Essay on Ironweed
Death, no matter who you are, will follow you for the rest of your life if you let it. In William Kennedy’s novel, Ironweed, the feeling of death haunts the living. The story of Francis takes place in Albany New York, during 1938. Francis was a well off man until the death of his son, which caused his entire life to be altered. As a homeless man living on the streets, Francis symbolizes the death that lingers around him. When Francis was a teenager, he threw a rock at a scab that was working for the trolley, and the man ended up dying. This was the first time that Francis was told to run away from the situation. When confronted with the situation by the ghost, Francis felt no remorse for this man and felt that he had just cause for what he did.