Miss Lonelyhearts is All of Us

When Professor Nericcio first introduced Miss Lonelyhearts in lecture, he said something that stuck with me, "Miss Lonelyhearts is all of us."  The story of Miss Lonelyhearts, at its core, is essentially one about a man stuck in a job that he no longer likes, who falls in a spiral of dark depression.

The characters in this story often have to resort to heavy drinking, partying, and sex to forget about all of their problems.  Miss Lonelyhearts in particular has an affair with Shrike's wife, and even one of his readers: Mrs. Doyle.  Personally, I find it surprising how even 70 years later, not much has changed in our world.  Back in the 1930's, I would assume that depression was not that well known and probably was not recognized as a mental condition.  However, in my generation and especially in college students, depression and anxiety disorders seem to be found in a lot of people.  Although correlation does not necessary imply causation, college students also resort to heavy drinking, parting, sex, and in our age - a lot of drugs.  Hence, "Miss Lonelyhearts is all of us."

So, what is the solution to coming out of this mental depression?  As I am not a psychologist, I wouldn't be able to give the right answer.  However, according to Nathaniel West's interpretation of Miss Lonelyhearts, there really is no way out as the end of the story leads to Lonelyhearts rolling down a set of stairs with Doyle after exploding a gun.  I would hope this is not the case.

My best guess to getting rid of the Lonelyhearts inside of us is to seek something new.  In fact, this is the message that I am trying to send in my Ignite speech, in which seeking new challenges can bring new meaning into your life.  By challenging yourself and seeing what you can accomplish, you just might be able to bring a little more happiness in your life and bring yourself out of a spiral of depression, if you're in one.