How is death by dragon an analogy to death in general? While I understand the general concept, the metaphor is way too forced -- you can't just toggle something

How is death by dragon an analogy to death in general? While I understand the general concept, the metaphor is way too forced -- you can't just toggle something in your universe and keep everything the same. Exhalation by Ted Chiang for instance is a great short story that deals with mortality more effectively, since the characters are not exactly human and the concept can be explored better.