Learning about Death

Donald Barthelme's "School," is more what we might consider a narrative in that the teacher of the kids in the school describes the story from a first-person style. He doesn't so much say what he is doing as the text progress, but retells events over a great span of time.

At first as we read, the instructor, Edgar, speaks of his class's adventures with trying plant trees, snakes, and herbs. Later, they move onto salamanders, gerbils, and finally puppies. Unfortunately, all of these creatures die as the class progresses through what might be considered more simple life-forms and onto more complex ones after. The second to last page depicts how some of the people in the local town die.

Eventually, the class begins to ask about the nature of life in a small dialogue asking is life defined by death. The teacher replies that death is defined by life. Both these things are true in their own ways as one shouldn't be so preoccupied with death to not enjoy life. But one should not take life for granted either as it does not last forever.

In the conclusion of the story, the class urges Edgar to make love with his assistant,Helen, and at first is hesistant but in the end does so. He tells the class that they shouldn't be frightened to learn about anything. This parallels the fact that he travels through discussions of death with the children as well as shows them an "assertion" of why they should not be frightened of learning through the wonder of sex. This might be a metaphor for the class beginning to learn about the nature of life, love, and how they come about seeing as the rest of the story is shadowed in death.