Isolation In The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

The human brain is wired to categorize. Neuroscience has proven that certain regions of the human brain are responsible for pointing out similarities and differences individuals share with those around them. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers details man’s struggle against isolation and illustrates the idea of mental categorization. John Singer is a deaf mute man who finds himself drawn to and most comfortable around others who share this disability. From early on in the book, Singer spends almost all of his time around a fellow deaf mute, Spiros Antonopoulos. When Antonopoulos is taken to a mental hospital, Singer’s life changes. To maintain somewhat of a sense of normality, Singer visits Antonopoulos occasionally at his hospital.

He begins causing trouble around the town by stealing and urinating publicly. Because of this, Charles Parker, Antonopoulos’s cousin arranges for Spiros Antonopoulos to be sent to an insane asylum. Singer resentfully goes along with the plan. After his friends departure, Singer does a fair job keeping up with Antonopoulos. He writes him letters and occasionally visits the asylum. Singer’s life away from his long time friend is lonely. Singer struggles to sleep, and he ultimately struggles to accept reality. Upon visiting his fellow mute, Singer finds light in his life once again. On page 200, McCullers utilizes jovial diction, including words such as loving, warm, eagerly, smile, and multiple variations of the word laugh. By including these often joyful words, McCullers sets the environment Singer is suddenly immersed in. This joy he used to feel all the time is immediately brought back into Singer’s life, because he is re-introduced to the person he shares the most similarities with. Other patients in this hospital struggle to find happiness and enthusiasm in their lives, and it is seem through the way McCullers chooses to characterize them. The text mentions “Besides Antonopoulos, [the other patients] all seemed very sick and colorless .” (McCullers 221). These patients are forced to resort to things like basket weaving or leatherwork because they are unable to locate these

Both of them are deaf and mute. The first line of the book states “In the town, there were two mutes, and they were always together.” (McCullers 1). Antonopoulos and Singer’s shared struggle causes them to gravitate toward each other. They even share a living space. Human civilization has followed a similar trend, and the human brain can be blamed for this. Humans feel more comfortable in a crowd that they can relate with. In today’s society, minority groups tend to follow the same pattern that Antonopoulos and Singer did. This is evident as in almost every major city in the United States, ethnic enclaves have formed. In Chicago, areas such as Pilsen, Chinatown and Lincoln Square were established by minority groups so individuals could surround themselves with others that they share struggles as well as cultural similarities with. Singer embodies this idea once again as one evening, while wandering around town, he notices a group of mute gentlemen speaking to each other in sign language. “There was a certain brotherly resemblance between them.” (McCullers 325) is mentioned. Before even meeting them, Singer is able to point out the connection the group shares because of a communal disability. He decides to approach, and they begin exchanging words in sign