Loneliness And Isolation In Mark Strand's 'Boulevard Of Broken Dreams'

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There are few other truly unifying feelings in the Human Experience that are as far reaching as loneliness. We, at one time or another in our lives, have all experienced a period of true aloneness, human isolation and feeling the need to seek out somewhere we fit-in. While a person is experiencing this, the reaction to our understanding of the world shifts. The streets and parks seem emptier, the corridors and hallways seem darker, and the people around us seem miles away even though they may be standing or sitting right next to us. Where the thin veil of community and society is lifted and we all are left looking upon the ugly visage of the solitary reality we exist in. However, with great human struggle sometimes comes great expression in all forms of art. …show more content…
This piece has been a hotbed for imitation and inspiration for the past 70 years. Whether it be influences in films like Blade Runner, or to the art piece Boulevard of Broken Dreams, the message is still the same (Wood). Having Nighthawks presence be so ubiquitous across so many artistic mediums, it has served as a great vehicle to begin to discuss the personally comprehensible themes he is effectively conveying in his artwork. And high on this list are two very substantial essays written by Mark Strand and Tom Slater. Although Strand spends more time analyzing the physicality, and Slater discusses more the themes of discourse and anti-urbanism, they both press the understanding that Hopper’s work is conveying his own, very real, feelings of loneliness, isolation, and the life-long journey to seek out the answers to free oneself from the tyrannical grip of these powerful