Endgame -- Abigale Bell

"I am inevitable." You Marvel fans out there will recognize this line. As he snaps his fingers to wipe out half of all life, Thanos speaks these words with a sense of premonition. Hope for the world is lost in this moment. 

Larkin's poem, Aubade, carries the same theme of sure fate. For the poet, death is inescapable. The voice in Aubade is seaching for meaning and finally seems to settle in the fact that things are the way they are and cannot change. While reading Larkin's poem, I was reminded of Thanos from Avengers: Endgame. "Most things may never happen: this one will" (Larkin, line 34). The end is inevitable. While Lakin dispels the idea that humanity can change on its own and accepts that, Thanos saw a world he wanted to change. In Larkin's words, "One side will have to go" (44). For him, genocide was the solution to bring balance to the world. He took the power to cause the end. Obviously that's a little misguided, but overall, Thanos is looking for a solution to bring purpose to his life. He asks the same questions as Larkin. 

In Aubade, there is a contradiction in imagery that I think brings greater awareness to the message of the poem. The title, which refers to a poem or song dedicated to the morning, doesn't seem to make sense with the content. Instead of being full of images of life and newness that one might associate with dawn, the poet greets us with death and monotony. Instead of light, he speaks of darkness. Finally, at the end of the poem, the sun rises and the reader looks on the city as it awakes, but is it really life one sees? With the constant threat of death, lack of hope, and purpose only found in work, can the people really be alive?

Aside from the similarities of 20th century poetry to Marvel's Endgame, this poem brings to light universal questions like: what is the meaning of life? Does life have purpose? As Christians, we understand the value of human life and its purpose in the fact that we are created by God. The sense of monotony in life shown in Aubade and the diregard for life in Endgame can be overshadowed by the knowledge that each person has unique value to God. So what is my endgame? I understand that death is inevitable in this fallen world, but I have hope and purpose in my life in Christ. 


Commented on Bug's and Emory's posts.

Comments

  1. Bug OlsenJanuary 31, 2022 at 10:50 PM

    I love what you said about Thanos trying to find purpose. I think that both of these authors saw the evil around them and decided that there was no real purpose and thus tried to find their own, which continually reminded me of the book of Ecclesiastes. I also enjoyed the irony of the title, since it reflects his idea that there is no longer hope nor purpose for him in life. Personally I am surprised he did not comit suicide, based on his writings.

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