Clear instances of alienation can be seen in many of the works of literature. In Richard Wright's Rite Of Passage a young boy's struggle to deal with abandonment is followed. William Golding's Lord Of The Flies illustrates alienation from civilization and the drastic changes that result. In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome the alienation is both physical and emotional. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka tells a bizarre tale of a man who is disjoined from his family when he wakes up to find that he has been transformed into a giant insect. The play Long Day

's Journey Into Night by Eugene O'Neill shows alienation that can result from drug abuse as well as a woman can feel alienated when she is in a group of other men.

Set against the bleak winter landscape of New England, Ethan Frome is the story of a poor farmer, lonely and downtrodden, his wife Zeena, and her cousin, the enchanting Mattie Silver. Rural New England in winter is a land under siege, with tiny towns and tinier farms separated by vast expanses of cold and snow. The isolation is both physical and emotional. Ethan feels from a young age that he is alone in his sensitivity to natural beauty and his curiosity about science.

However, the situation does an about face when the gang learns that he is having second thoughts about his involvement with them; they become hostile because they fear that he will go to the police and turn them in. At this point Johnny has come to realize that stealing from innocent people is wrong but at the same time he feels that he is left with no other choice. As a result they resist his attempts to leave the gang while at the same time singling him out as a traitor. Ironically, he is again alienated from the gang that he first sought protection when his actual family left him alone. Johnny yearns for love, decency, and most of all the stability of a family life. The family that he thought to be his own was ready to pass him off to another; in his eyes this was the epitome of betrayal.

On the island the boys still had a structured society. The community was radically adjusted to better suit the new environment. Instead of being part of and identifying themselves with several groups they now are all divided as separate individuals. The boys are thrust into a crisis when they are alone on the island. They have to adapt to new ways where scape goating becomes the prime method to which obstacles are solved. Resultantly, when a boy is singled out and blamed they are alienated from the group at large for some amount of time or from some particular activity.

Before his transformation, Gregor is miserable at work, but can't quit, as he is the breadwinner for his family. Waking each morning to go to work is painful; he is subjected to terrible treatment from his boss. There he is treated worse than an animal; ironically he sometimes feels as worthless as a bug at work. Although he is very disconsolate Gregor does not have the will to go out and change his life; he accepts to suffer this miserable existence so that his family will be financially secure.

Both of the women in Ethan's life are deeply rooted in a state of alienation. Due to her physical illness Zeena rarely leaves the house. She has no contact with the outside world and the only people she sees are her husband and cousin. Mattie, on the other hand, seeks refuge from loneliness at the Fromes' farm. Although she attempts to connect with Ethan, nothing serious will ever materialize. When she finally realizes her fate, she chooses to die rather then return to a world of solitude.

In every society there is an underlying darkness that is alienation. Those who fall victim to alienation become the invisible and voiceless members of society. Alienation often goes unseen, but it is always there. One of the greatest feats in life is to find a companion, a true friend. This is virtually the antithesis of the state of alienation that almost every man is

Some common words found in the essay are:
Passage Johnny, Metamorphosis Gregor's, Rural England, Lord Flies, Night Tyrone, , Led Jack, Ethan Frome, Franz Kafka, Eugene O'Neill, ethan feels, day's journey night, day's journey, journey night, outside world, physical emotional, alienation civilization, drastic changes, lord flies, feel alienated, ethan frome,
Approximate Word count = 2277
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)