Kate Delle
Seminar in Composition
Dr. Adam Johns
Final Project
12/6/08
The past and the present have displayed to us countless pictures of the lonely world we live in. But is this loneliness biologically programmed in our brains or is there a way to avoid becoming a victim of it? It is my belief that we are all destined to face loneliness in our lives due to it being genetically predetermined to occur. The effects of this predetermination may become apparent at any time in our lives and may have adverse effects on the brain including those as serious as depression. I also believe that these effects can be provoked by certain negative experiences in our lives, thus activating the loneliness. Furthermore, extreme loneliness is reflected in many works of 20th century literature and in the lives of their authors including Sylvia Plath, author of The Bell Jar, and Chris Ware, author of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth. These works as well as evidence based on depression demonstrate how loneliness is a biological trait in humans and therefore it will always be present in the world.
Esther Greenwood of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath experienced loneliness mainly because she experienced societal pressure as a woman of the time. These pressures that lead to her mental decline demonstrate that loneliness is inescapable. Esther was fortunate enough to have lived a privileged life and she was intent on having a career as a writer. She grew up “suburban, with saddle shoes and ‘fifteen years of straight A’s’, her eastern women’s college, her scholarships and weekends at Yale” (Smith, Stan 351). So, because of her background she had a lot of pressure on her to do well in life. However, she experienced a lot of uncertainty that her college degree wouldn’t work out. Because of this she felt pressure to get married and have children for financial security, therefore forfeiting her career. She says, “what I hate is the thought of being under a man’s thumb. A man doesn’t have a worry in the world, while I’ve got a baby hanging over my head like a big stick, to keep me in line” (221). Esther became bored and lackadaisical because of the pressure she felt around her. She expressed this by saying, “I guess I should have been excited the way most of the other girls were, but I couldn’t get myself to react. I felt very still and very empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo” (3).
All of the pressure that Esther felt was what provoked her extreme depression and detachment from reality, therefore proving its biological nature. Stressful life events (which will always exist in our lives) have been proven to bring about depressive illness which has a prevalence of between 4% and 12% in one’s lifetime. There have been many research studies done which prove the genetic factor in depression, among them being twin and adoption studies. In 60% of identical twins affected by the disorder when one twin acquired it so did the other. However, in fraternal twins this was the case for only 20%, showing the presence of a genetic factor. Also, adopted children of parents with depression have been shown to have a very likely chance of also developing the disease, showing that the environment they were raised in could not prevent them from acquiring the disease (Farmer).
Sylvia Plath, the author of The Bell Jar, wrote the story to represent her own life. Plath struggled with becoming an accomplished female writer much like Esther Greenwood did. She strived for perfection in her writing and had to deal with being rejected by different publishers. This rejection was devastating to her and she ended up becoming very depressed. She secluded herself from others creating intense loneliness in her life and eventually leading to her suicide. This lonely state that Plath encompassed was mirrored in her book, showing the presence of intense disparity in many people’s lives. Also, Esther and Plath displayed many symptoms of depression and suicide such as not sleeping or eating, losing interest in things that she once loved, and attempting suicide by swallowing a bottle of sleeping bills, all symptoms of depression. Overall, the fact that Plath was so lonely herself was what caused her to create such a lonely character in Esther.
Jimmy Corrigan in Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware also displays loneliness having a biological nature. The majority of the characters in the book are extremely lonely and negative people. Ware also displays a family history of fathers “ruining” their sons by either abandoning them or letting them down. Jimmy’s alienation is seen mainly through his very limited contact with other people, making him a very lonely and isolated man. His attempts at social activity show just how pathetic he really is. For example, Jimmy tries to have a relationship with his co-worker Peggy but he can’t seem to even have a proper conversation with her. At dinner, he puts two bowls out as he is hoping Peggy will join him for soup. However, he then remembers that he is alone and puts one of the bowls back (21).
