Loneliness
During the 1920's and 1930's, loneliness is a common theme in much of the literature and in many of the films set during this period. After World War One, many people found themselves with nothing to hold on to and with no one to go to. This was the period of the Great Depression. Loneliness is present in all kinds of people, rich and poor. Gatsby is rich and often surrounded by many people, yet he is lonely. George and Lennie are poor and only have each other. Candy, Crooks and May are poor and lonely.In 'The Great Gatsby', which is set in the Jazz Age, Gatsby often gives big parties but he is alwaysseen standing alone even though he is surrounded by many people. Most of the people who attend his parties are people he doesn't even know. Nick Carraway is the only person who tries to understand him and who finally takes responsibility for his funeral after the tragic turn of events. After all those parties and all those people, Nick is the only one who doesn't abandon him and who recognizes the extraordinary person that Gatsby was. Nick is thankful that his last words to Gatsby were, 'They're a rotten crowd. You're better than the whole bunch put together.'
Mayella Ewell is a poor, lonely girl in the film 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. This film too is set in the 1930's, in Maycomb, a small town in the deep south. She lives a miserable life of poverty and neglect. Although she has many brothers and sisters she is lonely because no one takes the time to talk to her. It is this loneliness which drives her to reach out for the only person who does take time to be friendly to her. When Tom Robinson, a negro worker passes by her house, she always has a job for him to do. He realizes that she's lonely but when she reaches out for affection Tom does not take advantage of her. Mayella's desperate act has tragic consequences for Tom. The only people who understand Candy's loneliness are George and Lennie who agree to include him in their plan to buy a small ranch of their own. This gives him a spiral of hope that his life will change. From these films, two main aspects struck me. One was that some people are lonely and help other people but don't get any thing back. John Singer is an example. He helped all those around him who were in need, yet when he reaches out to them they are unable to comfort him. Mick Kelly realizes
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 785
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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