The Good Short Life

Written by Dudley Clendinen
 

The Good Short Life is a heartwarming essay, in which, Dudley Clendinen enjoys the final months of his life. Clendinen, who is just 36, was recently diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Knowing that his life is coming to an end, Clendinen wants to go out on a positive note. He has no interest in going through the expensive, painful treatments in order to extend his life just a few months longer. Dudley is also thankful for the life he had, and he does not want his friends and family to go through the saddening journey he traveled with his mother, visiting her in the hospital everyday for the last year of her life. Clendinen wrote this essay in the form of a testimonial; he expresses his thoughts and feelings during the short time that he has to live. His purpose behind writing The Good Short Life is to inform readers of his unusual way to die, which is to accept death and not spend unnecessary money on painful treatments. This essay is directed towards a large audience of people, because everyone will die someday, and face decisions similar to those of Dudley Clendinen. In order to get this point across to readers, Clendinen uses positive diction and euphemism. Clendinen explains the final months of his life using short simple sentences that are easily understood by the reader. Although, he is describing death, which is usually a saddening subject, Clendinen uses positive diction to create a jovial tone. He focuses on the positive points of his life, instead of the fact that he is dying, which helps him achieve his point and convince the reader to accept death. In addition to diction, Clendinen uses euphemism to achieve his purpose. After the doctor diagnosed him with ALS, Clendinen pronounces, “It suddenly hit me that I was going to die” (64). Instead of saying, “pass away,” Clendinen uses a far more blunt word, “die.” Overall, both the diction and euphemism relate to pathos and appeal to the reader’s emotions, making them more inclined to support Clendinen’s purpose for writing this essay. I found Clendinen’s purpose rather odd, although I feel he did a great job of expressing his opinion on death and convincing the reader to support his idea by using the rhetorical devices, diction and euphemism.

Source- biohealthscience.org

This image displays Lou Gehrig. ALS is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease after the famous Yankees baseball player died of ALS in 1941.