The genetic effects of loneliness are shown by Ware in his portrayal of American life as dull and dreary. Lonesome feelings have been passed down through families so much so that society has been affected. For example p.168 shows 12 postcards that are supposed to represent America however they include pictures of Dairy Queen, Pam’s Wagon Wheel (a diner), and various strip malls and gas stations. The postcards show America as being an ugly place, which is a commentary by Ware that humans are lonely individuals. America has come to lack community and rather be filled with meaningless commercialism and lonely people. This is mainly because of the tendency that humans have to feel lonesome. Ware supports the idea that this loneliness is a permanent part of our lives and also that is passed down through our families. We also know that Ware also supports this idea of loneliness due to the fact that Jimmy Corrigan is a semi-autobiographical novel. Much like Jimmy, Ware grew up without a father and ended up meeting him upon his adulthood. This lack of a father figure in his life obviously had an impact on him, causing him to see the world as a lonely place.
Jimmy Corrigan supports my belief of loneliness being genetically determined. Another way that Ware shows this is through his illustration of Jimmy’s family tree on page 90. He portrays an askew family tree which shows the generations of lonely men growing backward and the tree ending with Jimmy (90). By not including branches on the tree Ware is showing that Jimmy’s family isn’t expanding anymore, but rather that it is in decline. Also, Jimmy seems to be at a lower level than those of his great-grandfather, grandfather, and father due to the fact that they were all at least able to get close enough to a woman to reproduce. Jimmy has barely been able to even have a conversation with a woman, let alone have a relationship with one.
The lack of friends or romantic partners that Jimmy has causes him to engage in strange fantasies in an attempt to fill the emptiness he feels inside. These include fantasies about women and superheroes. His mental instability is also seen in his fantasy about murdering his father with a glass mug. Furthermore, Jimmy never seems to have career or life goals throughout the book and really accomplishes nothing. In fact, the only real decision he even comes close to making is when he contemplates committing suicide at the end. This was showing that he was looking for a way out of his lonely life. Suicide is something that the protagonists in each of the above literary works dealt with. It is also prevalent in today’s society.
The askew family tree previously mentioned also supports the fact that depression is passed down in families and that heredity is scientifically shown to be a major cause of depression. In fact, heredity accounts for more than 80% of depressive illnesses. According to Newsweek Magazine, “The gene that codes for serotonin transport comes in both efficient and non-efficient versions. Those who have the short version of the gene are more susceptible to depression after experiencing stressful life events. (“How Genes Affect Moods”. Newsweek). This gene is then passed down among generations, causing those with the gene to have a high likelihood of developing depression sometime in their life. Not all people’s loneliness will escalate into depression however. Loneliness is simply a part of our nature that we must deal with at some points in our lives. Just as our genes code for what color hair or eyes we have, they also code for how lonely we are likely to be in life. (“How Genes Affect Moods”. Newsweek).
Although loneliness is a biological factor, it can be triggered by stressful life events. An example of such a situation is that of military families. The anxiety of having a loved one overseas in war can often be so traumatic that it could lead to mental instability. The individuals in the family have the predisposition that all of us as humans have to feel lonesome and it becomes active when they are triggered by the stressful event. For example, Brian Smith writes, “The impact of multiple deployments and reintegration creates a cycle of emotions for the family, including loneliness, anxiety, depression, and even anger” (Smith). Smith goes on to say that if these negative emotions go untreated there can be a surge of physical, emotional, and behavioral problems within the family similar to those in The Bell Jar, and Jimmy Corrigan.
Another cause of modern day alienation and despair involves the soldiers themselves returning from war. “The veterans presently returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced hand-to-hand combat, blast injuries, traumatic brain injury, etc. In addition, they have experienced severe stress, loss of comrades, family separation and breakup, loneliness, etc.” (Cancro). There are also more common events that can trigger depression such as the loss of a loved one or life conflicts such as financial troubles. Coping with these things is becoming a major problem because many people don’t get the help they need in doing so. Instead, they refuse to admit that they have a mental illness and do not seek out help. Turning to self-medication through alcohol and/or illegal drugs seems like the only option for them. From there, their problem will only escalate.
