Olivia Phillips

NBE3U0 - Mr. Syed

Analyzing Creation
How Death Came to the City

Throughout the Caribbean, specifically throughout Barbados, the stories of Anansi the Spider

are stapled folk tales used to teach morals and principles. The stories were brought to the Caribbean

during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, therefore there is not one exact author. One of these stories

includes “How Death Came to the City''.

Death used to live in his little village away from the city. When famine hit, Anansi the spider

was very hungry, but had no luck with hunting. One day, while he was out attempting to hunt, Anansi

found Death’s village. Death was very friendly, and after hearing Anansi’s “ plight, and noting that he

had searched throughout the bush for an animal to kill for food, but had found none,” Death invited

Anansi over to his house. When they arrived Anansi noticed an enormous amount of meat; “Death

owned it all”. Concerned about both himself as well as his wife during the famine, Anansi asked Death

for meat to take back, and Death effortlessly agreed. Back in the city, Anansi was telling his wife that

Death agreed to give them food, yet he got greedy. Anansi waited until Death was away, and stole meat

from the village. Death noticed some meat was missing but did not know who did it. Not soon after,

Anansi “came to Death's village one day, completely unaware that he was still present, and then

gathered a large basket of meat from his stores as he normally did”. Death then confronted him and

asked the reason behind the stealing. Cowardly, Anansi decided to run. Death chased closely behind,

following Anansi to the village. Death claimed the lives of those who did not shut their doors on time.

Now Death lives in the city.

The main characters include Anansi, Death, and Anansi’s wife. Anansi symbolizes greed and

temptation. Though Anansi’s greed is apparent, some could argue that it was a survival instinct due to

the famine, making his negative characteristics more complex. This could be responded to with the fact

that Anansi did not share the meat with anyone but his wife, and risked others’ lives for himself. Greedy
individuals tend to take advantage of generous people, as shown by Anansi’s use of Death.

Death symbolizes someone who has been misrepresented, is vulnerable, and is also taken

advantage of. Death may have been portrayed as a negative character, yet he has proven that there are

two sides to every story. For instance, when “Death told Anansi he could come into his village, and he

would cook food for him,” Death was expecting nothing in return, as his actions were out of generosity.

When Death chased Anansi into the city, people only saw Anansi’s side, villainizing Death. From a

broader perspective, Death can be compared to people with a lower socioeconomic status, who are being

misrepresented, and taken advantage of by major greedy corporations (Anansi in this case). As a result

of this, when some of these individuals make desperate and irrational decisions (such as Death chasing

Anansi), it often results in a negative turn of events, and usually, perspectives are not commonly shared.

Anansi’s wife, despite being a smaller role, symbolizes a bystander. Anansi “told his wife that he

could go to visit Death and take meat when necessary. However, Anansi's greed overcame him and he

told her that he could even steal meat from Death.”, which instantly made her aware of the injustices that

are being committed. She was either oblivious, chose to not stand up for what was right, or could even

been afraid to confront Anansi. No true matter, she had a voice, and so do you. Just like Anansi’s wife,

in the big picture, tackling a problem or standing up for what is right, pays off in the long run. There is

always the option to choose the easy route, but if How Death Came to the City has taught anything, it is

that the easy route does not mean the better route.

Imagery plays a significant role in storytelling, which enables the reader to personally connect

and visualize the story as it is going on. When Anansi originally met Death, they went to Death’s

village, and “Death brought Anansi to the house where meat was cooked. Anansi saw that Death had a

great amount” Immediately, I could picture a house filled with lots of meat and a kitchen, where Death

does his cooking. Another instance of imagery is provided when “ No matter how fast he ran through the

bush, and by the time Anansi had reached the city, the Spider looked behind him and saw that Death was

still close to reaching him.” I see a large spider running as fast as he can, in total fear, with a basket of
meat in his hand. I can also visualize Death chasing after him, and I can hear the sound of the bushes

and long grass rustling as they sprint past. With this last example of imagery, I can picture people

running and slamming their doors, “Yet, many people could not shut their doors in time, and Death took

them.” I can see the panic on Anansi’s face, and I can visualize slumped people on their doorsteps who

tragically did not make it on time.

The purpose of the story is to show the consequences of greed, and meat symbolizes temptation.

Originally, Anansi took what he needed but when presented with what seemed like an easy opportunity

to steal the meat, he was immediately drawn. Anansi was in desperate times, and the idea of a room

filled with meat challenged his willpower of Anansi. The symbol of temptation can be directly

connected to the many temptations which cause greed in the modern day. The many material items that

we have can often tempt shoplifting. It may present itself to be easier to just take something rather than

putting in the hours to work and earn the product, yet it never ends well.

The conflict presented in this story is character vs. character. Originally, it starts with a character

vs. nature, when a famine hits. This results in Anansi and his wife being hungry, leading him to go

hunting, and eventually find Death. Next, Anansi starts the cause of the conflict, which is stealing

Death’s food, and the effect and end of the conflict is when Death follows Anansi back to the city,

resulting in many fatalities. There was no cliche happy ending, yet the conflict ending in Death now

living in the city is the perfect way to create a realistic lesson on cause and effect.

While this story was created centuries ago, the morals and lessons remain relevant today. The

lesson that Death comes to the City is teaching that all actions have consequences, everyone has a good

side, and being greedy will get you nowhere in life, you should always use your voice, and there are two

sides to every story.