Why is it that people who have a few months to live do sort of crazy things like skydiving, bungee jumping, or mountain climbing? Is it because they are not afraid of death or is it because they accept the fact that death is near? Instead of hiding behind death, they’re using whatever time they have left to do anything they want. Since they know death is near, they are appreciative and are able to take advantage of it. This is similar to Jean Paul Sartre’s idea of death as liberating.
The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali reflects the idea of Sartre in his painting. It is one of his most famous works of art. The painting is currently housed in the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In the painting, it shows pocket watches, detached from their chains, melting slowly on rocks and branches of a tree with the ocean as a backdrop. Observing more closely, one part of the paintings is basked in sunlight while the other is shrouded in shadows. I think the sunlight represent life while the latter represents death. When you think of life, you think of rainbows and unicorns. On the other hand, when you think of death, skulls and rain cloud comes to mind. Also, there is an orange clock covered with ants. The ants attacking the clock indicate the anxiety associated with time. And what are the origins of our anxieties associated with time? Is it procrastinating on a project that is due in a few hours? Or is it not having completed or accomplished something before we die? Time is unchangeable. In this painting, time continues to flow even though the watches are melting. Therefore, the melting clocks represent the fact that everything slowly degrades with time. Whether we are aware of it or not, it is reasonable to believe that we all understand, even if only on a subconscious level that some day we are going to die. This understanding of the reality of death may change our behavior and not let us live our life the way we wanted to. During our daily lives, we're always rushed and busy, trying to get all of our work done on time. According to Sartre, as soon we accept death for what it is, we can finally have the freedom to live as we choose. It is something that everyone must accept in order to lead a fulfilling life. Like Sartre said, “we can each do any damn thing we want.”
Jean Paul Sartre’s philosophy on death reminds us to make every day count. It teaches us to not waste a single second doing nothing while we could be doing something. We become more grateful and determined to accomplish what we want before death so let’s live our lives to the fullest.
