Life and Death in The Waste Land

I found a theme of “life and death” in section 1, lines 19 through 30, and section 2, lines 127 through 172 in The Waste Land. I noticed that the two passages made mention of a “dry stone no sound of water”, “fear in a handful of dust” and “Hurry up please it’s time!”, along with other references toward death and the fragility of life, such as biblical references and even a reference to Jesus himself as the “Son of man” in line 20 of the first section. The following is my own explanation of this theme.

As one gets older, death crops up more often, and you’re more vulnerable to it as a 70 year old than as a 20 year old. You eventually find a purpose with your life, and hopefully that purpose leads into a satisfying career. Without some sort of fulfillment in life, you’re just “wasting away” until death. In many ways, death itself can be referred to as a “waste land” in this sense. There’s nothing to add meaning to your life – all there is is just you going through the motions. But it's not just that.

Death doesn’t have to be just a physical death; it can be an emotional and spiritual death as well. When you have no purpose or fulfillment in life, it seems as if your spirit is empty, and you are searching for something to replace it. In a sense, the entire piece can be seen in this way: a person is searching for the meaning of life and death, and is trying to make meaning of their sufferings, only to find that this suffering is essentially part of life. Thus is the theme of “life and death” as present in The Waste Land.