TA TALKS BACK: MORTALITY VS IMMORTALITY

TA member Just a girl talks about the choice between mortality and immortality:

“When you can live forever, what do you live for?” As fans of the Twilight Saga, we are faced with this very burning question, not only from Edward or Bella’s perspective, but from our own as well. This question relates not only to the vampires of the story, but each reader who will come to ponder his or her own mortality. To be or not to be an immortal, that is the question and a tough one at that. Bella makes her decision quite early in the saga, but as I considered all of the pros and cons of an immortal life, I’m certain I could have not come to her conclusion so easily.

In contemplating this scenario, I do not place myself in Bella’s shoes. It’s difficult to be objective when you’re so madly in love and I imagine that many immortals did not come to be an immortal with as much to gain as Bella. Bella would enter the immortal world with a new family, the love of her existence, and much more. Hardly any vampire could say the same.

Setting love and the Cullens aside, why would anyone wish to become immortal? The first reason is very simple; you will never die. For those who fear the reaper, that alone is enough. But being an immortal has many more perks. As an immortal, you get to witness history. Forget reading about it in text books, you were there! You get to watch as the world changes, as new technologies emerge, as life for everyone is altered. When you can live forever, you get a chance to travel the world, learn to do anything you’ve ever dreamed of, earn various degrees, and reading all the classics. Cast off the chains of a mortal life, you are bound to no one and nothing.

With all immortal life has to offer, who wouldn’t want to give up their lives? Me. As I imagined all of the wonders of the life immortal, I quickly discovered the pitfalls. One of the biggest for me is the loss of family and friends. You watch as your family and friends die one by one, knowing that if you live forever, you will never see them again. As an immortal, you are not guaranteed a soul and you are not guaranteed any kind of afterlife if you are unfortunately dismembered and set ablaze. And what if you were to find your “Bella” or “Edward”? We know how much Edward struggled with the idea of giving Bella the life of an immortal. Could we do the same? Next, I feel there would be an incredible amount of isolation as an immortal. The secret of an immortal life is a heavy burden. You must constantly move and keep to yourself in order to maintain that secrecy. You have to adapt to change, and for someone like myself, that can be quite difficult.

Living forever also means observing the horrors of human life. This means witnessing wars, pandemics, suffering, and possibly the end of human civilization. Then what? What happens if there is indeed an apocalypse? Do you continue on, while all else has vanished? How wonderful would your immortal life be then? The idea of forever is one my mind struggles to comprehend. I often wonder if I had the chance to become immortal might there come a time when forever becomes too long for me to bear?

From books like the Twilight Series to the movie Highlander, we as a society will continue to contemplate the possibilities and struggles of an immortal life. It will also continue to be a hotly debated topic amongst Twilighters, with each fan ultimately making the decision that would right for them. Some may read this and feel I have nitpicked this subject, but aren’t these the important things we would consider before making this very big and very permanent decision?

Who wants to live forever? Not me.

Talk Back to us….what do you think?