Death Knocks Nat wants to continue to live because he is simply not finished completing the things in his life that he wants to finish. He is healthy successful has a wife and raised children and just has more he would like to accomplish. What stands out is he only asks for one more day. There seems to be an idea that if we have one more day, we can get everything done then and even now. It seems Nat has lived his life making deals to get by another day and thinks that he can stop death for just a bit longer. Even though Nat is successful he refers to himself as nothing. Death informs us of his skill as a dress manufacturer. Nat makes good money, afforded college for his children and luxuries for his wife, drives a Chrysler and seems to be living the American dream successfully. He has everything he wants and need and is not ready to just die so he negotiates with death. I think it says that in the 70’s achieving this status was a great accomplishment but even if you work hard and get it right death is just around the corner. Today perhaps we use the one more day analogy applied to the values we have seems far fetched really what does one more day accomplish, if not used correctly it is a waste, if used appropriately we get a little more work or joy or money but death will still be nearby waiting. The Sandbox Grandma at 86 years old married at 17 and widowed at 30 seems to have lived a trying life. She seems a bit angry for having been widowed and left alone to raise their daughter.
