Hollow Humanity (An analysis of the messages from The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot) “To the generation that wasted its youth in that earlier war, the shock of discovering the instability of their world” (Bradbrook). The Great War and World War II were the most life consuming wars that ever took place. During this time there wasn’t much faith, optimism, or hope for the future. Many poets focused on the human condition. Meanwhile, T.S. Eliot wrote some very influential poetry that captured the lives of individuals during the time and his poetry is still relatable to individuals in the 21st century. In The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot is a poem where Eliot uses numerous allusions to historical events and literary works to develop the idea that modern …show more content…
Eliot another essential message that can be extracted from this poem is every modern individual wears a mask, to hide their truest self. Indicated in The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot, “Let me also wear Such deliberate disguises” (Eliot 1164 lines 31-32). The previous quote informs the reader that modern individuals all hide under their deliberate masks, don’t want to let others see their possible weaknesses and insecurities. For instance, everyday due to habit individuals of the modern time ask each other how they are doing. However, nine out of ten times the response is jaded and a lie. A person can easily be tremendously suffering inside yet they are capable of putting a fake deceptive smile on their face and pretend that everything is fabulous in their ‘perfect’ life. Likewise, pointing out another problem of the modern human condition everyone feels the need to pretend that they indeed have perfect life and that are always happy. While, they are actually miserable and hate their life everyday. Modern individuals don’t want to let anyone in. Especially millennials, they don’t like to showcase their insecurities or imperfections. Also, they are often mislead by a fake persona of public figures and famous individuals that life is meant to always be good and that they are living the ideal life. Additionally, Richard G. Hodgson is a writer of the Purdue University Press and explains this wrongdoing of the modern individual in a clear way. Expressed by …show more content…
Eliot there are three essential messages that can be extracted from this digestible poem. In The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot the first essential message that can be extracted from this poem is individuals of the modern era talk a lot but converse about meaningless subjects, their words mean absolutely nothing. In The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot another essential message that can be extracted from this poem is every modern individual wears a mask, to hide their truest self. In The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot the third essential message that can be extracted from this poem is modern individuals are unable to fulfill or complete anything. Do you believe there are several flaws and problems with the modern, human condition? To end on this note, Cleanth Brooks is a writer of the University of North Carolina Press and is writing a critique of The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. Importantly, The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot, the poem is the footnotes to The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. Cleanth Brooks states this interesting notion, “The fact that men have lost the knowledge of good and evil, keeps them from being alive”. Ponder this concept for a bit in your mind, do you believe this could be
War carries important morals that heighten the perspective of men and women on their nation, but it also entails many acts and experiences that leave lasting effects on their emotional and physical state. Throughout the following texts, Paul Baumer, the dead soldiers, and Kiowa’s comrades all sustain losses that compel them to persevere and fight harder. All Quiet on the Western Front, Poetry of the Lost Generation, and an excerpt from In the Field all connect to the recurring theme, horrors of war, that soldiers face everyday on the front line through the continuous battle. War involves gruesome battles, many of which lead to death, but these events forever affect the soldier’s mind and body. In All Quiet on the Western Front, men experience horrific sights, or horrors of war, through the depiction of the terrain, death, and the
He used this motif of wearing a mask a great deal in his novel, and it leads us to believe that, everyone wears a mask, even society. The idea shown in this poem is also shown through the narrator’s introduction into the novel. For example, in the prologue, Ellison wrote, “I am an invisible man…I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me” (3). This shows how the narrator represents the norms of society in that people are forced into wearing masks in order to even be seen in other people’s eyes. The narrator begins, in literal terms, as one of those people who haven’t realized that being themselves is just not enough.
After people lose sight of who they really are, they become increasingly more depressed and discontent with their lives. On the
What they do not look at: “Psychological effect of the war” War is something that has much more than physical effects. It is a burden on those involved on and off the battlefield. Being part of a war can affect you emotionally, mentally and physically. Even though soldiers are fighting for “just causes” was is an all-around negative event.
