"Passing Before Life's Very Eyes"

Wolfgang uses pathos in the pictures and texts throughout his comic strip. In the beginning, the pictures are pretty confusing and the storyline is hard to follw because there is no text. But as the story continues and text is given, the story and purpose become clearer. Wolfgang first uses pathos at the beginning of the text by showing several pictures of an old man dying in a hospital bed. When I saw these pictures, I became a little sad. It reminded me of several grandfathers of mine that also passed away of old age in hospitals. It also made me wonder about what kind of life this old man lived and just what kind of person he was. The next couple of pictures shows the man's spirit leave his body and take a journey through his life.

They say that your life flashes before your eyes right before you die and this is true for the old man. But instead of seeing his life from when he was young to when he gets old, his spirit travels the opposite way. This whole idea of "life before your very eyes/memory lane" special as the comic calls it is another way Wolfgang uses pathos. Many people have different ideas and feelings about what you experience right before you die and this whole idea is kind of controversial. I personally believe that it is based on your religious views and the upbringing of a person.

As the comic continues, the old man's spirit realizes that some of his memories are different and not as he recalls them. He sees a dream he had all the time as a kid then it changes to something he don't remember at all. He wonders if it's a dream or if he actually died. His younger self tells him that he is dying and the whole "memory lane" is just his mind distracting him from the fact that he soon to be dead. His younger self also tells him that everything just turns black and it's just over, nothing else happens and he doesn't go to heaven. This is also another way the author uses pathos. Once again, everyone has their own ideas about where you go after you die. Saying that everything just goes black and it's just over and you don't go to heaven would strike up different emotions of the audience. Some people would agree with this idea while others would be appalled by the fact that there is no heaven.

The comic strip ends with several pictures showing the old man and his younger self turning into different things such as bees, tap dancers and distorted disney characters. I do not understand the purpose of these pictures. But in the last two pictures the man's younger self says, "Though now that I actually consider it-it probably doesn't fade to black...more than likely, things just sort of". Leaving the audience hanging also would be another way Wolfgang uses pathos. This creates curiosity in the reader. They wonder what happens if things don't fade to black. I like that Wolfgang left the end out because it makes me able to fill the end in myself. The reader is able to fill in their own idea about what happens when you die and where you go. It also makes me wonder if finding those answers is important. Maybe just the fact that you lived your life the way you wanted is what matters the most.