Best Character Death Scenes?

[P.M. Turner]

I know, I know . . . P.M. Turner still has a morbid fascination with well-written death scenes in books and movies. I'm just curious, what are some of the best death scenes you've ever read in a book, or seen in a movie? Whether because the character was especially lovable, or the dialogue was hard-hitting, or it was the way they died, what made those scenes so impactful and memorable? I'm curious to hear what y'all have to say.

For me, the best book character death would have to be Walter Fane in "The Painted Veil" by W. Somerset Maugham. I felt for him as a character, and some of his final lines were really haunting and added so much depth to his character right at the end. I remember thinking to myself, "Now that's the death scene I wish I could write!"

 

[Accord64]

I'm just curious, what are some of the best death scenes you've ever read in a book, or seen in a movie?

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Well, Bambi's mom has to be the most impactful for children.

My kids (and I, as a father) were moved by Leslie's death in Bridge to Terabithia.

The most frustrating, eye rolling death scene for me was Jack Dawson in Titanic. Even MythBusters proved that he could've survived. A pointless sacrifice.

I'm sure there are several more that I just can't recall right now.

 

[William D'Andrea]

The best death scene ever written would obviously be the Crucifixion of Jesus; in four gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It's also the one that most people would be familiar with. Even those who've never read it.

 

[Wes B]

Death of a young boy named Ilyusha, at the very end of "The Brothers Karamazov." In life he suffered, lived in poverty, and his home life was wretchedly pathetic. His death is particularly memorable in that in the closing scene, one of the brothers after which the book is named, makes a touching pact with the boy's classmates, right after the funeral. Believe it or not, it completely turns the mood of the story in mere paragraphs so that the story kind of ends on a bright and hopeful note. Considering all the misfortune that happens before, it's quite a stunning turn in the final page or two.

And speaking of a stunning and abrupt ending... Death of the Main Character in "For Whom the Bell Tolls." He's an American volunteer, fighting in the Spanish Civil War, in the 1930's. The story has kinda' come full-circle, where it begins and ends with him lying on the forest floor. in the final page, he's injured and cannot retreat with his friends, and would endanger them if they tried to bring him along. Instead, He will make it more likely that they will manage to escape. He lies concealed, with a machine gun, waiting to face a troop of enemy soldiers that has just begun to appear over the top of a rise in the road. And that's where it ends. While the violence is best left to the imagination anyway, the story abruptly stops within seconds of where the MC will abruptly "stop." In its own way, it's probably the closest way imaginable for the reader to sort of experience the MC's death. Very memorable...

 

[suspensewriter]

I agree with both of your choices, @Wes B!

 

[DCWrite]

Of all the death scenes available to us, one that stands out for me is the death of Dodgson in The Lost World. I'm not sure how Crichton did it, or if it would have the same impact on other readers, but for me, it was pretty tense.

 

[Johne]

I'm just curious, what are some of the best death scenes you've ever read in a book, or seen in a movie?

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The first that springs to mind is the death of Boromir in the film version of FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. Chokes me up every time.

 

[S. D.]

Bugs Bunny.

Oh wait, he never actually dies

 

[EBraten]

Beth March in Little Women. Wrecked me the first, and every time I read it.

 

[Shamrock]

Well, Bambi's mom has to be the most impactful for children.

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I cried every time I saw that as a child.