Theme Writing Exercise: I Wish I Were Dead

Here is a sample theme writing exercise penned by Marita Sevilla more than 60 years ago (Feb 25, 1946) for her class in English 2 - b.

I Wish I Were Dead

If it were not a sin, I would wish myself rolling with the angry waves in the middle of the sea, unfeeling, dead, no longer of this world, but of another. Yes, I wish I were dead, for if I were dead, I would be free from the miseries that this world seems to be full of, free from the tears that accompany each step of life, free from the heartaches and disappointments that render one as dead anyway.

If I were dead, I would cease to be hungry -- hungry for the material things that must satisfy my ever-increasing wants, hungry for friends, for fun, for excitement, hungry for love. If I were no longer living, my mind would cease to think and worry; my heart would stop trying to beat in time with someone else's heartbeats; I would be numb to pain, to sorrow, to unhappiness. If I were now lying cold in my watery grave, I would not feel it cold and wet. Nor would I feel the bitter coldness of the world, the annoying heat, the fury of storms of rain and dust. I would no longer cry over broken dreams or long for lost loves.

If I were dead, I would be lost from this world, but I would nevertheless, find myself in a Heaven no earthly imagination can picture. I would be happier, surely, if I were dead!

For your theme writing exercise, write a piece entitled "I Wish I Were Dead" from the point of view of someone who has lived a full and wonderful life. Put in in your blog, then please contact me so that I may put a link to your writing. Thanks!

[ First posted on 10/03/2006 by Manuel Viloria ]