Kuhn
Paul Kuhn
Seminar: Visual Culture
2/22/14
Loneliness, a Complex Emotion.
Britney spears once said, “My loneliness is killing me” 1 , it is a quote, which many
people have describe about loneliness, that brings out the feeling of pain and hurtful sore,
which can associate strongly to depression and self-loath and suicide. At one point in
time or another, a few of us have probably fallen victim or seen the pain and suffering
inflicted by feelings of being alone. Regardless of their status in society many people can
be lonely. Feeling separated in an unknown society can be torture for a lot of people.
Loneliness is one of the most common situations we hear today. Which is a very strange
and quite funny phenomenon in this world where in many places it is over populated with
people. Loneliness is a complicated emotion, that can be interpret in many different ways.
Being lonely can come from many different ways. From a genuine social phobia, having
a depressed and negative perspective all the time, getting burned or bullied to many
times, possessing a highly sensitive temperament personality, having unrealistic
expectations towards their life 2 and being different with others in the society. A lot of
people usually don’t admit if they are lonely, as it tends to show the feeling of shame and
weakness. Loneliness is not just about being alone; it has to do with feeling lonely, away
from others meaningful relationships. Being alone brings lots of negative aspect; however
1 “Hit me Baby One More Time Lyrics,” Metro Lyrics. Last modified 2013. http://www.metrolyrics.com/hit-me-baby-
one-more-time-lyrics-britney-spears.html
2 Marie Hartwell, “The Roots of Loneliness.” Psych Central, 2011. Accessed 2/10/14. http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-
roots-of-loneliness/0005953
having some “me” time is also good to have, but not too long, as humans were meant to
be social we need others to bond and to love. Several examples of how loneliness can be
portrayed will be discuss in this paper.
Throughout the years loneliness has been depicted through many ways, from music,
writing, movie and art and have made audience able to either relate or understand more
about it.
One of the main reasons of being lonely can come from being an outcast from society,
especially in a bullying situation. The first piece that relates to the emotion lonely is a
very touching and eye opening short story called “Outcast” written by Caitlin Hopson.
The short story talks about Jewel, a teenage girl that has been out casted by her peers, and
because of this she isolated herself not only towards her peers but also to her family3.
Hopson successfully illustrated a visual imagery of a young girl as a victim, who should
have a happy life, however unfortunately is suffering in her life because of her loneliness.
Even though the story talks more about a girl being bullied, it does shows how she
becomes very lonely and sad. From the first part of the story it shows that Jewel is a
isolated girl, and doesn’t really like to talk to her mother, ‘Jewel replied it's none of your
business’ (line 3) when her mother asked about her day. It is quite normal for a teenager
to do this, however the fact that her mother doesn’t bother to try could also affects Jewel
in her position, as lonely people tend to hide away. If her mother pushes to talk to her,
she may feel better having someone that cares. From the last quote ‘She cried herself to
sleep. She lives like this almost everyday’ (Line 37) shows a similar attitudes of a lonely
3 Caitlin Hopson. “Outcast.” Helium, 1/24/08. Accessed 2/9/14. http://www.helium.com/items/816818-short-stories-
outcasts
person. Loneliness make not make you have tears for everyone, it does however bring
pains to the person almost everyday.
This poem “The Loner” by Julie holder is a poem revolving around the experiences of a
boy’s isolation at a school playground. With the poetic techniques it illustrates a slow and
unhappy tone of a lonely boy. The poem gives us the characters true thoughts and feeling
of how he feels left out. The theme that’s is portrayed throughout the poem would be
belonging, as the boy feels left out and doesn’t belong which creates loneliness. In the
poem it talks about the boy in a crowded playground being surrounded by many people,
but he continues to feel left out. The Loner is conveyed as cheerless and sad person
giving the character a miserable tone differ to the atmosphere of the happy playground,
which is more full of life and excitement. From this poem it seemed as if he is trapped in
his own shell of darkness where he is protected from the outside world, a place where he
seeks to hide from being exposed. His attempt to shield himself might be a way to avoid
the rejection that could result if he tried to open up to the crowd. In the line ‘We passed
him by and never speak’ (Stanza 3 line 4) shows the fact that the children are ignoring the
loner. Yet ‘He wasn't there at the wall today’ (Stanza 4 line 1) gives the different
impression4. The children's recognition of the loner's absence proves that they did take
into thought his presence, but because the loner never engage in anything from probably
having depress thoughts, or has no social skills. The poem brings out a very common
situation in a lonely person, it emphasis the sense of both unhappiness feels and the
4 “Loner- Comprehension Worksheet,” Scribd. Last modified 2011 http://www.scribd.com/doc/200354375/Loner-
Comprehension-Worksheet
contrast between the two moods. Even though many people surround him, he still feels
lonely.
