She's up in the cemetery there now-in with a whole mess of Gibbses and Herseys-she was Julia Hersey 'fore she married Doc Gibbs in the Congregational Church over there.

In at least one hundred words, explain how the above passage reinforces the theme of the transience of human life.

This passage shows the transience of human life, because it shows how one person can pass from being one thing to another thing and then in death being surrounded by both. Julia was born as a Hersey and then when she got married she just 'became' a Gibbs because she married Doc Gibbs. This shows how easily a person can transition from one identity to the next. Then, when she dies, she transitions into the cemetery and in heaven would be surrounded by Gibbses and Herseys, not knowing which family she belongs to now. Passing back and forth in life and death shows how transient and fleeting the nature of life is.