In “Death in Venice” by Thomas Mann, Gustave von Aschenbach is described as “the observer” (73), who is interested in the young Tadzio, ultimately leading to a dangerous obsession that causes his death. In the short story, Mann uses Aschenbach's sudden passionate fascination with young Tadzio to describe the dangers of art taken to the extreme and the need for a balance between the Dionysian and the Apollonian, between drunken hedonism and detached rationalism. Aschenbach's heavy reliance on the Apollonian before his visit to Venice backfires, pushing him towards the Dionysian without any hope of finding stability. Tadzio's role in the story is passive, as he is the impetus for Aschenbach's transformation, but does not necessarily encourage Aschenbach's destructive behavior. Additionally, Aschenbach himself is not fully aware of his change, as he becomes somewhat delusional and dies relatively happy and peacefully. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay Almost as soon as he sees Tadzio, Aschenbach becomes delusional, because of the discrepancies between what he perceives and what the narrator reveals become evident. In Tadzio, Aschenbach sees a boy whose "face recalls the noblest moment of Greek sculpture: pale... the forehead and nose descending in a single line, the mouth seductive, the expression of pure and serenity divine” (25). However, “Tadzio's teeth were imperfect, rather jagged and bluish, without healthy enamel and without that particular brittle transparency that the teeth of chlorotic people often present” (34). Interestingly, imperfect teeth, especially those with gaps, traditionally represent a lack of chastity, a far cry from Aschenbach's belief that Tadzio is "virginally pure and austere" (33). As Aschenbach's obsession intensifies, he loses even more of his grip on reality. At the beginning of the story, Aschenbach was “moved to a shudder” as he looked at the “old man...with wrinkles and crow's feet around his eyes and mouth; the dull crimson of the cheeks was red” (17). Later, while the barber made Aschenbach's makeup so that "a delicate carmine shone on his cheeks...the dry, anemic lips filled out, they took on the color of ripe strawberries," Aschenbach "sat there comfortably ; he was incapable of opposing the process, as it progressed, aroused his hopes" (68). Aschenbach is unable to realize his sudden resemblance to this menacing and deadly character, since his false youth right down to his red tie The allusion to ripe strawberries foreshadows Aschenbach's own consumption of the dangerous fruit in the following scene, and his inability to see his own downward spiral toward destruction. his landmark... he did not even know the directions of the compass; all his concern was not to lose sight of the figure for which his eyes thirsted” (69), and the strawberries become the extinguisher of his impulsive desire. Aschenbach becomes increasingly delusional, as Mann states that his sentences are "shaped in his disordered brain by the fantastical logic that governs our dreams" (70), and Aschenbach no longer lives in any sort of reality When a Confused Aschenbach. feels “a feeling of futility and despair”, he does not know “whether this refers to himself or to the outside world” (71). Since he is unsure of his situation, Aschenbach's death can be seen as tragic for the reader, but not for Aschenbach himself, who "sat exactly as he.