he cruelty of the war. Therefore, she showed an extraordinary bravery later on, which was the representation of their supreme love — the same belief, together with the mutual understanding and support in jeopardy. It’s also the climax of the story: the integration of war and love. And the title of the story “Nobody Ever Dies” is rather meaningful. Though numberless soldiers died in the war, nobody ever died, for their spirit never failed to encourage the living. In the story, at the sight of Enrique’s death, Maria was fully aware what she should do. She cried for help from the dead, and indeed, it was the dead that smoothed away her fear of danger and gave her great confidence and courage. Just as Enrique said, “nobody ever dies for nothing”. If one dies for justice, he will more or less leave the living with something to follow. And what he has cost will certainly be repaid by the final victory. So the dead are the pioneers and guides of their successors. In this way, his death is not worthless.Also, the ending of the story is very enlightening. It ends in a sharp comparison between Maria and the Negro spy. The girl would be faced with the enemy’s excruciation, but her face was shining proudly and her head held high; while the Negro would get a lot of money for his night work, but he was so frightened that even his voodoo beads could not help his fear. All this was brought on by their different beliefs. Maria overcame her fear and gathered strength with the help of the dead, while the Negro gave his soul away to the money at the cost of a just cause.In a word, I greatly enjoy reading the short story “Nobody Ever Dies”, and especially appreciate its theme, title and ending, as well as the vivid plots. It really leaves the reader with endless aftertaste....
