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An Exploration of Isolation and Alienation in the 20 th Century American Literature The American family and how they cope of the rapidly changing American way of life has been one of the major topics discussed in the American literary scenes over the years. It has served as an expression of American society's thoughts, qualm, ambiguity, anger and fear. To many it represents the American Way and its continued fight for survival amidst lifes problems. The subject of isolation and alienation has been one of the most repeated themes of all the other pathos in life.
To explore the issues, effects and reasons for isolation and alienation, several works from different writers are presented as an exploration of this particular theme. In Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin, the story is told by Sonny's unnamed brother in the story. Although it was his words which unfold the events and made up the whole narration, the rightful main character is actually Sonny. The boys parents died when Sonny was still a teenager and though they both felt the loss, the narrator freezes his own fears inside him. He adopted the appearance of being cool outside but is actually melting inside. Sonny, meanwhile, confronts his loss and isolation by playing the piano; yet he was not able to perfect his music enough to express himself or replace the loss of his parents.
The narrator implied that he got addicted to heroin because it was easier to get high on it though it was all just temporary. In order to continue healing, Sonny has to musically put his life in tune; to literally bring his life in line and get out of his comfort zone, put the past behind and decided and choose to go on living. In the end, Sonny came to realize the fact that making use of his love for music (i. e. playing the piano) and using alternative remedy (taking heroin) to ease the pain of loss is an option which has lead him to forget about his own life and his own future.
In contrast, A Small, Good Thing by Raymond Carver tells the story of Scotty, an eight-year old boy who was accidentally hit by a car and died three days later. Whereas Baldwin discussed the anguish of a child who lost someone, Carver depicted the overwhelming pain and anguish of parents who are forced to watch helplessly as their sons condition worsens and his eventual demise. The parents sense of isolation has inclined the mother to identify with people who are in the same state as they are. The author managed to project the couples anger at what they perceived to be lifes unfair treatment when he introduced the character of the baker who became the target of the parents anger and frustration. Although the story is tragic and disturbing, the parents eventual reconciliation with the baker conveyed that forgiveness, understanding, human support and kinship (and not isolation or seclusion) has the power to heal the soul. The issue of isolation and alienation is also very evident in racial intrigues.
Alice Walkers Everyday Use for example, centers on the concept of heritage in African-American context as they struggle to uphold their traditional African-American tradition in the face of changing, modernistic time. The main character of the story is a mother, referred throughout the story as mama, who has a conflicting view of her two daughters who each represents both the old and the new. She admires her older, ambitious daughters success but at the same time hates her for her selfishness. Her younger daughter, on the other hand, disappoints her because of her simplicity but the mother eventually recognized the great strength required of her younger daughter just to survive. In the end the mother eventually embraced the practical values of her younger daughter and rejected the superficial and egotistical values of the older one. Clinging on and believing in something that is superficial is a natural inclination of people.
In the case of mama in Walkers story, the dilemma is in which person whom she love the most in life is worthy of her trust, loyalty and support. Millers Death of a Salesman tackles the unprincipled pursuit of the American Dream. It centers on the character of Willy Loan, a salesman who was isolated in his own world by his neurotic vision of himself and his family. He tries to make up for his shortcomings by continuing to live in his perfect dream world.
In spite of things to the contrary he continued with his vision. The fact that he idolized his older, more successful brother did not help as the brother had always overshadowed him in almost anyway. The older brother was the man Loan always wanted to be but all his attempts to emulate him only contributed to his delusions and eventual misapprehensions and false impression about his own meaning and life. Even his last attempt to leave something and have something for his family by committing suicide was in vain.
The story ironically pointed out that the American Dream is just that -- - a dream to many, as elusive and flimsy as it is phoney and spurious. By continually living a life such as Loman's an individual can actually becomes detached from reality. Constant exposure to a life of sham and pretensions alienates man from his family and isolates himself from his true feelings which otherwise could have been shared with others, particularly with those closest to him. Doing so will help maintain his grasp of reality.
In For the Union Dead, a poem that addresses social issues and historical subjects by Robert Lowell, is a clear example that the theme of isolation and alienation is not restricted to short stories or essays. The character is Robert Shaw, a real-life civil war hero who led an all-black regiment during the American civil war. His alienation as depicted in the poem stems from his old American views and love for monuments in the face of widespread defacing of American artefacts for the sake of modernization. The poem tries to contrast the old and the new.
That anything past is decent, the present desolate; constructive as opposed to destructive. The work is actually a critique of the way contemporary American society treats its historical past. The many and varied attempts in which various authors try to illustrate the various manifestations of alienation and isolation in the fibre of every Americans life. The various literary genre in the 20 th century American literature discussed in this paper reflect the different responses by the American family as they confront the issues of familial break-up and failures.
Evident in all works is the fact that facing reality and acceptance of what has become and have been established is the first step to the reconciliation and coming together of the family, of the community and of the society. Work Cited Perkins, George. The American Tradition in Literature, 10 th ed. Vol. 2.
Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill, 2002.
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