I remember reading the story for the first time and my feelings of pity and horror when the protagonist's decline began.
With lifespans increasing, many of us will have Charlie's experience.
With lifespans increasing, many of us will have Charlie's experience.
When you're that young, you're used to the idea that you will constantly learn, grow, and expand your horizons. The idea of regression is both real and likely is frightening and motivating. It's truly a story that has stuck with me.
It may just be a side effect of my dyslexia coping, but I read it as ‘analogy’ until reading your comment. Even then, I’m am pretty sure everyone knew they meant ‘analogy’ and just moved on. It’s okay to point out mistakes, but please be civil when doing so.
According to Wiktionary:
- (rhetoric) A narrative in which a character, place, or event is used to deliver a broader message about real-world issues and occurrences.
- A picture, book, or other form of communication using such representation.
- A symbolic representation which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, usually a moral or political one.
He might have been triggered by my use of "average". I realize it now that it may not have been adequate, sorry for that, English is not my first language.
The only reason some people escape this fate is that they die too young.
of every person
(Pedantically, that decline may take less than 15 seconds.)
Of course, you'd probably die pretty quickly, but nobody would stop you.
The chance of living on a proverbial paradisal desert island isn't available anymore; those places are desirable!
What does this mean? I doubt it stands for the political acronym that first comes to my mind.
It's not only their dream, it's also the plot of one of the world's oldest works of literature (The Epic of Gilgamesh). Distress over the inevitability of death is not a modern phenomenon, but we have succeeded in extending our lives further than any previous generation.