The World is a Wasteland: An Exploration of the Human Condition and the Search for Peace

Abstract

For centuries, people have struggled to find meaning and fulfillment in their lives, often feeling lost and unsatisfied. Two works—Confessions by St. Augustine and The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot—explore this struggle and raise an essential question: What could improve this seemingly hopeless human condition? St. Augustine fell into a life of sin that left him guilt-ridden over the ruin he caused in his own life. In his work, Confessions, St. Augustine lays out the narrative of his life, confessing how he looked for fulfillment in sex, partying, and theft—all actions which led him into deeper cycles of self destruction. Later in life, St. Augustine converts to Christianity and changes his way of living, becoming a priest and bishop. T.S. Eliot’s poem, The Waste Land, brings readers to post WWI London, after society had witnessed one of the most horrific displays of violence humans have ever committed against each other. The unyielding weight of death on London is palpable as Eliot tells stories of disconnected and broken people. The works of St. Augustine and T.S Eliot offer insight into the human condition, and suggest that perhaps the only way to disrupt this self-destructive pattern is by seeking peace.