“Life is only meaningful if we live to have meaning.” This literary work by Piers Anthony, “On A Pale Horse,” focuses on the main character, Zane, and how he becomes the embodiment of Death. The story takes place in a world where religion, science, and magic coexist in harmony, with Heaven and Hell playing a role throughout the story. It begins with Zane, who, due to unfortunate circumstances, attempts suicide with a gun. As he does this, Death appears before him, in which, out of fear, she turns the weapon on Death and kills him. As a result, Zane becomes the new Death: a successor. This begins his story of how he adapted to his office, and how he subverted the expectations of said office and implemented new policies with his bold plan of action. Death's role is to gather the souls of those who are in perfect balance – unable to go to Hell or Heaven. Then, it is up to Death's discretion to sort these souls to go to heaven or hell as they see fit. Souls that are intrinsically good or evil will make their own path to their respective domains. There are important themes throughout the narrative of this book, namely: compassion, consequences of actions, and how misogyny is represented. These themes will be compared to Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady and how the writing was influenced by her years of service to the United Kingdom. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The first theme addressed is compassion throughout the book, as it is an important and defining trait of the main character, Zane, that shapes the story. Zane, at the Death office, wants people not to suffer in Death, but to view it as a release from suffering and terror. In one section of the book, this is seen when Death has to collect the soul of a woman in a hospital. Through magic and technology, this woman is kept alive against her will, leaving Death unable to take her soul. After some discussions with the patient, he learned that the people present at the hospital were all being kept alive against their will. After many other patients bear witness to this, he takes it upon himself to cut off the power to these devices, killing the patients inside to free them from suffering. These actions lead to the second theme, the consequences of one's office, being in the position to make a change. In carrying out his functions as Death, he also allows people doomed to death to live. In one scene, Zane has to take the soul of a woman who has poisoned herself. Rather than take her soul, he tells her to find an antidote, so she can change the balance of her soul. Thus, Death had saved his life. As a result, his immortal peers had a low opinion of him, causing distrust in his ability to fulfill his duties. Towards the end of the book, Zane confronts Satan in order to save the woman he loves, Luna Kaftan. Luna had vowed to die less than a month after he met her through a plot by Satan, because Luna would fulfill a role that would challenge Satan in the future. Zane put his disappearance on hold, along with the rest of the world. He does this both for selfish reasons and to show his power in Death's office, this is shown in a sentence Zane says to Satan: "Death is inviolable, as it must be, lest it be be altered by people like you. . Where Death rules, the Lord of the Flies has none. » Because of itstransgressions, he altered the course of the future, defying fate. The third theme focuses on misogyny in the author's writing. This is seen in the conversation between Zane and the woman who had consumed poison to commit suicide: “'I am a woman,' she said with a wry smile. “I owe more to emotion than logic.” This is a recurring theme throughout much of the story, showing women to be emotional and absurd, while it is men who must make the lead in decisions. However, this is not an unexpected trait in science fiction and fantasy writing: "Early male writers objectified and sexualized female characters, with depictions ranging from complete exclusion to misogynistic exploitation. This could also be explained by the audience Anthony is writing for. “Then not only were the majority of writers assumed to be men, but so were readers. » Although the narrative is biased against women in the case of Anthony's work, it portrays Luna Kaftan as a powerful character due to her political future. A potential source of inspiration could be due to the political climate of the United Kingdom at the time – the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister. Margaret Thatcher began her political career in 1975, where she ran against Edward Heath to become leader of the Conservative Party, which she defeated. Following this election, "Thatcher became the first woman to serve as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons." Due to instability due to disgruntled unions, rising unemployment rates, and the rapid depletion of government funds, Thatcher helped the Conservative Party return to its former state of power in 1979. The same year, Thatcher was appointed Britain's first female Prime Minister. Thus began a new wave of management. During Thatcher's first term as Prime Minister, she increased interest rates to control inflation in the economy. This was a controversial measure aimed at combating the then recession in the United Kingdom. Another bold move was the choice of his allies, Ronald Reagan, then President of the United States, where they shared similar views and political philosophies. Due to her controversial economic and political choices, support for Thatcher began to fade. In 1982, the British territory of the Falkland Islands was invaded by Argentina, triggering the Falklands War. Thatcher sent British troops to retake the islands, which Argentina surrendered two months into the war. This significantly raised Thatcher's popularity rating due to her expeditious actions involving the war, allowing her to be re-elected. During Thatcher's second term, she targeted "labour organizations such as the miners' union, and for the mass privatization of social housing". and public transport. She reduced the prices of social housing under the “Right to Buy” program, increasing the amount of sales from 200,000 to more than a million. She privatized many different industries, including gas, water, coal, and electricity, in order to promote the country's individualism. As a result, the British political situation began to divide – although these actions were successful, critics saw them as a short-term solution. While these policies were in place, the Irish Republican Army attempted to assassinate Thatcher by bombing the Brighton Hotel in 1984. The bombing killed and injured many people, but Thatcher remained unharmed . Without phase, she continued herthird term, once again winning the popular vote. Thatcher seemed to have been at her peak at the start of her third term in 1987. However, the polarization of the country was beginning to take hold. “The gap between rich and poor has continued to widen, homelessness and unemployment have increased amid a new deep recession.” The education system was underfunded due to neglect, as was the case in other parts of the United Kingdom. From 1986 to 1990, average income increased for all except those living in poverty, widening the economic gap. Thatcher attempted to implement a standard curriculum for the education system throughout the United Kingdom, as well as changing the system of socialized medicine that the country had in place. Due to polarization, the support she had built up had all but disappeared, leaving her in an almost powerless state within her party. The final policy consolidating public opinion, was a poll tax which provoked public protests. As a result, Thatcher came under pressure from members of her party to resign as Prime Minister. She announced in November 1990 her intention to resign. A week later, “Thatcher left 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s official residence, for the last time.” On April 8, 2013, Margaret Thatcher died. “On a Pale Horse” and the story of Margaret Thatcher were chosen due to the book's publication date, as it coincides with Thatcher's years in office. Recurring themes can be seen in Thatcher in Anthony's writings. The main character of "On A Pale Horse", Zane, is similar to Thatcher - through the themes mentioned earlier, such as compassion, misogyny and the consequences of actions. Misogyny is chosen in this storyline because of Thatcher's controversial stance. "She was the 'Iron Lady' who was 'not made to transform'." The first theme to compare is compassion. In Anthony's writings, Zane can draw inspiration from Thatcher's policies during her first term. In the book, Zane strives to help others in a time of turmoil through his empathy for the individual. He does this by saving those who are not ready to die, or by helping to put those who are doomed at ease. For Thatcher, she sought to help both the people and industries of the United Kingdom. She first helped fight the recession and retake the Falkland Islands. These actions of Zane and Thatcher make them sympathetic, opening up an attachment to them. In another sense, it increased Thatcher's approval rating and gave Zane some leeway for supporting characters throughout the book. A quote from Thatcher sums it up well: “Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the great path to pride, self-esteem and personal satisfaction.” However, this brings us to the next theme: the consequences of actions. High risk and high reward are the two defining characteristics of bold action. Zane, with his actions to keep those who were supposed to die alive, was seen as incompetent by many other characters throughout the book. In fact, because of this, Purgatory, Death's domain, had dissipated the magic that Death could use, leaving him vulnerable: "You have been declared in violation of your office and your magic has been deactivated." This had put Zane in danger, almost costing him his life. It was Thatcher's third term in office that marked a turning point in her approval in the public eye. His short-term actions had consequences, like the poll tax.