Waiting for Death

"As the title indicated, the book is very much bout the dead; it is set in the desert, an environment where 'the dead did not rot or dissolve' - a place where people are simply 'passing time' while they wait for death (64). In this context, the dead are both bodies that have outlived their social significance and ghosts of those who died before their agendas were complete" (Irr 225).

In The Almanac of the Dead, it seems that those around the dead and thinking of the dead immediately dissociate the corpse from the person that once was. The characters, and therefore the author, treat those who die as though their spirit or self immediately departs from their body. However, this death, though a seemingly large transition, does not particularly affect those who die and those around the dead. As Irr paraphrases, these characters are "simply ' passing time while they wait for death.'" And once they die, they are treated somewhat of a nonchalance where "the dead are [...] bodies that have outlived their social significance." Simple as that. Each of the deaths in the novel are announced, explained, reasoned, and then everyone moves on fairly quickly. With Seese's reaction to Eric's death, with La Escapia's reaction to Bartolomeo's death, and with Alegria's reaction to Menardo's death, the reaction time is consistently brief. When Alegria goes to see Menardo's body after his accidental death, Silko narrates, "Menardo was lying on his back covered now with his own shirt and suit coat. Alegria approached slowly. Poor silly man! [...] She wept for herself, not the fool Menardo. Menardo had been worth much more to her alive than dead [...]" (508). Alegria quickly comes to terms with her husband's death when she realizes what has happened and she recognizes her new dilemmas due to his departure even quicker. Everyone is solely concerned with themselves so much that close deaths do not barely affect them.
After Max Blue's accident, he lies in the hospital and reflects on his views about the death he has nearly succumbed to many times, "Max knew there was nothing after death. Nothingness and silence. The silence and the emptiness were darkness. Max had recovered consciousness after the place crash, but he had never forgotten the darkness and the silence that flowed endlessly. There were no devils or Jesus. Death was the dark, deep earth that blotted out the light of a vast blue sky Max called life" (Silko 353). His views on death are very matter-of-fact, simple, and final that he even goes on to say that he "believed killing a man was doing him a favor" (Silko 354). This view of death and its benefits is not at all unrelated with how other characters deal with the this same concept. In the desert setting Silko sets up, every character is forced to fight for themselves, whether it be a relationship, a career, or a lifestyle, until their "'passing time'" is over.