Inspired by a combination of nationalistic fervor and glorified expectations of a short war, thousands of soldiers from multiple countries enlisted to fight in the devastating conflict known as World War I. These men were quickly met with disillusionment when they discovered the truly nightmarish conditions of this war characterized by attrition. Much of the war’s combat took place in trenches where soldiers fought in filth and watched helplessly as comrades were massacred by bombshells, machine guns, and mustard gas. As it drew to a close, the survivors were left in the rubble to contend with the unearthly conditions they had experienced and the unspeakable acts they had committed during the war. Struggling to process the unfathomable destruction
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Kurtz from the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. With the line “Mistah Kurtz- he dead,” Eliot epitomizes disillusionment in the case of imperialism’s dark reality (1). Specifically in the novel, Kurtz, an ivory trader, goes to Africa with noble intentions of bringing civilization to the Congo; however, his motives quickly turn nefarious, and he exploits the natives in order to gain power and wealth. As he comes to terms with the reality of his misguided, heinous actions, his final words are “The horror! The horror!” Thus, Eliot’s reference to Kurtz parallels the disillusionment of young soldiers sent off to war with heroic intent later coping with the egregious acts they committed as they approach death and judgment. With the second allusion “A penny for the Old Guy,” Eliot references the burning of straw effigies as part of Guy Fawkes Day, which establishes the idea that the men are similar to scarecrows and facing the impending fires of hell (2). Following these allusions, Eliot introduces the title’s “hollow men,” yet simultaneously describes them as being “stuffed” (3,4). Here, Eliot’s choices in adjectives convey his belief that the returning “violent souls” have a void in their lives that cannot properly be filled (18). Whether this void is from an absence of religious faith or even souls, these men clearly lack not only …show more content…
Apparently, Eliot’s metaphorical language captures the dread of the “hollow men” who anticipate the omniscient judgmental eyes of either God or those of the people they killed once they reach the afterlife since the veterans feel unable to atone for their sins. As a result of this fear of damnation, the veteran prays, in an ironically similar fashion to the Lord’s prayer, to “be no nearer” to “death’s dream kingdom” and to wear the disguise of a “Rat’s coat, crow skin, [and] crossed staves”(31-35). Here, Eliot implies that the veteran’s faith is dwindling, as the veteran knows that if there is a God, he will likely be punished for his actions; therefore, he feels he must abandon his beliefs to escape imminent hell. As for the disguise, the veteran wishes to mask any semblance of being a soldier and to instead appear as an innocent civilian wielding “crossed staves,” or rather an outward display of Christianity as represented by the symbol of the crucifix, despite the veteran’s own internal recession from faith
Kurtz from the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. With the line “Mistah Kurtz- he dead,” Eliot epitomizes disillusionment in the case of imperialism’s dark reality (1). Specifically in the novel, Kurtz, an ivory trader, goes to Africa with noble intentions of bringing civilization to the Congo; however, his motives quickly turn nefarious, and he exploits the natives in order to gain power and wealth. As he comes to terms with the reality of his misguided, heinous actions, his final words are “The horror! The horror!” Thus, Eliot’s reference to Kurtz parallels the disillusionment of young soldiers sent off to war with heroic intent later coping with the egregious acts they committed as they approach death and judgment. With the second allusion “A penny for the Old Guy,” Eliot references the burning of straw effigies as part of Guy Fawkes Day, which establishes the idea that the men are similar to scarecrows and facing the impending fires of hell (2). Following these allusions, Eliot introduces the title’s “hollow men,” yet simultaneously describes them as being “stuffed” (3,4). Here, Eliot’s choices in adjectives convey his belief that the returning “violent souls” have a void in their lives that cannot properly be filled (18). Whether this void is from an absence of religious faith or even souls, these men clearly lack not only …show more content…
Apparently, Eliot’s metaphorical language captures the dread of the “hollow men” who anticipate the omniscient judgmental eyes of either God or those of the people they killed once they reach the afterlife since the veterans feel unable to atone for their sins. As a result of this fear of damnation, the veteran prays, in an ironically similar fashion to the Lord’s prayer, to “be no nearer” to “death’s dream kingdom” and to wear the disguise of a “Rat’s coat, crow skin, [and] crossed staves”(31-35). Here, Eliot implies that the veteran’s faith is dwindling, as the veteran knows that if there is a God, he will likely be punished for his actions; therefore, he feels he must abandon his beliefs to escape imminent hell. As for the disguise, the veteran wishes to mask any semblance of being a soldier and to instead appear as an innocent civilian wielding “crossed staves,” or rather an outward display of Christianity as represented by the symbol of the crucifix, despite the veteran’s own internal recession from faith