Alex Frost Values: Law & Society 9/23/2014 The Hollow Hope Introduction and Chapter 1 Gerald Rosenberg begins his book by posing the questions he will attempt to answer for the reader throughout the rest of the text: Under what conditions do courts produce political and social change? And how effective have the courts been in producing social change under such past decisions as Roe v. Wade and Brown v. Board of Education? He then works to define some of the principles and view points 'currently' held about the US Supreme court system.
Throughout the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator of the story, Paul Baumer goes through the realization how joining the war was destroying his and others’ youth while turning people against each other. Remarque uses the phrase “abyss of sorrow” as figurative language to describe the suffering and heartbreak the young boys experience in the front line, earning the generation of boys that served in World War 1 the name “the Lost Generation”. After Paul observes the pain of the prisoners that he is assigned to watch, he sees for himself “how people are set against one another, and in silence…slay one another”. Just because two sides are waging war, people are brainwashed or persuaded to sacrifice themselves for a fight that is
People act differently when they are with certain people than when they are alone. Some will call this act a “mask.” This metaphor is used because people cover up who they truly are or what they really feel with their actions; similar to the way a mask covers up a person’s face. This idea of a mask is explored in Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, “We Wear the Mask” and readers can see examples of “masks” in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. People often wear masks to hide something about themselves that they are not proud of or hide their emotions and fears they do not want others to know.
Eliot are distinctly dissimilar, the messages expressed through these two excerpts are the same. Lines 203-212 in act V scene i. of Hamlet and Lines 66-75 in section I of The Wasteland both reflect the idea of the speakers that our actions in life are futile. This universal theme that is expressed in both works tells us that we are all connected through
Oscar Wilde once wrote: “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth,”. I think this quote is trying to say that when you give someone a mask, they will tell you anything more openly. This will happen because no one knows who is truly hiding behind the mask. Also, what you say will not be judged as harshly by the people you know since they don’t have any thoughts about you before hand since it is anonymous.
To continue, similar to F. Scott Fitzgerald, T.S. Eliot delivers the same message that the American Dream is more distant than the past in his poem, “The Hollow Men.” In the poem concerning the life between lightness and darkness, the author writes, “More distant and more solemn than a fading star” (Source D). The author of this poem further explains the truth behind the American Dream that is its inability to be attained. The ideals within the American Dream are often associated with memories and items of the past, ultimately illustrating the impossibleness behind achieving it. As supported, seeking to achieve the American Dream steers one’s mind to emphasize the past rather than the present or
The main theme of the poem is centered on the masks that we wear in society, but the poem digs deeper than the simple statement, ‘we all wear masks’. Teasdale presents the insight that when we are walking on the sidewalk, surrounded by the chaos of the streets, we delve into our own thoughts and the mask lifts. Because we are among strangers rather than coworkers, family, or peers, we do
In T.S. Eliot’s work “The LoveSong of J. Alfred Prufrock”, he uses diction to give an underlying meaning and tone to his poem in order to express the downfall of a man. The author uses his diction to give this poem Its tone as if he regrets what he did in life. He also shows great tone changes in this work, giving this poem a dramatic, almost tragic outlook. Many of his word choices also give his work an underlying meaning and adds to his theme and messages. A large part of his poem is also using metaphors to add to this underlying meaning and give more force to this tone he is trying to create.
Additionally, Emerson says, “why should we grope among the dry bones of the past, or put the living generation into masquerade out of its faded wardrobe?” This metaphor portrays how people hide
a voice! ... to hide in the magnificent folds of eloquence the barren darkness of his heart.” (68) T.S Eliot furthers this idea in The Hollow Men, indicating how Kurtz’s voice is the only part of him that is not empty. Kurtz’s voice attempts to hide his emptiness and darkness that he acquired from his actions in the Congo. Unlike the accountant who remains pristine, Kurtz suffers and dies with his surroundings.
The characteristics of modernity are: pessimism, frustration, isolation, total sense of loss; modern writers had no sense of purpose, the anxiety of uncertainty, meaninglessness, no values and miscommunication. The Hollow Men (1925) is a poem written by T.S. Eliot. Its themes are, like many of Eliot’s poems, absurdity, fragmentation and overlapping, but it is crucial to connect this poem most with the World War 1 which caused the dark view since wars cause destruction and frustration. Moreover, the difficulty of hope and being optimistic. This poem is divided into five parts and consists of 98 lines.