To Hell with Dying

As a young adult of 24, the narrator looks at Mr. Sweet in the immediate wake of his death, and, as her final words of the story, sees him as her “first love” (Paragraph 21). The tone and reflective positionality of the story’s narration help illustrate the emotional impact on the narrator as both a child and an adult, but it also helps contrast her view of Mr. Sweet in the different stages of her life. Despite his drunkenness and bouts of depression, the narrator maintains a positive and admiring attitude toward Mr. Sweet because of the joy he brought her; but she’s aware that her wholly affectionate perception of Mr. Sweet is due partially to childhood innocence. The flaws or struggles he carried are referred to passingly or even positively when the narrator discusses her younger memories; meanwhile, as she ages, she utilizes more mature language and begins to accept the reality of death. In this way, Walker makes a point about how youthful innocence allows for the development of a fuller, more forgiving sense of love, and though the love doesn’t necessarily leave, the innocence is lost in adulthood.

The relationship between the narrator, a child, and Mr.