The poem starts off
with “We are the hollow men/We are the stuffed men.” These men that T.S. Eliot
speaks of are fake and in Eliot’s words “stuffed” as a scarecrow. They do not
have any brains nor do they have any voices. Those who have died will remember
them as these people not those who are bad people but those who do not think
for themselves. Eliot uses many nature analogies in the first stanza such as
wind, grass and rats but does not make the words pleasant. They are combined
with dry, meaningless and broken glass. Eliot uses these words to describe the
men as meaningless.
In the second stanza, one of the men in particular is
avoiding people. He wears “deliberate disguises” and not meeting anyone’s eye. This
man is nowhere near to “death’s dream kingdom” which could be Heaven. He is
nowhere near judgment day and is not ready for it. He has not lived his life as
someone ready to go to Heaven. In the third stanza, a “dead land” and a “cactus land” is described. The narrator mentions if “death’s other kingdom” which could be Hell if “death’s dream kingdom is Heaven. He wonders if Hell is as lonely as the desert. The fourth stanza describes what seems to be judgment day. The men gather together by the river, not speaking and waiting on “death’s twilight kingdom.” If death’s other is Hell and death’s dream is Heaven then death’s twilight is the in between state which Eliot says is “the hope only of empty.” This in between state or Purgatory is the only place for men such as these men to go.
The final stanza starts off with a nursery rhyme. The rest of the stanza is the comparison of two things in mankind’s lives and the lines “Falls the Shadow/For Thine is the Kingdom” are repeated. The shadow could be the shadow of the mankind and all the things that has happened. The end of the stanza is another nursery rhyme and that the world does not end “with a bang but a whimper.” Mankind will be looking and focusing on their lives. They will be worrying about their lives when judgment day comes.
The poem reflects humans’ lives and how they look back on their life. Eliot words this poem to say all of humans are what he calls “hollow men.” We just go about our daily lives not really living and when the end comes, we are not prepared.
After reading two analyses for this poem I've been exposed a little more to the idea of fragmentation. The stanzas are fragmented as well, which could represent a stream of consciousness style of writing from the point of view of the Hollow Men. These men wonder if Hell is as lonely as the desert, (I'm assuming this is part of the Purgatory that they are currently in). Unfortunately this sounds like the desperate thoughts of someone who knows that their lives are not as meaningful or "whole" as they should be. The Hollow Men don't want to go to Hell, yet they speculate on what the possibilities of Hell are.
ReplyDeleteI like that the poem opens with the juxtaposition “We are the hollow men/We are the stuffed men.” This immediately opens the poem up for interpretation. Elliot's comparison of these men to scarecrows is brilliant. They have no brains, so they are essentially hollow, yet they are stuffed with the ideas of the world. They abide by the rules and go day to day without any real presence in the world. The progression of the events that happen in the after life is interesting. I didn't get a real emotional or regretful reaction from these "hollow me"; it seems that they are just accepting their fate. Instead of trying to reach Heaven, they just hope to be good enough for purgatory.
ReplyDeleteGood Post.
Eliot has no problem saying that the lives of humans are basically meaningless. In some cases, this is true. At times we get so caught up with finding meaning in our lives, we forget about what is really important. We make decisions based on what we believe is important, and forget what our true purpose in life is. The men in the poem are aware that they have not lived a full life, and that once judgment day comes, they will not go to Heaven. They do not want to go to Hell, but they have lost hope that they will ever go to Heaven. I agree with Savannah in that they choose to accept their fate instead of trying to reach Heaven.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting post. The "Hollow Men" seem to be people who live their lives with no purpose and have no hope in their own fates. It's sad to say, but there a lot of people who could be described as "hollow." People who are just going through the motions to get through hours, days, weeks, months, years and eventually life. People with no real hopes no real plans and no real care for their lives. Just like the hollow men in the poem don't want to go to Hell, don't think they'll make it to Heaven, and have accepted to just hope for a spot in the middle; most people don't want bad things to happen, don't care enough to make good things happen, and have just become complacent with whatever may come to them.
ReplyDeleteI liked your post on this. I also did an analysis on "The Hollow Men," and totally agree on the meaningless lives of the men and their lives being a big part of the poem. But I also liked your take on the end of the poem. I thought of it more as a lack of caring from the hollow men, but it was interesting to hear another interpretation of "the whimper." It could definitely be a lack of preparation, but I never thought of it like that before.
ReplyDeleteI think that Eliot did a good job using words to convey the true meaning of his poem. As you discussed, his word choice did not make the hollow men seem very pleasant. I also thought that your ending of the poem analysis was very interesting. I always enjoy poetry that reflects on how we look back at life because I find that the concept of leaving a legacy is something that connects people of all generations.
ReplyDeleteT.S. Elliot is a great writer. His "The Hollow Men" is yet another proof of this fact. I completely agree with you saying, "We just go about our daily lives not really living and when the end comes, we are not prepared." It is so true that when someone passes on we often say I wish he or she had done this or that. We often find our not prepared for death and the consequences that it brings with it.
ReplyDeleteT.S. Elliot is one of my all-time favorite authors; his ability to convey a powerful message or speak of something appealing with an uneasy undertone is delicious to me. I think it is one of the most entertaining writing strategies and difficult to do effectively. Have you read anything by Stephan King? I’m not a huge fan of his novels but I enjoy his short stories and his Dark Tower series. He is heavily influenced by T.S. Elliot and is a master of the writing technique that I just mentioned. He even uses “stuffy-men” in the DT series and refers to “The Hollow Men” as well as T.S. Elliot’s “The Hollow Men” throughout.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis is strong in that it is littered with direct references to the source and you have done well with explaining what these references means. I would put your analysis closer to the beginning rather than at the very end so that readers keep in mind the point that is being made while reading your analysis. I like how you structured your essay parallel to the stanzas of the selection. This construction made your breakdown very comprehensible.
While I was reading your analysis, the first thing I thought of was the scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz". Its interesting because the scarecrow is on a journey to get a brain while the "hollow men" seem to be complacent with their lives and status. This seems to be Eliot's commentary, that we need to be less complacent and more concerned with living our lives to their full potential so that we are ready for death. Sounds like a good read! -Hollie Roberts
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eliot on the fact that people really do just live their life because someone is making them do these certain things. I know plenty of people who just go to college because it is expected of them or play a certain sport because their parent pushes them into it. When these things happen, we lose focus of what truly matters, and after the time flies, we are stuck wondering what did we do with our lives. Then, all we can think about is the end of our life instead of finding something we love and doing that until we die.
ReplyDeleteThe frustration expressed in "The Hollow Men" is so universal. In fact, what automatically came to mind when I read the last few lines of your analysis when you said that humans go through life not really living, but when death comes are not prepared, was a quote from the Dalai Lama about man: "He sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."
ReplyDeleteIn high school, I had to read the book The Heart of Darkness (discusses the darkness inside everyone). The beginning of "The Hollow Men" alludes to that specific story. Because I remembered a little about the dark tone of that book, it traveled with me when reading about "The Hollow Men."
ReplyDelete- Emily Alves