Loneliness in the Novel Plainsong by Kent Haruf

The world has changed dramatically in the last century, especially in terms of homosexuality and its acceptance by society. In 2003, Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay marriage, followed slowly by others before becoming legal nationwide, June 26, 2015. Only five years ago the United States military repealed their nearly two decades old, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, allowing service members to openly express their sexuality. These changes would tend to indicate that Radclyffe Hall’s, The Well of Loneliness, would be an obsolete literary work, however, this is a highly inaccurate assumption. True, the aspects of gender roles have largely changed since 1928, women are no longer expected to remain at home, to tend to the children

Loneliness Essay In the book The Great Gatsby, almost all the characters deal with loneliness in their lives at some point or another. Jay Gatsby started his life lonely, lived his life lonely and died lonely. "He had never really accepted…his parents." (pg.99). At a young age he began his journey to make something out of himself. He never got along with his parents so he left the house and started to make money so he could win Daisy back. He lived by himself and was involved in illegal activities such as bootlegging. In the middle of his life, he lived by himself in a beautiful house and dreamed everyday of Daisy. He lived each day dreaming of the day he was going to rekindle what he had with Daisy. Jay Gatsby faced many consequences

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.

Steinbeck wrote about many different characters who are full of dreams which sadly none of their dreams came true. Everyone has a big dream that would like to accomplish one day but sometimes , when we get lonely our dreams don’t come true. Through these characters John Steinbeck shows the effects about true loneliness.

Loneliness and exclusion from society hurts and affects everyone; the emotional strain a person endures from it creates the image they present to others, but deep down they are not the display image they manufacture. As an illustration, while opening up to Lennie in the barn Curley’s wife states, “I get lonely… You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad.

The first example of a character who experiences loneliness is Crooks. Crooks is an African American stable buck. He is the lowest at the ranch because of his race. Crooks lives alone in his own bunkhouse because he is not allowed in the bunkhouse where the white workers live. He has no one to talk to because he is different than the rest of the group. Later in the novela, Crooks confides in Lennie. “A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody” (Steinbeck 72). Lennie is the only person on the ranch willing to listen to Crooks. Crooks is telling Lennie that it drives him mad that he doesn't have anyone to talk to. He sits alone in his bunkhouse reading books.

Steinbeck and Fitzgerald show us two sides of loneliness. In the Great Gatsby, the characters have so much, yet truly have so little. While Daisy’s material possessions were vast, she had no real relationships with those around her. In Of Mice and Men the

     There is only one thing in life that is really needed and that is friends. Without friends, people would suffer from loneliness and solitude. Loneliness leads to low self-estee. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the characters, Crooks, Candy, and Curly’s wife all show some form of loneliness. They are curious of George and Lennie’s friendship because they do not have that support in their life. Through his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck demonstrates that many times, a victim of loneliness will have a never-ending search to fulfill a friendship.

            In the story Cannery Row Loneliness is a main theme to the characters lives.  One of these themes is Loneliness.  'He was a dark and lonesome looking man' No one loved him.  No one cared about him'(Page 6).  The severity of his solitude makes this theme one of the most important.  The seclusion of this man can penetrate ones innermost thoughts and leave them with a sense of belonging after hearing of this

As night falls on Cannery Row actuality and fear overwhelms the souls as they lay awake at night. At this very moment they are alone to think to ponder their existence their importance their meaning. During the day the things the people of Cannery Row use to fill their void. To give them happiness is gone and for those long hours of the night they are truly alone. The cats, the parties, and companions are gone just for a second. But they return in the morning to calm the weary and the broken spirits of the people in Cannery Row. Each of us just like the people in Cannery Row uses something or someone to compensate for the loneliness in our lives. Money, relationships, and personal struggles are evident and bring about loneliness to

‘..Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world they got no family they don’t belong no place.’ This is what many felt during the ‘great depression’ in the 1930’s. John Steinbeck gives us the sense that many felt lonely ‘they got no family they don’t belong no place. The main theme of this novel is alienation; the three characters, Curley’s wife, candy, and crooks are all alienated, and felt it by another person at some point. They all have dreams... it’s the American dream... but not all dreams come true...

An idea I found interesting in the novel ‘Of Mice And Men,’ by John Steinbeck was loneliness and isolation. I found this idea interesting because it helped me understand how important it is to be surrounded by people. George and Lennie’s friendship contrasts this idea as they are friends and they have each other, whereas most of the other ranch workers travel alone. The idea of loneliness was strongly conveyed through the characters Crooks and Curley’s wife, they are both key examples of lonely and segregated characters. The location of the ranch also represents the idea of isolation as the Spanish translation of the town’s name ‘Soledad’ means loneliness.

It is impossible to discuss the role of women in literature without mentioning the influence of feminism. The later in the timeline one reads, the more prominent it becomes. Each new wave of feminism brings with it its own goals, yet it also continues to strive for some of the same goals as past generations because not everything is accomplished all at once. Although “The Well of Loneliness” by Radclyffe Hall and “Rubyfruit Jungle” by Rita Mae Brown, are two starkly different texts that strongly reflect the feminist eras in which they were written, they have some similarities as well.

In the beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger brings up the motif of loneliness and depression which Holden reveals to the reader while at Pencey Prep. For example while writing a essay for Stradlater, he reflects on how after Allie, Holden's brother died, Holden "slept in the garage, the night he died and [he] broke all the god damn window." (39). This reaction to inflict pain on himself is evidence that the loss triggered severe emotional disturbances. Holden isolates himself after a tragic event proving Allie's death is the cause for his loneliness. Also, while alone in his dorm at Pencey writing a composition for Stradlater his roommate, Holden " couldn't think of a room or a house to describe… [he] wrote about [his] brother Allie's

To be lonely is an easy thing, being alone is another matter entirely. To understand this, first one must understand the difference between loneliness and being alone. To be alone means that your are not in the company of anyone else. You are one. But loneliness can happen anytime, anywhere. You can be lonely in a crowd, lonely with friends, lonely with family. You can even be lonely while with loved ones. For feeling lonely, is in essence a feeling of being alone. As thought you were one and you feel as though you will always be that way. Loneliness can be one of the most destructive feelings humans are capable of feeling. For loneliness can lead to depression, suicide, and even to raging out and hurting friends and/or