Appointment in Samarra

The feeling given by the tale is a cold one, but also one eased by a sense of the inevitability of death and the sense that no matter what we do, when it is our time to keep our appointment, it will be kept, however we might try to avoid it. Maugham's Death, then, draws on the feelings and thoughts of the reader with respect to death, and uses those pre-existing feelings and thoughts to ground his rather thin message about death's inescapability.

The oddest aspect of Maugham's Death is the fact that the merchant and the servant both knew Death on sight. It might be expected that the servant, about to die, would recognize Death and would even misinterpret Death's surprised look as "threatening." It seems strange, however, hat the merchant could simply go to the marketplace and immediately recognize Death. Does this mean that any individual could recognize Death wandering about in the marketplace, but that they were not afraid unless she gave them what they interpreted as a threatening gesture? It is a peculiar and unlikely touch to the

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told by Death. But here the Grimms' Death shows us how much different he is from the detached Death of Maugham's story. It is unthinkable that Maugham's Death would have considered any delay whatsoever in her taking of the servant in that story. In the Grimms' tale, however, we see Death becoming a godfather, granting his godson wealth, fame and power, and now, instead of taking the doctor in rage for his breaking of the pact, Death forgives the doctor "because you are my godchild" (Grimms 7). However, he warns the doctor that if he cheats Death out of a dying person again, Death will take the doctor instead. When the doctor does it again---healing the king's daughter ---Death does take the doctor instead. But before he does, Death reveals another side of himself lacking in the portrait of death by Maugham. Maugham's death was an efficient woman with no time to waste. It seems unthinkable that Maugham's death would even consider becoming involved in her client's life, and much less emotionally seeking revenge for a wrong done her by one of her clients. However, that is precisely what Death does in the Grimms' tale. He has become godfather to this man, has guided him through life, given him power and wealth and fame, and has
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Approximate Word count = 1726
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)