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Isolation In Nathaniel Hawthorne's A Rose For Emily

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The Harms of Isolation “Why do people have to be this lonely? What's the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the earth put here just to nourish human loneliness?” (Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart) . It seems that isolation, or loneliness, has always been a part of our society. With many people asking themselves with 7 billion people in this world, why do people become secluded and distant? What could the effects of this global phenomenon be and how has it changed as time progresses? This theme is seen in the literature styles from light romantic works to dark romantic works and even modern authors with novels ranging from a wide variety of topics. Even though their differences between topics may be large, they can all be connected back to one theme. The idea that isolation, whether it be self inflicted or pushed by society can result in mental illness, oppression and undeveloped communication …show more content…

Mental illnesses which is defined by EncartaDictionaries as “any psychiatric disorder that causes untypical behavior”can leave its victim drowning alone. Similar to Miss Emily in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “A Rose for Emily”. “Miss Emily just stared at him, her head tilted back in order to look him eye for eye, until he looked away and went and got the arsenic and wrapped it up.” Miss Emily had been shut in by her father her whole life causing her to desire attention from others. Her extreme isolation led to the development of her inability to accept what others do. Being that Emily was unable to accept that Homer didn't love her she killed him with arsenic, that being the case her mental illness which causes her untypical behavior. Another instance in literature where this is seen is in Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild. Chris decides to go into treacherous terrain isolating himself for 100 days with little to no

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