Death Be Not Proud

3 Pages 679 Words

The novel, Death Be Not Proud, by John Gunther, is the story of
the struggle of a child to stay alive. Johnny Gunther Jr.'s constant
hope got him out of bed every morning with a positive attitude. His
outright opposition to the fact that he was going to die and his
determination not to, kept a fiery spirit in him so that he didn't
give up. Johnny's stubborn determination to not accept defeat at so
early an age, along with the tremendous courage he showed when
realizing that he must accept his defeat, is a strong point portrayed
in this novel. Johnny's hope, determination, and courage kept his
death at bay.

One of the main reasons that Johnny remained alive for so much
longer than he should have lived, was the hope that he possessed. He
hoped every day of his illness that he would get better, that his
parents would be spared their grief, or that some doctor would come up
with a revolutionary idea that would heal him. Because of his hope,
Johnny never complained or protested during the entire course of his
illness. He always obeyed the doctors' wishes and followed their
instructions to a "T" because he wanted so desparatly to get well.
Although he realized that eventually his life would end, he still
never gave up the hope that perhaps he could outsmart his fate to die,
if just to steal a few extra hours.

Each day, until his last, the determination Johnny had to get
well, live a normal life, and even maintain his schoolwork was
phenominal. After being away from school for sixteen months, being
tested constantly by doctors, and having a rapidly deteriorationg
brain, Johnny still managed to graduate with his class and be accepted
into Harvard. Throughout his illness, Johnny always had an unwavering
will to survive, to awake the next morning and find that he was well,
that he had only been dreaming the nightmare of his illness. When
Johnny awoke each morning however, he felt ...