The Last Will and Testament of Edward P. Unum Critique

The experiment in the piece is the form as a living will. I would like to see some more of Edward Unum’s personality. There seems to be a little humor in the line “I tried not to [die]” and I wonder if that was a facet of his personality. The entire piece seems to me to have a bitter, ironic undertone. His parents “never sought…responsibility”, which makes me think of many young, unwed mothers being told to take responsibility for their actions and implies he was an “accident.” His uncle was said to give “sometimes less than I needed” and his gift is for “everything you said you would do.” However, the uncle appears to be still living, so that’s probably accounting for promises in the future. Of course, Edward is sick, so the death should not have come as a surprise. Edward had to look at “what [his godfather’s] intentions are] when asking them for advice, which seems suspicious. He also undermines his doctor, saying “even for just a short period.” Even Libby, who is apparently his wife, was never “too far” behind. His son, he merely wishes the best of luck. All these implications made me anticipate some sort of rebellion, fake-out at the end or some twist. There’s also 2% of the fortune missing, but that could just be some custom I don’t know about. It reminds me of The Frantic’s “Last will and Temperment” sketch.