Life and Death

Early in the novel, the narrator tells the reader that whoever wishes to dance the Morris dance must also be willing to dance its dark counterpart. One is meaningless without the other, just as life is meaningless without death. Reaper Man suggests that life's value directly correlates to its temporary, transitory nature. Time is precious precisely because it is finite. This is the underlying theme of Reaper Man.

Pratchett presents life as a kind of economy. If we invest only in ourselves, then our investments die with us. If, however, we diversify our investments, if we decide to share our lives with others, to sacrifice on behalf of others, we can build a legacy, potentially leaving the world a better place than we found it. To do this, however, we must be willing to surrender the most precious thing of all: our time.

Bill Door spends...