Disorder and Decay as Depicted in Eliot’s “The Hollow Men.”

Answer

Comment on the disorder and decay as depicted in Eliot’s “The Hollow Men.”

T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) is one of the most famous modern poets. His poem “The Hollow Men” (1925) shows the broken condition of the modern world. After the First World War, people lost their faith, hope, and spiritual values. Eliot presents the world as empty, meaningless, and full of decay. The “hollow men” in the poem are a symbol of this disorder. They are alive but without true life.

Spiritual Emptiness: Eliot shows disorder through the image of “hollow men.” They are “stuffed men” with heads filled with straw, like scarecrows. They have shape but no real form. They have no real emotions. Their voices are like “wind in dry grass.” The poet writes:

“We whisper together

Are quiet and meaningless

As wind in dry grass”

This whisper is weak, meaningless, and unpleasant. This shows the decay of the human spirit in the modern world. People are alive, but inside they are dead. They live without faith, without soul, and without true purpose. Their inner hollowness shows the spiritual emptiness of modern society.

Fear of Facing Truth: Another picture of decay is the fear of facing truth. The hollow men cannot look at “eyes.” Eyes stand for vision, truth, and spiritual power. In the poem, eyes shine “like sunlight.” Eyes are compared to “a fading star.” These images suggest something pure and eternal. But the hollow men avoid eye contact. They say,

“Eyes I dare not meet in dreams.”

This shows their fear of facing the truth. They prefer to hide behind “deliberate disguises” like a rat’s coat or a crow’s skin. Their fear of truth shows moral weakness. Instead of facing reality, they live in fear and lies.

A Dead and Broken Land: Eliot also describes the world as a dead land. He writes,

“This is the

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