The Idea of Death in Speech Sounds & The Comet

 “They seemed to move in a world silent and asleep,--not dead. They moved in quiet reverence, lest somehow they wake these sleeping forms who had, at last, found peace.” - The Comet

“She had told herself that the children growing up now were to be pitied. They would run through the downtown canyons with no real memory of what the buildings had been or even how they had come to be. Today’s children gathered books as well as wood to be burned for fuel. They ran through the streets chasing one another and hooting like chimpanzees. They had no future. They were now all they would ever be.” - Rye, Speech Sounds

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In “The Comet,” as Jim and Julia pass through the streets of New York, the narrator remarks how they are passing through a world where everyone else is asleep, beside them. They specifically say that those sprawled onto the floor are not dead, only asleep. It then follows up saying that those asleep were finally experiencing peace. In “Speech Sounds,” after Rye is saddened about the memory of her children, now dead from the disease, she reminds herself of something she would tell herself to cope: it’s better now because the children of their new world cannot experience the true joys of childhood. And instead, even the curse of death is better. 

Both quotes portray the belief that in their situations, death is “better,” or more forgiving in their situation, than life. “Speech Sounds” gives us a direct reason why Rye thinks the way she does. Knowing her background as a mother and literature teacher, she was most likely in tune with understanding and appreciating the joys and struggles of daily life. This appreciation probably led her to accept that the world they now lived in would not carry her values, leading to the conclusion that the death of her children was better overall. 

“The Comet” does not give the reader a concrete reason, as “Speech Sounds” did, on why the characters may believe that death is a more peaceful option. However, we can compare using the same thought process used by Rye. She believed that the dead (children, in her case) would not experience the joys of life, anyway, so it was okay for them to pass. Knowing Jim’s background, this could relate to the racial struggles he faced during the time period. At the time, his people would have less freedom and more struggles to fight, compared to others. The idea of a peaceful death could have referred to the ease of “sleeping,” compared to their day-to-day life. 

Going along with the idea of the characters believing death is more desirable and forgiving than living to experience the end of the world, the context surrounding the quote implies an envy of those who had died. In “The Comet,” there were quotes that implied the thought of suicide, such as Jim saying “The world lies beneath the waters now--may I go?” only shortly after the statement tying peace to death. Similarly, the plot of “Speech Sounds” begins as Rye takes on a dangerous journey, risking her safety in hopes of finding her relatives. 

Both statements are said as a form of coping in a time of distress over loss. From there the characters are able to accept the cruelty of what happened to them, managing to disregard their own empathy. Instead of believing that their loved ones were the ones that were the most hurt, by dying, they can not believe that death was a more merciful option.