Alienation is a common theme in literature as it can evoke many deep emotions. It can be linked to characters who have acted very drastically or who need to do so. Regardless, the alienated characters create a sense of intrigue with the personal addiction they face. Receiving help from others is not applicable to these people. Nathaniel Hawthorne's “The Minister's Black Veil,” Anne Sexton's “The Farmer's Wife,” and T. S. Eliot's “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” each beautifully create their own sense of character alienation. Veil”, tells the story of the isolation of a man wrapped in a black veil over his face. At first, when the minister, Mr. Hooper, and his veil first appeared in the church, it took only a few seconds for the townspeople to describe Hooper in censorious terms as crazy and terrible. He was not asked any questions to explain himself. Indeed, these people immediately turned against him and were convinced that the veil was hiding something. The black veil symbolizes a sense of mystery and darkness in the minister. Hawthorne described how the veil was like that of a sinful secret between Hooper and the townspeople. This secret was never revealed, which only further alienated Hooper. Despite the astonishment that others felt towards him, Mr. Hooper behaved very casually and did not seem to notice the fear of the faithful. After the services, Hooper greeted worshipers as he usually did, paying respects to elders and placing his hand on children's heads. These indiscreet actions did nothing to alleviate feelings toward Hooper. Hawthorne, however, argued that perhaps the congregation was as fearful of Hooper as he was of them. Rega...... middle of paper......ss friend. It is like a crab that hides in its shell and searches the depths of the earth without any real expectation of making acquaintance. However, this man wants to leave the world accomplished in something, but sees his time running out to do so. This is a common theme in the piece, but the speaker never uses this remaining time, as he would rather play similar situations in his mind. Being able to compress “the universe into a ball” would give this man some satisfaction. However, there is no reason for the public to believe that this will ever happen. The speaker is afraid of doing something dramatic on his own and joining the world around him. Eliot frames this man as someone who simply watched the world go by without ever making any real connections. He will continue to lead a solitary and indecisive life with no one else to share a bond or communicate with.