After reading the passage by Burroway, I honestly believe that it is one of the more insightful commentary on the purposes for art, including writing, that I have read. Over the years, I have heard many descriptions, speculation, and comparisons of what death must be like. However, Burroway's take ("The final absence of feeling is death") has resonated with me far deeper than any other description I have heard. The absolute fear of no longer being able to feel is a fascinating explanation for the focus on death in the many cultutres and societies in the world today and in the past. All of us dread that moment, that time, that feeling, or lackthereof. It is this fear that forces so many of us to hover over concerns such as health and mortality so closely. Of all the things you fear losing in death (family, life, money), I for one would have never thought to list the one thing that we all fear losing, just as Burroway said: feeling.