why he should want to tell me about it. And then I thought I saw his point. His mother had not been too anxious once before to see if he were properly dead, though I had little doubt that she made a great show of grief. "My poor boy. I don't know what I shall do without him." And I'm certain that she believed herself then, as she believed herself now. She wasn't a murderess. She was only inclined to be premature.

"Look here, old man," I said, and I propped him a little higher on his pillow, "you needn't be frightened. You aren't going to die, and anyway I'd see that the doctor cut a vein or something before they moved you. But that's all morbid stuff. Why, I'd stake my shirt that you've got plenty more years in front of you. And plenty more girls too," I added to make him smile.

"Can't you cut out all that?" he said, and I knew then that he had turned religious. "Why," he said, "if I lived, I wouldn't touch another girl. I wouldn't, not one."

• Does the title imply that this man had actually already "died" once?
• So he's scared that some religious figure is going to punish him for his actions. Fear is a terrible reason to be a good person, and it didn't even work on him! I believe he deserves the torment he's feeling.
• From what I understand, the ill man is confused whether he was dead before, or if it was just all a dream?
• The sick man mention his experience when he was 'dead' and he apparently he saw God. Or at least someone that knew about everything, including his deeper and darker secrets.
• I am not to sure how the author wants us to react, but this sequence reveals certain things that I had not caught on before and it makes me understand why the sick friend is scared of his 'second death'. The sick friend has been sleeping around with girls, and after his 'first death', he has learned his lesson and is scared to die. He does not want to and promises that he will stop. But maybe, it is just too late. Also, on a side note, I believe his friend is trying to let his dying friend let go of the fear and accept that he is going to die, as though he is also trying to convince himself that he is going to be able to 'let go'. "In the dream," I said. His fear made me nervous. "In the dream," I said again.
• I am not to sure how the author wants us to react, but this sequence reveals certain things that I had not caught on before and it makes me understand why the sick friend is scared of his 'second death'. The sick friend has been sleeping around with girls, and after his 'first death', he has learned his lesson and is scared to die. He does not want to and promises that he will stop. But maybe, it is just too late. Also, on a side note, I believe his friend is trying to let his dying friend let go of the fear and accept that he is going to die, as though he is also trying to convince himself that he is going to be able to 'let go'. "In the dream," I said. His fear made me nervous. "In the dream," I said again.
• The narrator consoles his earnest friend reassuring him he isn't going to die when the friend goes on to explain his first "death". His explantation is perplexing but I presume he was conscious on some level. He envisioned every girl he met, the money he stole and the thoughts he had at the time of the death. He wanted to faint but couldn't. This point in the story, the narrator is a little scared of his friends recollection and repeats, "in the dream" because that's too much of a burden to happen in actuality. So the friend continues his story remembering waking up from what sounds like his own funeral. He was standing in a road, than.
• This leads me to believe that the son who is dyeing think's that maybe he has died before which would make sense given the title of the story.
• In this section the man is saying that he is both afraid of being buried alive and afraid of death. I'm not sure whether or not he is angry at his mother for letting him almost be buried or simply scared that it will happen again. I also find it interesting that the narrator keeps referring to the fact that his friend has turned religious because he says it as if it's a bad thing.
• I tried not to smile at that, but it wasn't easy to keep a straight face. There's always something a bit funny about a sick man's morals. "Anyway," I said, "you needn't be frightened." 
• "It's not that," he said. "Old man, when I came round that other time, I thought that I'd been dead. It wasn't like sleep at all. Or rest in peace. There was someone there, all round me, who knew everything. Every girl I'd ever had. Even that young one who hadn't understood. It was before your time. She lived a mile down the road, where Rachel lives now, but she and her family went away afterwards. Even the money I'd taken from mother, I don't call that stealing. It's in the family, I never had a chance to explain. Even the thoughts I'd had. A man can't help his thoughts."
•  "A nightmare," I said.
•  "Yes, it must have been a dream, mustn't it? The sort of dream people do get when they are ill. And I saw what was coming to me too, I can't bear being hurt. It wasn't fair. And I wanted to faint and I couldn't, because I was dead."
•  "In the dream," I said. His fear made me nervous. "In the dream," I said again. 
• "Yes, it must have been a dream -- mustn't it? -- because I woke up. The curious thing was I felt quite well and strong. I got up and stood in the road, and a little farther down, kicking up the dust, was a small crowd, going off with a man -- the doctor who had stopped them burying me." 
