Imagery Depicted Through T.S. Elliot's "The Hollow Men"
             The imagery depicted in T.S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men" evokes a sense of
             desolate hopelessness and lends to Eliot's generally cynical view of civilization during this
             period in history. A reaction of deep and profound disappointment in mankind around him
             is made evident in this poem, first published in 1925. In this short piece, Eliot lists several
             deep faults he finds in his fellow human beings, including hypocrisy, insensability and
             indifference. Overall Elliot leaves the reader with a feeling of overwhelming emptiness.
             An important feature of this poem is the fact that the narration of the poem is in
             first person. This establishes Eliot's and the readers relationship to the images and ideas
             presented. When the poem begins "We are the hollow men" rather than "They are ..." or
             "You are..." the reader is immediately included within this poem, along with Eliot himself.
             This type of narration creates a sense of common "hollowness" and by the end of the
             poem, therefore, a sense of common responsibility and guilt. Early in the poem, Eliot
             creates a world of desolation. The idea of dryness is emphasized by the repeadted use of
             the word "dry" in the first stanza, where we read of "dried voices," "dry grass" and "dry
             cellar." When he mentions the sound of "rats feet over broken glass" he subtly prods at
             our anxieties about disease and decay.
             Eliot then mentions the dead, calling them "Those who have crossed...to death's
             other kingdom." These people are made real by Eliot's repeated mention of their eyes. He
             refers to them first as making their crossing into death with "direct eyes," meaning that
             they faced and surrendered to death, unable to turn away. Also he states they have "eyes I
             dare not meet in dreams," indicating that this narrator fears addressing death, either his own or those who have "crossed." Later in t...