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I. Introduction In Carson McCullers’ The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, the central character is John Singer. He is a deaf-mute whom four lonely individuals, each obsessed with a vision of his or her place in the world, share their deepest secrets with: An adolescent who desires to write symphonies, a drunk who believes he holds all the answers, a black physician whose desire is to motivate his people to demand their rightful place in American society, and a cafe owner whose secret wish is sexually ambiguous. Yet all of them hold the same belief that the deaf Mr. Singer understands and validates his or her obsession. II. First Impression & Appearance We first meet Singer in a small, southern U.S. city set in the pre-World War II era. His first appearance is explained through a contrast between Singer and his Greek lover, Antonapoulos: “The two friends were very different. The one who always steered the way was an obese and dreamy Greek. In the summer he would come out wearing a yellow or green polo shirt stuffed sloppily into his trousers in front and hanging loose behind . . . The other mute was tall. His eyes had a quick, intelligent expression. He was always immaculate and soberly dressed” (McCullers 1). At home Singer always talked to Antonapoulos about the days events, yet these were usually one-sided conversations, since the Greek rarely ever talked. And when he did, it was to say he wanted to eat, drink, or sleep. “Singer never knew just how much his friend understood of all the things he told him. But it did not matter” (McCullers 2). III. Loyalty & Devotion Both mutes had no other friends, except for themselves. But they were not really alone at all. At home Singer would just talk and talk and they were quite content just to eat and drink. His hands would move eagerly and his hands “shaped the words in a swift series of designs.” This continued everyday for the 10 years that Singer had been in the town with Antonapoulos. Things begin to take a downfall when Antonapoulos turns ill. He is upset at everything Singer gives him and would not be amused at all when Singer tries to cheer him up. He was patient and did he all he could. After a week he was able to return to work. After his illness, Antonapoulos became quite irritable, and developed bad habits. These included stealing utensils from restaurants, urinating in public, bumping into people whose faces he did not like, and damaged unpaid merchandise. Singer was quite distraught and upset throughout this phase of his lover’s life. He worried constantly and became very familiar with the court system. And no matter what happened, and how much Singer scolded and tried to reason with him, he always had the same plain smile on his face.
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