Two things in life are certain: death and taxes.  This is a common idiom, a cliché.  When we are taught to write, we are told to steer away from using clichés.  Don’t teach a lesson that has already been taught.  Say something new.  Thus, a true consideration of many clichés is absent in popular literature.  In this manner, our collection of literature is lacking.  Avoiding certain phrases because they are repeated too much results in the opposite effect: they are not repeated enough and are mostly absent in our perspective of life.  Alan Seeger, however, as a soldier, was placed in a situation where he was forced to consider a cliché: the imminence of death.  Ana Homayoun is an author and college counselor.  In her book Erasing the Finish Line, she encourages students to look beyond college and guides them on handling college admissions. May it be a product of Seeger’s being, his poem “I Have a Rendezvous with Death” forms a much-needed evaluation of the inevitability of death and encourages a certain perspective.  As distant as it may seem, Erasing the Finish Line utilizes a contrasting perspective to apply it to an issue, specifically a student’s journey toward college. 

Although both works have distinct perspectives, they both display a unique and thought-out view on the same topic.  Seeger directly speaks of death.  Homayoun, however, writes about college admissions.  It can be unclear at first how the topic would relate to death.  However, subtle though it may be, Homayoun forms a complete perspective that may be applied to the inevitability of death.  She argues that a student should be long-term oriented and consider the larger picture of one’s life when applying for college. The argument for long-term orientation can be applied to any situation in life.  As life and death are so intertwined, the argument can also be applied to managing the inevitability of death.  Thus, both works can be used as guides for managing your mortality.

While they discuss the same topic, the works express separate but similar views.  In “I Have a Rendezvous with Death,” Seeger accepts that death will come.  In Erasing the Finish Line, Homayoun encourages the reader to optimize their life situation.  Both ideas start with the understanding that we are mortals.  Thus, they stem from the same concept.  However, their solutions to this issue are contrasting.  Seeger is passive while Homayoun encourages readers to be active.  Alternately, if you hold Seeger’s worldview, Homayoun is overly optimistic while he is harsh and realistic but utilizes his pessimism to accept and manage the truths of life.  Thus, despite the similarities of the arguments, they are opposing, so much so that they would hold opposing opinions on each other’s views.

Although both works propose different solutions to similar issues, they differ in how they present and use their perspectives.  “I Have a Rendezvous with Death” is a reflection on the author's situation.  Seeger is considering how the message applies to him.  Erasing the Finish Line, meanwhile, analyzes how a general message applies to a more specific situation that most people have experienced.  While both works apply their message, one is an internal contemplation while the other is a rumination on popular life choices.  In other words, while Erasing the Finish Line is a guide for readers, “I Have a Rendezvous with Death” is a guide for the author.  Additionally, the works vary in that Seeger speaks directly of death while the topics discussed by Homayoun are loosely tied.  The connection for the book must be independently realized by the reader.  Thus, the works appear completely unconnected to the casual reader.  A deeper analysis is necessary to find any connection.

In their works, Alan Seeger and Ana Homayoun both present similar but contrasting arguments on managing the reality of mortality.  While Seeger explicitly talks about death, Homayoun’s argument is less directly tied to the topic.  The works represent two ends of an argument that — mostly ignored in literature though it may be — is one of the biggest factors in how one handles major life decisions.  It is also central to culture and politics.  In fact, Geert Hofstede identified short- versus long-term orientation as one of six dimensions of a culture.  For such an important consideration, it is a disappointingly rare theme in literature.  Thus, this connected purpose in the works is a more unique connection than it would appear.  Given the importance of the consideration, the uniqueness of this connection is a sign of a missing element in literature.  Authors must start writing about death to allow the public to think deeply about these decisions rather than unconsciously forming a somewhat uninformed opinion on one of life’s most critical questions.