A Nation Of Loners Summary

We lost the ability to be still, our capacity for idleness. They have lost the ability to be alone, their capacity for solitude. (The end of solitude, pg.4)

Loneliness is usually a common and unharmful feeling, however, when a child is isolated his whole life, loneliness can have a much more morbid effect. This theme, prevalent throughout Ron Rash’s short story, The Ascent, is demonstrated through Jared, a young boy who is neglected by his parents. In the story, Jared escapes his miserable home life to a plane wreck he discovers while roaming the wilderness. Through the use of detached imagery and the emotional characterization of Jared as self-isolating, Rash argues that escaping too far from reality can be very harmful to the stability of one’s emotional being.

Do you stand alone as a unique and special individual? Since the beginning of American history there have been struggles for individualism. The American Revolution, the American Civil War, and the separation from family life are all examples of individualism in American history. Individualism is an American paradigm designed by the modern societal structure that is an altered idea of the foundation by immigrants. In today’s society the struggle for individualism is more personal and represents how American values have shifted since the beginning of American history.

In “Social Media As a Community” by Keith Hampton, Mr. Hampton states “Neither living alone nor using social media is socially isolating. In 2011, I was lead author of an article in Information, Communication, & Society that found based on a representative survey of 2500 Americans, that regardless of whether the participants were married or single, those who used social media had more close confidants.”

Marche argues that social media such as Facebook is the main cause of people becoming lonelyfor this epidemic occurrence. He begins his article by introducing a death of a Hollywood iIcon, Yvette Vickers. It was noted that Vicki’s mummified body was found only decades after her death. She died in isolation, alone and forgotten by the outside world. Noting the fear of loneliness. A famous celebrity dying without anyone noticing would instill fear being lonely. People are currently “living in isolation that would have been unimaginable to our ancestors, and yet we have never been more accessible” (Marche). Over the years, technology has advanced, exposing many people to social media. Due to this increase of exposure, people are even more

The book Quarantine the loners starts out with the main character David who figures out his girlfriend Hillary has been cheating on him with one of his teammates from his football team. David's mother did about a year back and David's girlfriend said he hasn't been the same ever since she passed away and Hillary wouldn't wanna be with David anymore. The next day David and Will were heading back to school which was a new school with the same teachers and students just a new school. Right as David and Will enter the school another part of it explodes a canopy has been dropped on top of the school, soldiers rush in and tell the students they have been Quarantined because of a virus the teen has that could kill others and infect them the teen has came there from a local testing facility. The virus can kill or spread to anyone of any age or size when coming close to the infected teen or people.

In “The Popular Crowd” written by Jake Halpern, the main point Halpern makes is people are becoming lonelier as time and technology develop. Many people may even be unaware of the loneliness they have, and therefore it can cause a lot of different emotions. As time and technology develop, Americans have become more and more prone get caught up in a celebrity’s life, and a unique way of dealing with loneliness is forming a para-social relationship (Halpern 225).

oneself alone, shows how solitary action and thought are so restricted as to be impossible to

In life, everyone wants to have somebody they can call a friend. The unfortunate reality of this is that at some point in time, almost every person will experience loneliness. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, deals with the hardships of two friends who put their belief in a giant pipe dream. The book follows George and Lennie’s troubled and laborious life until their plans go very awry. “King of Hoboes, Arvel Pearson”, by Errol Lincoln Uys, is a nonfiction text which overviews Arvel Pearson’s life as a professional hobo. This includes a detailed version of what it was like to be a hobo in the time period known as the Great Depression and provides an idea of

Possessing a sense of self-independence is an important aspect of the reality of the American Dream. In the letter, “What is an American?,” written by J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur, he describes the experience of European immigrants on the verge of becoming an American citizen. According to the author, “The American is a new man, who acts upon new principles; he must therefore entertain new ideas, and form new opinions” (Crèvecoeur 29). America will mold you into a different person. It is our destiny to

Loner, hermit, introvert, misfit, whatever you may call them, you know someone that you’d classify as one. They’re the kid in the corner of the room during a party standing by themselves, they might be the one kid that kid that didn’t go or wasn’t invited to the party. The student at the back of the class that will speak on occasion if they have to, they might even be the person sitting right next to you and you might not even know it. You either don’t know how to act or talk to them, they give off a different kind of persona than what ‘normal’ people may give off. They seem a little… ‘different’, not the average joe.

Robert Bellah’s excerpt from Habits of the Heart, discusses the belief that the people are connected through the American spirit of hope and aspiration. He discredits the idea of individualism because of its anti-communitarian nature because, although those who comprise the populace maybe be different, they are all intertwined in the pursuit of liberty and opportunity. However, he suggests a form of belief that couples self sufficiency with community service using the example of the Lone Ranger. This system serves to unite the diverse cultures that constitute the nation while still allowing them to retain the traits that create unique societies. The greatness of the United States lies within the sense of personal and national pride, as well

What’s more, in the article, the author shows us many other researchers and examples from the professional study prove his topic “Is Facebook making us lonely." For example, Moira Burke concludes that the effect of Facebook depends on what people bring to it. And her research does not support the assertion that Facebook creates loneliness.

Or are we just exaggerating a new change in our society? Monbiot claims that it is killing us and damaging our society but is it really that dangerous? We as humans love to be social but has there been any individual that understood his true identity and his ideas form being in a social conformist life? We will always get our ideology and identity from being alone and isolated. I disagree with Monbiot’s article. Loneliness is a good change in society having aspects such as non-conformism, self-reliance, and more discovered ideas and ideologies.

"No man is an island." This famous quotation explains the nature of man as a social being. It is truly a fact that human beings cannot exist in isolation. They need to be interdependent with each other in order to survive. This interdependence is needed because a human being alone will not be able to fill his own social needs, and his material necessities came from other people as well. All acts of society such as sex, love, and dependence are essential for the survival of any species. Interaction and socialization is the only way to prevent people from isolation, from solitude.