• "Well," I said. 
• "Old man," he said, "suppose it was true. Suppose I had been dead. I believed it then, you know, and so did my mother. But you can't trust her. I went straight for a couple
• Responses to sixth section:
• Out of this section it seems as though the man that is dying has maybe raped some girls, and the man that is visiting him may help him or knows about it. He says he almost died before but now they are saying that it must have been a dream, its a really confusing story.
• I now know why the title is called the "second death", because the man in bed had almost died before and the doctor had realized he wasn't really dead. the author wants us to believe the man raped the young girl or perhaps assume that he regrets the women he's slept with.
• I think the man is saying he will change his ways because the last time he thought he was dead someone knew about all the bad things he had done. This part kind of lost me
• All I can gather from this is that the man is clearly not religious anymore, according to the author, and feels some sort of pain or pity for hurt he has done to others in past. The last time he thought he was dead, someone knew about all the bad things he had done, and this part kind of lost me.
• This younger man clearly did some very bad things with so many different girls. He could have an illness that makes him want to do so many shameful things to woman, which have probably been sexual things considering the joke that the old man made about him being "in bed alone". His mother might have an idea of what he is doing but she just thinks that he is ill and needs to be fixed by a doctor.
• I don't quite understand what the son is trying to tell the "old man" about his past "death". Other than the fact that he has become more religious, he wont touch another girl. Maybe he came with god during his first death. Although I am now understanding the meaning of the title, the son is now on his second death.
• She's becoming really intense with this man and he seems to get angry a lot. This makes me believe that there is a past about them. Or that maybe he's having all these dreams or visions about himself, and now he is actually brought himself to death. Also, maybe he's talking to himself when he keeps repeating "you needn't be frightened". Maybe someone's been raped?
• The sick man looks very disturb and confused while the mother is worry too. The narrator seems to be a good man who is helping in this time of crisis. I am not sure why he refers to his friend as "old man" perhaps is old in age or just an expression.
• Why was the man ill the first time? Is it the same reason this time? Why exactly did he wake up before he was buried?
• he thinks he is going to die because had a bad dream
• This section is interesting because the sick man tells the narrator about his "dream of death". The way the narrator reacts to what the sick man is saying makes me wonder what time this story takes place in. Another thing is that it sounds like the sick man is not such a good person and he is worried about God not accepting him.
• It sounds as if the dying man has had a lot of women. It also sounds a little creepy when he says "Every girl I'd ever had. Even the young one who hadn't understood." That makes it sound like he raped someone who was very young. Which is terrible and makes me have no sympathy for his worries about dying.
• In this section, I believe it comes down to your religious views how you would translate this story the sick man is telling the speaker. The speaker seems to be a non religious person because of how he wants to believe it was just a dream. This perspective would be much different if the speaker were a religious man.
• I think that the author wants us to think that the woman is not to be trusted.
• In this section, the man is telling the narrator that he wants him to make sure that he is truly dead before they bring him to be buried. It sounds like the ill man doesn't trust anyone else but the narrator to determine if he is really dead.
• I'm quite confused at this point. It seems like the mother's son has had a lot of girls in his time, and it seems like he understands it as a problem that he has. Also, I wonder what is wrong with this guy, if he had almost died once and now it's happening again.
• The son really doesn't trust his mother. I believe that she is trying to kill him, I can't put my finger on how or what with but I feel as if she is up to something.
• So the man knows he is dying as the narrator is reassuring him that he isnt like a good friend. we also know that the man isnt frightened but had a nightmare that he was dead with someone who knew all his secrets. now related to the title the young man has "died" once before and this will be the second time is what the reader should be thinking.
• What the heck is up with this kid's mother anyway? Why would someone jump so quickly to bury their own child six feet underground?
• Wait a second this sick man is old? I thought he was a boy, I must have read it wrong. I'm really confused here because the narrator and the 'old man' seem to be talking to each other as if they're still young. Maybe he is delirious, perhaps his mind has gone to old age?
• I am so absolutely confused with this story at this point.
• "But you can't trust her". Odd how a son is saying this about his own mother. Wouldn't you think of all people that you could trust it would be your own mother?