Thanatos Palace Hotel

"Death assumes the aspect of deliverance..." A hotel where one goes to die, to escape a present despair, is not a story so completely bizarre considering many people already wish for this kind of escape. Jean Monnier the product of a stock market crash and failed marriage was left with what seemed no other choice then to escape the misery through

death. He finds the perfect means to in what seems to be the perfect place, Thanatos Palace Hotel in New Mexico. They promise him many things but most importantly to be rid of his present worry, forever. The whole idea of such a place could be considered not far from a retirement home or hospice, where the sick and elderly await their death. They are made comfortable and treated with hospitality until there time comes, just as guest at the hotel are. The story of Thanatos can also be compared to that of "Hotel California" by the Eagles, but not necessarily be derived from the same idea.

The plot of the main character in both stories is fairly similar, in the beginning both characters are in despair, looking for a way out of their current situation. The solution is a certain hotel; that seems to be drawing them in, offering them the escape their searching for. The middle of Hotel California talks about a living it up kind of life, where they dance and drink and everything seems enjoyable. "Some dance to remember, some dance to forget... the pink champagne on ice..." ( Eagles). It is similar to the story of Jean M. in that the hotel offers the same lifestyle for however short the stay may be.

" ...the social pleasures of one's stay quickened as they are by the unusual situation, are incomparable."(Maurois 103). Just as both men begin to truly see their escape for what it is, they discover that while they may have a change of heart their fate is already decided. "

I had to find the passage back

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