a cliffhanger, but one that the reader feels content with. Overall, Brennan did a fabulous job describing death and the narrator’s takeaway from their subway ride with him.