Guy Fawkes

Guy Fawkes

"we are the hollow men, we are the stuffed men"

The Sordid Representation of Humanity In "Hollow Men" by T.S Eliot

 

 

 

 

 

The epigraph referring to the Guy Fawk's Day and Mista Kurtz is significant in two respects. The Guy Fawk's Day marks the burning of the effigy of Guy Fawk, the mastermind behind the Gunpowder Plot in Britain back in 1860. Second is the reference made to Mista Kurtz who is the chief character of "Heart of Darkness", by Joseph Conrad.

 

The poet tries to emphasize the point that all men are devoid of all essence and this is particularly applicable to the modern man. The modern man-more than a human- has transformed into a machine and therefore all that it does is deprived of human element and is thoroughly mechanical and frigid. Thus, the modern man is a by product of industrialization.

 

The effects of industrialization have turned human beings from one organic whole into detached individuals. Thus, all sense of human association and connection has brutally been deadened. People operate individually and have become solitary in most of their activities. Thus, the void of human interaction has rendered him hollow from inside despite his improved appearance, appealing ways and debonair disposition. We are being told that this hollow man can think of nothing beyond appearance and Reality is totally denied in all spheres of life.  Although, the definition of Reality in the mind of the poet may differ from that of the reader, he warns us that a denial of this Reality will lead human beings to the depths of irredeemable ruin.  

 

The burning of effigy symbolizes the dwellers of modern age and their existence is just as hollow and sham as the effigy itself.  Similarly, Mista Kurtz is an allegorical figure that symbolizes the darkness in the heart of these men. These "stuffed", yet "hollow" people, own darkness as their inherent characteristic. This shows how out of depth, callous and selfish lives they lead. Thus it is the most sinister and vile aspect of their personages. The more they dwell in this valley of darkness, the more acquainted they are with their innermost ambitions. Nevertheless that is the negation of the concept of Real human "self" that they have miserably failed to acquire.

 

The short and long lines being used by the poet show the inherent confusion and disorder in the minds of these people. They live in a state of turmoil-unable to make any prudent decisions in life and live meaningfully. Their existence is a complete hole and therefore as any hollow thing will, they easily collapse in all purposeful endeavors.  

 

"Leaning together

Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!"

 

These people live indecisively and passive lives, that's why they are portrayed in varying sizes of the lines. Uncertainty and lack of faith will lead them suffer in the afterlife. These people will neither be granted paradise nor hell, but a state of abeyance and inexorable suspension.  Limbo (or Purgatory in the words of Divina Comedia) shall be their aboard where they will neither rest nor be afflicted physically but their minds will remain a subject of infinite turmoil. 

Eternal disorder due to their faithless lives in this world will mark their treatment in the life hereafter.  They will never find success for they never aimed for it. They aimed, if at all, to live inconsequential and indolent lives that will eventually lead to the equally inconsequent limbo. Their sin shall be the inaction and misjudgment of the true purpose of their lives. Thus the author's idea of inaction is not just an ordeal in this world but also eternal damnation in the hereafter.

 

 

As prophet Ezekiel said,

 

"Your image will be broken," he tries to elucidate the true nature of the Hereafter. He was actually stressing the need to realize that this world is transitory and there is a more worthy and long lasting life that awaits us. Hence, there is a need to "act" to attain success in both the worlds. The people that Eliot refers to are those whose lives are no better, instead, they try to evade the impending reckoning by disguising themselves in masks of insensitivity and callousness.

 

 

 

The "valley of dying stars" is a reference made to their lack of brilliance and splendor; that is only attainable through a connection with the Divine. Thus the importance of spirituality is indispensable to leading a fuller life. The eternal sense of belonging that ensues from the connection with the spiritual world, makes life a beautiful journey and a purposeful ride. Thus instilling in human beings the sensitivity to feel another's plight and coexist as living entities instead of morally and spiritually dead beings. This comment upon the lack of spirituality stems from their heedless supplications to broken stones. The poet tries to tell us that despite living in modern times, their existence is just as meaningless as it was in the times of pagans.

 

Thus, since prehistoric times the rate of progress has been zilch- for the human intellect that should have progressed, surpassing all idol worship and abandoning all hopes associated with lifeless "images," continues to dawdle in the bizarre realm of idolatry. Hence, human beings have failed in "progressing," that implies intellectual evolution instead of the mere material advancement.     

 

Another aspect of the effects of idolatry can be explained  in the lack of moral courage ensuing from it. This attitude leads to cowering before the God, be it physical idols or the greater idol of materialism that has blindfolded the human race to the higher human needs of morality, decisiveness, courage and connection with the Divine.

 

Nevertheless, the poet does not end with a message of despondency. He determines the only passage to salvation for these "Hollow Men"; the multi-foliate rose that symbolizes the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.  But still the poet asserts that these people belong to the "Twilight Kingdom" that signifies the fall of light and the rise of night. Thus, they are steeped in such deep an ignorance of their "selves" that to salvage them is virtually unthinkable.   The children's rhyme employed in the end, that is,

 

"…here we go round the prickly pear"

 

Is a mockery on the utter state of hopelessness of these hollow dwellers of a hollow world.

 

Doubt, indecision and uncertainty mark their persons. This is shown through the use of fragmented lines.

 

"For thine is,

Life is

For thine is the"

 

The lack of purpose in their lives and the ensuing tragic end will thus be resulted from such a useless living. It will all end one day and come to a screeching halt., and that too,

 

"not with a bang but with a whimper."

 

 Materialism has made such a waste of modern man that it did not fall short of instilling in him vileness and evil to the core. The darkness rises to his heart and overtakes his entire existence. This leads to the creation of the hollow man that destroys his self and all the good things resulting there from. Conclusion of his life would likewise be indecisive, in Limbo. Thus, they will never quite get to know the final verdict passed for them and this will remain a mystifying subject. While the accounts of all shall be settled, theirs will hang in the balance for eternity. This way, God will judge their affair most relentlessly and culminate the infliction on their souls.

About the Author

first of undergrad, with majors in intrnational relations and eng, literature

How many people in NZ know just why Guy Fawkes night is observed, and who Guy Fawkes was.?

each year we, and our pets are subjected to the noise and smell of fireworks, but just how many people know anything of the history of Guy Fawkes night, and is it really necessary to observe this very English festival here in NZ

Guy Fawkes (13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries,[1][2] belonged to a group of Roman Catholic restorationists from England who planned the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.[3] Their aim was to displace Protestant rule by blowing up the Houses of Parliament while King James I and the entire Protestant, and even most of the Catholic, aristocracy and nobility were inside. The conspirators saw this as a necessary reaction to the systematic discrimination against English Catholics.[4]
The Gunpowder Plot was led by Robert Catesby, but Fawkes was put in charge of its execution. He was arrested a few hours before the planned explosion, during a search of the cellars underneath Parliament in the early hours of 5 November prompted by the receipt of an anonymous warning letter.
Guy Fawkes Night (or "bonfire night"), held on 5 November in the United Kingdom and some parts of the Commonwealth, is a commemoration of the plot, during which an effigy of Fawkes is burned, often accompanied by a fireworks display. The word "guy", meaning "man" or "person", is derived from his name.[5]

also if u wanna know more..u shud watch V for vendetta which was made on him and his cause.

The Story Of Guy Fawkes