Brians Search For The Meaning Of Life In W.o. Mitchells Who Has Seen :: essays research papers

Brian's Search for the Meaning of Life in W.O. Mitchell's Who Has Seen the Wind By Rodrigo Goller Through the brilliantly written book Who Has Seen the Wind, Mitchell is able to very effectively describe the tale of one boy and his growth on the Saskatchewan prairie. Brian's childhood revolves around aspects of everyday life, and in it he attempts to explain that which has evaded and mystified even the great minds of our times: the meaning of life. He is able to somewhat understand the meaning of life though his experiences with birth, particularly that of a pigeon, and a rabbit. His up-close-in-your-face learning of death, at an early age, when his dog, and subsequently his father dies. Lastly Brian's realization that it's all just sensations, and feelings complete his search for the meaning of life. Early in his life, Brian has many experiences with birth. The first of these comes to him at an early age when he sees newborn pigeons. When his father explains how these pigeons were made, Brian understands that birth is the beginning of life. Four years later, a similar conversation comes up when Brian asks his father how rabbits are born. With this new found knowledge, Brian also sees another newborn. But this time it was a two-headed calf, who dies at birth. Because of this, Brian comes to the realization that "God isn't very considerate"(166), for sometimes he lets things like the two headed cow come into this world, only to suffer and then die. The Second instance in which Brian is confronted with the meaning of life, comes to him when he sees death, and asks himself why. When Brian's pigeon died, he asked his father why it had happened. "Why?" said Brian. "It happens to things," his father said. "Why does it happen to things?" He turned up his face to his father, cheeks stained with drying tears. "That's the way they end up." Brian looked down at the baby pigeon in his hand. "It was an egg. Now it's stopped." "Yes Spalpeen, it's stopped." (56) Although this was hard for Brian to face, he was once again confronted with death. This second time, his dog Jappy dies crushed by a carriage of horses as "the front wheels of the dray missed Jappy. The hind ones did not. A shrill and agonized cry arose." (175) As Brian stood by, not able to help his dog, Brian "knew that this lifeless thing [ once had lived, but now ] his dog was dead,"(176) and that there was nothing he could ever do to bring Jappy back.