Eliots The Waste Land and Maddys No Past, No Present, No Future :: Wasteland Maddy Eliot Essays

T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" and Yulisa Amadu Maddy's "No Past, No Present, No Future" Time and circumstance change everything. When we are young, the world is fresh, exciting, and pure. As people age, we begin to realize how corrupt the world is. Our old center, one based on trust, breaks down. Everyone in the world is looking out for their personal well-being, not the well-being of others. With this knowledge, people’s perspectives change. Rather than trusting every thing, we question the meaning and motive behind it. Our once happy, innocent world is now polluted and depressing. All things fall apart because the center cannot hold. It must change to accommodate life’s changes. T.S. Eliot and Yulisa Amadu Maddy are two authors who deal with this theory in their writings. Eliot published "The Waste Land" shortly after World War I. The horrific war drastically changed the mentality of the world. Thousands died. The living were left with endless questions: Why did so many die? Did the life of the deceased have any meaning? What is the meaning of any persons life? These questions prove that the center of society is changing. Not long before this period, people were content. They lived their lives day to day without questioning their actions. Now, they must second-guess everything, not just daily choices, but the entire reason that they must make such choices. The war to end all wars did not end the internal battles of it’s survivors. They are confused and helpless in the wasteland left by destruction. In No Past, No Present, No Future, Maddy proves it does not take a war for things to fall apart. His story is of three men who make some life changing mistakes. These circumstances are not as globally traumatic as a war. Still, they cause each character to question his every action, just as the war caused society to question every action. Their centers change as their ways of thinking change. Each person suffers through their own internal battles. Things begin to fall to pieces while their centers transform. Sex is the catalyst for all destruction. As children, we are oblivious to it. Our bodies have not reached full maturity. Therefore, we have no desire for sexual indulgence or experimentation. The Thrills of prepubescent life come from exploring surroundings. We play and develop our personalities and imaginations. The entire time, we are learning and growing physically and intellectually.