Those Who Are Dead Are Only Now Forgiven By Ron Rash Analysis
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“If you begin something, you must finish it”, this is a phrase I have heard repeatedly from my Teachers, my Pastor and my Parents. I have been advised to finish college, to persist and finish the road to Salvation, and to finish all my successes in Life. In Ron Rash's “Those Who are Dead are Only Now Forgiven” readers can see the perfect example of how those who begin something in life do not matter, but those who finish it. Jody and Lauren were Highschool sweethearts as well as the most exemplary students their school could offer. They both had the same plans, which was: earn good enough grades to get into a good college, with scholarships, and get out of the small town which had trapped and destroyed their families. Sadly, all good things…show more content… On page 127, The story kicks off with Jody stating “The Shackleford Place was haunted”. This place is described as their intimate place where many of their wild memories reside. Unfortunately, Jody and Lauren’s “exciting love place” is transformed into a haven for meth addicts, chained by their drug habits, mere ghosts of themselves only seen as the living dead found in the story’s title itself. The demons that haunt the Shackleford Place is characterized as Meth. Meth is a dangerous drug that stimulates your central nervous system by causing it to release more dopamine which is a neurotransmitter that gives the individual an utter satisfaction just like Cocaine does. It breaks you down little by little destroying your organism and making you look older than you really are, just like it did to Lauren. When Jody met again with Lauren’s brother, he explained that they tried to help out Lauren by taking her to get treated, but it didn’t work out. He also advised Jody to stay in Raleigh: “Stay in Raleigh … This place is like a spider’s web. You stay long enough you’ll get stuck in it for good. You’ll end up like her [meaning his sister]. Or me.” found on page 170. Jody himself expressed that he “had watched other classmates, including many in college prep,