Everyone have heard and seen the fame movie ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’, it is a
very unique movie, which was firstly written by the author Victor Hugo and was
modified to make the Disney animation movie by tap Murphy. This meaning full movie
illustrates a Lonely deformed man named Quasimodo, that is locked up, but wants to be
able to with others5. Even though this is an animation movie that is portrayed towards
children, in the beginning the movie still able to illustrate and captures the dark, pain,
sadness and courage’s feelings towards the main character. The movie shows a person,
who actually wants to not be lonely, but because he is different from the others, he is
scared to come out, and when he does everyone didn’t want to be around him. The movie
can relate to many people, not only you can be lonely because of looks, but also they way
you think and see different things. Although in the movie the man had a happy ending, in
real life many people are still lonely and depressed.
The last piece is photograph, which represents loneliness. It is an image of a young man
sitting in a dark long hallway in a fetal position. The photograph brings out a very dark,
sad and gloomy feel. Even though with not many details towards the facial expression we
can see that pain. From looking at the picture the feeling of depression, alone and scared
really comes out. Which is a very strong emotions that people usually get from having the
5 “The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1996,” Imdb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116583/
feeling of lonely 6 . The image relates to the poem, short story and movie of having
someone being isolated and being away from others. The photography however can be
perceived in many different ways. Because this image is very deep image that brings out
many sad and depressive feels to us viewers, the young man in the picture may have any
of the seven lists of why people stay lonely.
From all the sources that portray the emotions lonely in a few different ways, we can see
that being lonely can come from different ways. From having social phobia, depressed
and negative mind, getting burned, sensitive temperament, unrealistic expectations and
being different. The short story shows someone being bullied because they are different
and end up being isolated from everyone. The poem discusses how even though the
surroundings are crowded and happy, the feeling of loneliness can be hidden and be over
powered through the person’s negative thoughts. The movie shows a person wanting to
be not lonely, but because the person is different and society wouldn’t accept him, it’s
hard for that person to try and break through. The photograph shows the many different
ways we can interpret the emotion lonely. The felling lonely can be a very crucial
emotion to have and can tend to make you feel dark and small. Many people from
different ages and social circles can have this emotion, from just not making the effort or
to not being able to fit in. Loneliness is a complex situation, its sometimes hard to see it
as people tend to hide that emotion from people, however some can be seen that they are
lonely.
6 “Lonely No More,” The Lint Screen. Last modified 12/29/09. http://thelintscreen.com/2009/12/29/lonely-no-more/
Bibliography
Hartwell, Marie. “The Roots of Loneliness.” Psych Central, 2011. Accessed February 10
2014. http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-roots-of-loneliness/0005953
“Hit me Baby One More Time Lyrics.” Metro Lyrics. Last modified 2013.
http://www.metrolyrics.com/hit-me-baby-one-more-time-lyrics-britney-spears.html
Hopson, Caitlin. “Outcast.” Helium, January 24 2008. Accessed February 9 2014.
http://www.helium.com/items/816818-short-stories-outcasts
“Loner- Comprehension Worksheet.” Scribd. Last modified 2011
http://www.scribd.com/doc/200354375/Loner-Comprehension-Worksheet
“Lonely No More.” The Lint Screen. Last modified December 29 2009.
http://thelintscreen.com/2009/12/29/lonely-no-more/
“The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1996.” Imdb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116583/