Lincoln's life, as it is presented in this play, was ruled by his feelings about the deaths that he witnessed. Lincoln's issues with death begin early, in the first scene, when Lincoln tells Mentor Graham that he thinks about death often "because it has always seemed to be close to me as far back as I can remember." He then describes helping build a coffin for his mother, who died when he was young, relating it to the men he saw in New Orleans who "had murder in their hearts." The theme of death is continued with his loss of Ann Rutledge, the woman that he loved, who was socially and physically out of his league. Her death causes him to retreat from his political rise. He explains to Bowling and Nancy Green, "I.....
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