Essay on The Hollow Men - 497 Words

The Theme of Emptiness in â€Å"The Hollow Men† nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;â€Å"The Hollow Men,† a poem written by T.S. Eliot shows the narrators disgust and his faithless attitude toward all mankind. He refers to the human race as being â€Å"hollow,† (1) and having a â€Å"headpiece filled with straw,† (4) which creates the feeling and theme of emptiness. Eliot also uses allusions, symbols, and repetition as powerful, and depressing poetic devices to make mankind seem hollow. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The theme of emptiness is clearly visible throughout the poem, and it begins in the title. â€Å"The Hollow Men† refers to mankind being empty, and that there is no meaning to their life, and no purpose for the hollow men to go on. IN the first section†¦show more content†¦In the novel, Mr. Kurtz travels to the African jungle and realizes that he cannot handle the uncivilized society of Africa, and becomes depressed and emotionally devolved. Mr. Kurtz was hollow due to no moral or spiritual strength, however he was not one of the hollow men, but is one of the â€Å"lost/Violent souls.† (15) The second allusion is â€Å"A penny for the Old Guy,† which alludes to Guy Fawkes Day. On this day, children would build straw-filled effigies of the â€Å"guy,† and beg for pennies for fireworks. In the first stanza, the imagery used to create the setting is the repetition of the word â€Å"dry.† (5, 8, 10) The narrator of the poem wishes to wear disguises such as â€Å"Rat’s coat, crow skin, crossed staves/In a field†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (53-54) These are all symbols related to death. The â€Å"crossed staves/In a field† represent a scarecrow, which is a straw-stuffed hollow man. It also expresses Eliot’s fear of death by representing Christ on the cross. Throughout the poem, â€Å"death’s twilight/dream kingdom,† is repeated several times. This represents the follow men’s hopeful dedication to reaching heaven. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In conclusion, â€Å"The Hollow Men† is a poem about T.S. Eliot’s faithless attitude toward mankind, and it expresses the theme of emptiness to make mankind itself feelShow MoreRelatedThe Hollow Men Analysis1002 Words   |  5 PagesLiterary texts use various elements and methods to convey particular messages, positioning readers to take on the views of the author. The poem â€Å"The Hollow Men† by T.S Eliot addresses the failures of human courage and faith and his modernist style like most poets after him is an extremely expressive one, one with much of his poetry reflecting his own attitudes and beliefs about the importance of religious faith. Eliot’s manipulation of various literary conventions invites the readers to adopt hisRead MoreThe Hollow Men By. Eliot1246 Words   |  5 PagesReligion has always been, and will continue to be, a unique element within society. 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Eliot once commented in The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism, â€Å"But the essential advantage for a poet is not to have a beautiful world with which to deal: it is to be ableRead MoreEssay on Emptiness in The Hollow Men2815 Words   |  12 PagesEmptiness in The Hollow Men  Ã‚     Ã‚   After Eliot had published The Waste Land, he felt as though he had not been able to fully convey the sense of desperation and emptiness in that work. Beginning with Doris’s Dream Songs and Eyes I Last Saw in Tears, he explored these themes, eventually uniting all such poems in The Hollow Men. The end product is a work that, unlike The Waste Land and its ultimate chance for redemption, has only the indelible emptiness of the hollow men as its conclusionRead MoreAnalysis of The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot Essay1367 Words   |  6 Pagesof The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot Eliot, a master of the written craft, carefully thought out each aspect of his 1925 poem The Hollow Men. 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Eliots View of the Human Condition in The Hollow Men Essay856 Words   |  4 Pageshuman condition is evident in â€Å"The Hollow Men† through the issues of fear, despair, and depression. The poem starts out with a couplet. The first line talks about a man who is dead. In the second line it talks about giving a penny to an old guy. Why does Eliot address that Mistah Kurtz is dead? Who is he? Mistah Kurtz was a character in the story Heart of Darkness. He was a trader who used idealism to justify various crimes. This would make him like a Hollow Man (Abdul Sattar Gopang, Muhammad Khan