Compare and Contrast the Ways in Which the Theme of...

Compare and contrast the ways in which the theme of isolation is presented and explored by Sebastian Faulks and T.S Eliot in ‘Engleby’ and ‘Selected Poems’. Throughout both ‘Engleby’ and ‘Selected Poems’ there is a prevailing sense of ‘apprehension of the tenuousness of human existence’ which is evident in the protagonists’ confining inability to communicate with the world around them, as seen in Prufrock’s agonised call, ‘so how should I presume?’. ‘The Wasteland’ was written by Eliot to ‘address the fragmentation and alienation characteristic of [contemporary] culture’, questioning mankind’s ability to move forward into cohesiveness despite the ‘more pronounced sense of disillusionment and cynicism’ which came about as a ‘direct†¦show more content†¦This suggests his isolation yet the reader cannot be certain whether this is his own disinterest in involving himself in social life, or whether it had been due to his childhood and conditioning by others ‘I tried to join in the communal joke once. But only on ce.’ The narrative style makes it difficult to find the reason why Engleby only attempted to join in the joke ‘once’. This theme of isolation is continued throughout the novel with his ‘cowboy tie’ at the dinner with Stellings, in contrast to his music obsession: ‘Off the top of my head, I can think of at least ten orchestral tunes.’ Prufrock finds himself in a similar situation, questioning ‘Do I dare/ Disturb the universe?’ the alliteration emphasising his feeling of isolation and uncertainty on what action he should take. It is suggested that Engleby ‘has a tremendous fear of reincarnation which suggests that to some extent he does see death as a form of escape’. This idea has some merit due to his belief that the ‘brief stint in humanity’ is ‘pointless’, and is almost as terrified of the idea of living forever as he is of dying young. This is parallel to Sybil in ‘The Burial of the Dead’: ‘I will show you fear in a handful of dust’, Eliot implying that eternal life is not something to be longed for but to be apprehensive and fearful of due to the isolation and loneliness which would come with outliving relatives and friends. Following the First World War, it is possible