The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter Character Analysis

Exercising an open mind, what do the words, enlightened, trustworthy, hopeful, understanding, and divine, trigger? For most people, these words bring the idea of a god or some celestial figure to mind. For the characters of Carson McCullers’ novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, these are words used to describe Mr. John Singer, a remarkable, yet complex, protagonist. The main characters find themselves in a lonely state due to profound personal struggles and, in turn, label Singer as a “godly” individual, the only source of “faith” they can find. Each character designs their own Christ-like version of a “god” through John Singer based on where they are mentally in their lives, although he rarely exemplifies these traits genuinely; his mind is ironically elsewhere – affixed on his own inspirational “godly” figure, Spiros Antonapoulos.
From the beginning of the novel, Mick Kelly, is a young character who feels the
They are each searching for some type of divine understanding. Mick’s isolated childhood, Copeland’s need for racial assurance, Biff’s solemn and observant lifestyle, and Blount’s obnoxiously drunk political views lead to lonely ways of life and the desire for a bigger power to heal them. These four characters find what they are looking for in John Singer. Whether it be compassion or understanding, Singer attempts to portray these characteristics. However, internally, other things are going on for Singer. He cannot break away from the person he adores and loves. This ongoing internal conflict ironically contradicts the external labels being given to him. Others label him as Christ-like, but Singer sees Christ in Spiros. This hunt for divinity by characters, who cannot manage to find their own true selves, makes this novel an analytical maze and spiral of lost