As the Time Draws Near - a Story About Piper Robertson

As the Time Draws Near

As the Time Draws Near is a story about Piper Robertson and the meaning of death in her mind compared to her fathers. The main story is that she need to have her father’s ashes buried at a tree in a forest in Alaska. This tree is on the property of Mr. Tuttle who is one her father’s old friends. The main theme is death and the differences in how to live life, even when death will always be waiting to pounce in a moment of uncertainty.

The story is set in Ridgemont, Alaska. Most of the story takes place at the home of Mr. Tuttle. Mr. Tuttle is a man that lives out in the middle of nowhere. Piper even needs to be flown there by a bush pilot.  

The first part of the story is set in an aircraft that Piper has hired to fly her to the home of Mr. Tuttle as her father wanted her to. As they land there is a small transition to the next important setting, which is at the lake. The lake symbolises death. The aircraft is the symbol of danger, and where this danger could bring you. In the case of this story, it brings her into a zone where a bear is lurking in the shadows. Mr. Tuttle is a man, that lived the same way as Pipers father. He joins Piper for her dad’s burial. Mr. Tuttle goes on to explain that there is a bear in the area and that it has been following him.  
“It’s the damnedest thing,” he says. “I’ve got a black bear shadowing me. Last few weeks or so. He pops up along the river every few days. (...) “you can’t outrun him.”

The bear is a symbol of death, and it foreshadows the death of Mr. Tuttle. But the bear also carries a symbolic meaning for Pipers father, who was named Red. The bear shows up at the funeral of Red, and this is symbolic as death has claimed him. The tree’s history also becomes important because Pipers mother was buried at that same tree. The field carries a feeling of unrest for Piper. This is also the point where Piper realises that there are tears in the eyes of Mr. Tuttle. He is crying because he just lost his best friend in Red, but also because he himself is realizing the reality of death. Having Red die, who was first-class daredevil, grounds the scenario for Mr. Tuttle. And with the bear stalking him, he knows that he might be joining Red sooner rather than later. Even though this isn’t expanded on in the short story.  

The lake itself is black and the bear appears on the opposite side of it. This is a symbol of the Greek mythology about the river Styx. Where your spirit must cross to enter the death realm. The lake in this story works the same way, and the bear symbolizes the finale destination IE death.

Red Robertson was a daredevil that did not hesitate in the eyes of death. He is the type of man to risk everything for a kick of adrenaline. Red Robertson is described as a man of emotion, he loved his family very much.

 ”He said he always pictured a little cabin facing out to the river, you on a tyre swing, your mother in the garden. He had a big heart, you know. Loved you two like there was no tomorrow.” Piper shrugs, though she knows it’s true.”

Red Robertson is a man that knows death is always around the corner, but therefore he feels he needs to live life with no fear. This however didn’t stop him from loving his family, and even Piper who feels that her father left her alone because of his hobby, she knows that his feelings towards her were only love and compassion. This doesn’t stop her anger though, and this is where the life of Red differentiates from the life of his daughter. Red is the type of man, that realizes the true dangers in existence, and he choose to meet the challenge with open arms and in a way taunt death to take him at any moment, because it didn’t matter at what moment he disappeared into the afterlife. For his daughter the perspective is very different, as she feels the magnitude of her father’s willingness to sacrifice himself for nothing. She doesn’t see the life her father lives or why he does it, just as her father fails her in his search for something supreme. This causes their outlook on life to differ massively.  Red Robertson likes to live on the edge, but after a lifetime spent knowing that her father was risking his life unnecessarily, Piper Robertson is afraid of death. From the very first lines it is evident. She lists of things that can kill you, which shows her fear of death. Because it reveals that she has been thinking about it a lot, this is a natural reaction when you are expecting your father to die at any time. Then in the end of the story, she lets out her feelings about death and how she is different from both her father and Mr. Tuttle.
“Piper imagines her father charging across the river at the bear. The water splashes around him, shining and glistening. He grins and yells and when he hits the far shore, he starts throwing punches. But she is nothing like her father. Even from here, the black bear a dark figure in the distance, all she wants to do is run”.