Question

Read the closing sentences from “My Brother Paul”:

Peace, peace. So shall it soon be with all of us. It was a dream. It is. I am. You are. And shall we grieve over or hark back to dreams?

Based on the story, what do you think Dreiser is saying in these final sentences?

Answer 1

Throughout the story, Dreiser views his older brother Paul as an artist and a dreamer. The story ends with Paul dying after falling into a deep depression and developing anemia. Perhaps through these lines Dreiser is trying to say that his brother is finally at peace, and human life is just a fleeting dream. He could also be saying that he refuses to grieve over a life like Paul’s, which was filled with beauty and warmth. He would rather celebrate it. So he asks readers whether we should mourn losing loved ones or rejoice over the lives they lived.

Answer 2

In these final sentences of “My Brother Paul,” Dreiser is equating what has happened to a dream. He further relates everything to a dream by stating “I am. You are.” When he concludes the final sentences with the words “And shall we grieve over or hark back to dreams?” what he is communicating is the futility of grieving and continually thinking about something as inconsequential as a dream. Thus, he could possibly be encouraging readers to always look forward and continue with their lives instead of focusing on the abstract and/or things that cannot be changed.