Loneliness is a big part of life for some people; maybe their wife or husband has left them. Or they do not have any friends or family to rely on. James Diegan has painted a painting that shows a man sitting all alone on a bench with his head buried in his hands, like he is crying. The painting is called “Loneliness” and is made in 2006. Today almost everyone is getting divorced, it is more common that people are divorced or have been than they have stayed with the same person their whole life.
The short story:”Sorry for Disturbing You” is written by Richard Knight. The story is from 2008. The story is about a man, Ian, who lives alone with his daughter, Corinne, because his wife, Karen, has moved back home with her mother while they are fixing their problems. And one night a man stands outside Ian’s house and he is ill or drunk so Ian lets him in so he can help him with getting home. In the story’s beginning we are introduced to Ian, the strange man outside the house, and Corinne. The man has been crying, or it is the rain that is running down his face. He looks ill, or maybe he is drunk, nonetheless Ian let him inside to borrow the phone, so the man can call for a taxi. In the story’s presentation we get to that Ian and Karen have some problems so she has moved back in with her mother. We are told that he actually has a cell phone with him, which he calls a cab from. And that his name is Michael Phelps, and he cannot even walk without any help. The cab driver knows him and refuses to drive him anywhere. The texts problems really starts to show, when he calls George and Edie Higham. And they do not want to help Ian with getting rid of Michael. They give only one advice to him and that is he could call the police if Michael made any problems. And Michael tells Ian that he has a social worker and he has problems with alcohol. The point of no return in the text is when Ian calls Karen to come and look after Corinne, so he can drive Michael home. Because now he is going home no matter what. In the end Michael tells that he lost contact with George, and the George was really angry and so was Michael’s wife. Ian thinks that he must have had an affair with Edie.
Michael is quite alone in the world. His wife has left him, he has a daughter who does not want anything to do with him. She did not even invite him to her wedding, so he could walk her down the aisle . Kerby Anderson has written about male loneliness, the text is called “Male Loneliness” and is from 1993. He says in the text that men are more likely to be alone than women. Because women are better at making friends and keeping them, than men are, because women have it easier to deal with feelings than men are . And Ian feels alone, but actually he is not alone, his wife still wants to help him, when it is needed. They might have some issues, but cannot be that big. Because she laughs with a kind of fondness when he calls her, and tells her about the situation. We are not told about her father in the text, but we know that her mother is alone, because when Ian talks about her he says that “Karen was staying at her mother’s ” and not Karen was staying at her parent’s house. And Michael has a daughter and he was married. But we do not know who he was married to. The reason why he was at exactly Ian and Karen’s address could be that Michael is Karen’s Father. And that could also be why he keeps looking at her picture, and keeps saying that he is sorry. And that might be the reason he had been crying when Ian opened the door. He even says sorry to her when she arrived at house . And when he looked at her his eyes were filled with tears.
Loneliness has become a big part of Michael’s life. He wants to get better but the guilt is too big of a burden for him to stop drinking. He is probably suicidal, because he mentions that he really should not be alone . Ian drives him home, because Michael said that he has a neighbour he can stay with. But in the end of the story does Michael tell Ian that he shall take good care of Karen and Corinne . And that Ian should not call anyone. He has probably been sitting on a bench just like the man in the painting “Loneliness” many times, regretting what he has done. It has just become too much for him.