Let's Talk About Something[By Hex]

Let's Talk About Death in Storytelling

My friend has convinced me that the concept of death is something that all writers should spend a lot of time thinking about and establishing into their own works because the symbolic meaning that it can bring can affect your story immensely.

I want to talk about two things, first is the concept of death in One Piece and then the other is the concept of death in my own story, The CoDas.

I'm making this chapter as a means of discussion and brainstorming ideas, so feel free to discuss with me how you wish to perceive death in your own works.

I watched this video which he recommended to me which talks about the Themes of Death in One Piece. It's a good watch and only 5 minutes, I recommend watching either before or after you read this, it's up to you.

But to sum it up, the concept of Death in One Piece is that Death is not the end.

As mentioned in the video, when Dr.Hiriluk had his final moments in the story. He asked a question, when does a person die?

Is it a bullet through the heart? An incurable disease? Poison?
No, a man dies when they are forgotten!

This was a simple yet powerful statement in the series yet I and many others turned a blind eye into how meaningful this statement means to the One Piece universe. When you consider Hiriluks statements, everything else makes so much more sense.

Ace is not dead, Whitebeard is not dead, Gol D. Roger is not dead...because all of their legacies live on among others. They are not afraid of death because they will never die until they are forgotten.

The video brings up so many examples that make the meaning of death in One Piece so symbolic. Why wouldn't Zoro step back during his fight with Mihawk? Why did he state that he would rather die?

- Because he has the dream of being the worlds greatest swordsman and if he dies trying to achieve that dream then someone else will carry on that legacy, therefore he is not afraid to die but if he were to run away then he would be running away from his goals and from his dreams. He would rather die than to run away from his dreams.

It brings a bigger message to One Piece where Oda tries to tell the reader that they should not be afraid of death because death is not the end. If you have dreams, if you have goals then you should strive for them no matter what and if you die on that path then it's alright, you died striving for what you believed in and for what you wanted.

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Now I wanna talk about my own story, The CoDas because that way I can express some of my own ideas and allow you all to get ideas of your own. It's a win/win, in my opinion.

(This will have some spoilers for my own story but I think there is more benefit in letting out my ideas to others than to keep it all in. I'm sorry for those who don't want to or aren't interested in this section so you are welcome to skip this)


Now after watching this video, I thought long and hard about how I want to portray death in my own story and here it is.

Death is symbolic of Peace while Life is symbolic of Suffering and until you have achieved peace, you will never die.

The core concept of my story was always about Karma: the idea that what you do to others will eventually be returned to you in another form or manner and this correlates with my own concept of life and death.

Humans, in general, have to suffer through many things in life but that also makes Humans appreciate the things that are good in life.

To love is to first experience loss. To have compassion is to first experience hatred. To be happy is to first experience sadness. To find hope is to first feel despair.

To find peace in death, you must suffer through life.

Nathan encompasses this throughout the whole journey of The CoDas.

He is born into the world with abnormal cries, cries of pain and hatred for being born into a world of suffering. No spirit wanted to choose him as a host except for Regna 'The Crow of Rage' who resonated with Nathan's subconscious anger.

And when he is given the dream of the oath, he had decided his own fate to suffer for the sake of saving others.

This doesn't just apply to Nathan but to everyone. CoDas and Colorless alike.

When a Human or even CoDa dies without peace, they are more likely to be reborn into Colorless and this also applies vice versa. It is a neverending cycle of rebirth until one is able to find peace when they have suffered enough through life.

The funny thing is that the initial concept of death in The CoDas when I first came up with it, is that I didn't want characters to die but to be turned into villains through either corruption or their own will and this coincidentally fits with my current idea with death. It also coincides with the famous quote, "You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain."

Either you have suffered enough to gain peace in death or you haven't suffered at all and must continue to live until then. If you think about it, Death is a reward for those who struggle through life but you can't just shoot yourself and gain the reward like that.

You HAVE to suffer, you HAVE to struggle. Then, and ONLY THEN, will the death reward you with peace.

(Just a reminder that this is still a WIP)
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Well, that is all folks, Its not much, I just wanted to express some ideas and also allow potential readers to give some attention to the importance of death in writing.
I hope this somehow helped out!

Anyways, questions for ya all!

1. What do you think of the way Oda portrays Death in One Piece?

2. What do you think of the way I portray Life and Death in my story? Any Flaws, maybe something I should consider?

3. How would you portray Life and Death in your own works? Potential ideas?

I hope to spark some discussion in the comments! Again, thanks for reading!