If one were to argue that it is possible for loneliness to be absent in humans, he or she would be kidding themselves. Those opposing my belief might say that many medical professionals and scientists are at work to eliminate depressive illness. However, even medications that have been developed to treat some of these diseases have been shown to be below par. For example, many prescribed antidepressants actually cause depressive symptoms to stay the same or worsen. In fact, depression symptoms stay the same in 2 out of 3 people who take an antidepressant. Also, many people are reluctant to actually take them even after being prescribed them by their doctor. Cancro explains, “People frequently are ashamed to admit the presence of a mental illness and tend to deny its existence in themselves and/or their family members”. Because there will always be this fear of being “crazy” associated with depressive illness, it isn’t likely for it to decrease in the population any time soon.
Finally, when depression goes untreated it is likely to only get worse and to lead to suicide. “Suicide is on the increase in the United States, and this supports the hypothesis that depressive illnesses are on the increase. Presently, suicide is the eighth-leading cause of death in the United States and is the second leading cause of death in the college-age population” (Cancro). Because of the declining future of depressive illness, loneliness and alienation will also only keep declining. Although everyone in the world does not acquire depression, everyone does experience loneliness in their lives at some point and this can only be explained due to our brains being programmed to experience it.
In conclusion, loneliness is a factor in human society that simply will always be present due to its biological nature. Not only does it represent itself will in literature such as The Bell Jar, and Jimmy Corrigan, but also it is especially present in the lives of their authors. The fact that Plath and Ware created such lonely, isolated protagonists shows some of their own internal struggles with these same feelings. Overall, I believe that loneliness is something which is biologically programmed into our brains and which emerges after being provoked by some life event. In many cases it unfortunately shows itself in the form of depression. Because humans will always be faced with hardships that may provoke depression, loneliness will always be associated with being human. For some, this loneliness is something that is encountered on an irregular basis, feeling lonely every once in while, but for others it can escalate into a depressive illness. Either way, humans have been shown to ineffectively cope with loneliness, therefore causing depression and suicide rates to increase. Furthermore, the proven genetic factor of depression also shows that many of us are predetermined to become depressed. Due to all of these factors, loneliness is definitely something that affects our lives negatively and it is unavoidable in my opinion. We can only hope that humans learn better ways of coping with their loneliness, and to therefore reduce its severity.
Cancro, Robert. "Depression.(TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY: PART TWO)." The Exceptional Parent 38.7 (July 2008): 67(2). General Reference Center Gold. Gale. Westborough Public Library. 17 Nov. 2008
Farmer, A.E.. "The Genetics of Depressive Disorders." International Review of Psychiatry vol 8. issue 4.(1996) 369. 5 Dec 2008
"How Genes Affect Moods." Newsweek (Dec 8, 2003): 70. General Reference Center Gold. Gale. Westborough Public Library. 30 Nov. 2008
"Signs of the Real Thing.(depression symptoms)(Brief article)." U.S. News & World Report 143.4 (August 6, 2007): 58. General Reference Center Gold. Gale. Westborough Public Library. 30 Nov. 2008
Smith, Brian P. "Mounting pressure: unmanaged stress can surge into anxiety, depression, and anger. There is relief for Reserve families.(FAMILY STRESS)." The Officer 84.8 (Oct 2008): 31(3). General Reference Center Gold. Gale. Westborough Public Library. 16 Nov. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/itx/start.do?prodId=GRGM>
Smith, Stan, “Attitudes Counterfeiting Life: The Irony of Artifice in Sylvia Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar,’” Critical Quarterly, vol. 17, Vo.3, Autumn, 1975, pp. 247-260.
Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 1971.
Ware, Chris. Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth. New York: Pantheon Books, 2000.
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