Oprah's Thoughts on Part Two of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
PAGE 2
The sad irony is that Singer is as desperate and alone as anyone in the novel. Our hearts go out to him as he writes, but never sends, his letters to Antonapoulos. He longs for his friend as passionately as Mick, Dr. Copeland, Blount and Biff yearn to connect with him. "The way I need you is a loneliness I cannot bear," he writes. "I am not meant to be alone and without you who understand." (p. 217) Singer romanticizes his memories of Antonapoulos and in the end, just like the others, he yearns for someone who doesn't really exist.
Each lonely heart is hunting for meaning and love. And we feel the pain of each of their struggles. As the winter months become spring and summer, Mick's awkward adolescence leads to a desperate moment of love with Harry. The fierceness of racism and poverty grip us as Dr. Copeland's son Willie is tortured and broken by his evil, ignorant jailers. Mick's family seems to succumb to the despair of their daily battles with poverty and sickness. And just when it seems that Jake Blount and Dr. Copeland share some dreams and ideals—they utterly fail to come together.
Even Singer, who seems to stand apart, ultimately comes to the center of his own storm. In the haunting final pages of Part Two, Singer finds out that Antonapoulos—the friend he has given all of his heart to and put all of his faith in—is dead. He is strangled with anguish, totally bereft… Shattered, Singer returns home. Silently and meticulously, he puts a bullet in his chest. His pain and loneliness is too great to bear.
Can this town of restless souls deal with all its loss and heartache? Will the novel descend into despair—or will hope arise out of the pain and struggle McCullers has crafted? Keep reading!
— Oprah
Carson In Her Own Words
She was the literary darling of her generation. From the books she kept close to her bedside to the authors she kept close to her heart, now you can explore her literary and private life in her own words, on video and through personal photos.
Delve into the life and times of Carson McCullers.
Each lonely heart is hunting for meaning and love. And we feel the pain of each of their struggles. As the winter months become spring and summer, Mick's awkward adolescence leads to a desperate moment of love with Harry. The fierceness of racism and poverty grip us as Dr. Copeland's son Willie is tortured and broken by his evil, ignorant jailers. Mick's family seems to succumb to the despair of their daily battles with poverty and sickness. And just when it seems that Jake Blount and Dr. Copeland share some dreams and ideals—they utterly fail to come together.
Even Singer, who seems to stand apart, ultimately comes to the center of his own storm. In the haunting final pages of Part Two, Singer finds out that Antonapoulos—the friend he has given all of his heart to and put all of his faith in—is dead. He is strangled with anguish, totally bereft… Shattered, Singer returns home. Silently and meticulously, he puts a bullet in his chest. His pain and loneliness is too great to bear.
Can this town of restless souls deal with all its loss and heartache? Will the novel descend into despair—or will hope arise out of the pain and struggle McCullers has crafted? Keep reading!
— Oprah
Carson In Her Own Words
She was the literary darling of her generation. From the books she kept close to her bedside to the authors she kept close to her heart, now you can explore her literary and private life in her own words, on video and through personal photos.
Delve into the life and times of Carson McCullers.
NEXT STORY
