At the very end of Neil Gaiman’s novel for young readers
titled The Graveyard Book, the main character, Bod, having grown up
in a graveyard after his parents were murdered when he was an infant, says goodbye to
the mysterious inhabitants of the graveyard, including his good friend and mentor Silas,
and, finally, his own dead but loving mother. Just before he departs from Silas, Bod
tells his friend that he is looking forward to his adult life outside the graveyard. His
eagerly anticipates all his new experiences, memorably saying, “I want, . . . I want
everything.” This statement is not intended to suggest that Bod is
greedy or self-indulgent. Rather, he is full of youth, life, and curiosity. Although he
will miss his graveyard friends and although they will also miss him, both he and they
seem to realize that it is time for him to move on to the next phase of his
existence.
When his mother meets him at the gates of the
graveyard and asks him what he intends to do now, he
replies,
“See
the world . . . . Get into trouble. Get out of trouble again. Visit jungles and
volcanoes and deserts and islands. And people. I want to meet an awful lot of
people.”
His mother does not
discourage him. In fact, she sings him a lullaby that seems to suggest her approval of
his decision. Its final lines are as follows:
“Kiss a
lover[,]
Dance a
measure,
Find your
name
And buried treasure. . .
.
Face your
life[,]
Its pain, its
pleasure,
Leave no path
untaken.”
With his
mother’s blessing, then, Bod, moves out and moves on. The novel ends, as many great
works of literature (such as Paradise Lost) also end: with a new
beginning. The imagery and tone at the conclusion of the book are almost entirely
positive. Bod knows that life will not be entirely easy or painless (as his mother’s
song had already implied), but he is eager and willing to face its challenges and
discover its rewards. As the very last sentence of the novel states, “there was life;
and Bod walked into it with his eyes and his heart wide open.”
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