最近特别忙，主要是被英国文学吓着了。如下的作业每周都要写。为了写这样的作业，我必须完成大量阅读。这篇作业被严格的老师给了近满分，举例来晒晒我最近的忙碌吧.

我的回答：

As described in the Introduction of The Twentieth Century and After of our textbook , "modernity disrupted the old order, upended ethical and social codes, cast into doubt previously stable assumptions about self, community, the world, and the divine" (page 961). Maybe due to this reason, one might say that the overriding condition among writers of the 20th century is alienation. Among the works we read, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock written by T.S.Eliot and Waiting for Godot written by Samuel Beckett support this notion.

In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, the man narrator looks for love but he is very doubtful about love at same time. Thus the tone of this poem is very hopeless. In story of this poem, the man and women are isolated from each other in their hearts, although they are physically together. For example, the man feels uncertain about their relationship by saying" Time for you and Time for me/And time yet for a hundred indecisions" (lines 31-32, page 1302). When the man narrator and his potential girl friend are physically together, he has strong doubt about their relation: " Is it perfume from a dress/That makes me so digress". Love is supposed to bring joy and power to person in love. In this poem, the man narrator feels the opposite way. In other word, he is not emotionally attached to the girl rather he doubts that the girl brings bad luck to his life instead. He even "wept and fasted, wept and prayed" (line 81, page 1303) after they "stretched on the floor" (line 78, page 1303). Unfortunately, he is still afraid of this relationship: " In short, I was afraid" (line 86, page 1304), suggesting the lovers are not in love and they are isolated from each other.

            In Waiting for Godot , two men named Gogo(Estragon) and Didi (Vladimir) are waiting for a man named Godot, who never shows up. This event itself is more than enough to suggest alienation because they are waiting in vain for a person who does not care them. Although Godot sends a boy to tell them he will come the next day but he still never shows up, which further suggests the indifference of Godot to Gogo and Didi. When Gogo and Didi waits for Godot, their relationship also suggests alienation because they feels lonely even though they are with each other together. For example, when Didi says: " I feel lonely" (page 1360 ), Gogo does not comfort him but reply" I had a dream" (page 1360) instead. In the whole story, it is very clear to see that either Didi or Gogo only cares for his own feeling. The similar situation happens to Pozzo and Lucky, the master and his servant, who pass by the tree area where Didi and Gogo wait for Godot. Pozzo does not care Lucky's feeing and abuse him a lot. Lucky also does not care Pozzo becasue Pozzo complains for Lucky to Didi and Gogo: " He used to be so kind...so helpful....and entertaining...my good angel...and now...he is killing me" (page 1372).

            Based on the above two examples, I support the notion which proposes that the overriding condition among writers of the 20th century is alienation. Although The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is a poem and Waiting for Godot is a play, both forms depict an uncertain and doubtful relationship between lovers and friends. In short, alienation is located in both works.