000 02573cam a22003493u 4500
001 29889
003 UtSlPG
005 20260610133700.0
006 m
007 cr n
008 260607r2009||||utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d
040 _aUtSlPG
041 7 _aen
_2iso639-1
050 4 _aPS
100 1 _aMcConnell, James V.,
_d1925-1990
245 1 0 _aLife Sentence
264 1 _aSalt Lake City, UT :
_bProject Gutenberg,
_c2009
300 _a1 online resource :
_bmultiple file formats
336 _atext
_btxt
_2rdacontent
337 _acomputer
_bc
_2rdamedia
338 _aonline resource
_bcr
_2rdacarrier
490 1 _aProduced from Galaxy Science Fiction January 1953.
500 _aRelease date is 2009-09-02
508 _aProduced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
520 _a"Life Sentence" by James V. McConnell is a science fiction novella written in the early 1950s. The story explores themes of aging, death, and the struggle for autonomy within a society that has transformed individuals into perpetual wards of the state. The narrative follows Oliver Symmes, an elderly man confined to a hospital for the aged, where he grapples with his own memories and the limitations of his body, as well as the profound feelings of loss and betrayal stemming from a pivotal crime in his youth. The story centers around Oliver Symmes and his tormented past that resurfaces as he exists in a future society where the concept of death has almost become obsolete. After committing murder in a fit of passion during his youth, Oliver is subjected to a life sentence that leads to his ongoing existence within a hospital setting, designed to prolong life regardless of quality. As he reflects on fleeting memories of love and the vitality of youth contrasted with the shadows of his present confinement, Oliver's struggle encapsulates a poignant exploration of the human condition—the desire to live and the instinct to seek an end to one’s suffering. The narrative crescendos with his futile attempts to escape the clutches of enforced life through self-destruction, ultimately highlighting the irony of a life unfulfilled and the fight against an imposed existence devoid of freedom. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
534 _nOriginal publication data not identified
653 _aScience fiction
653 _aShort stories
700 1 _aFrancis, Dick
830 0 _aProduced from Galaxy Science Fiction January 1953.
856 4 0 _uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29889
999 _c70737
_d70737