In Van Doren Stern's short story we see the tone set as happiness when George is brought back to the life where he was born again and everything goes back to the way it was before. Except now, George knows what it would be like without him there and would never think about suicide or wish he was never born again. “He grabbed his surprised brother's hand and shook it frantically, wishing him an almost hysterical Merry Christmas. Then he rushed across the living room to examine a certain photograph. He kissed his mother, joked with his father… His wife came to him… “I thought I lost you. Oh, Mary, I thought I lost you!" (Van Doren Stern