This view coincides with the trends of the 1920's as an economic boom occurred and the violence of World War I left America in a state of shock in 1918, and the generation that had fought the war had turned to wild and extravagant living to compensate such devastation. The staid conservatism, and time- worn values and attitudes of the previous decade were rejected, as opulence and joie-de-vivre became the norm. America became engulfed in material possessions as things became more affordable. Furthermore, the moral decadence of the time increased as sex out-of-wedlock became more prevalent. Eliot conveys that this society was one of disreputable and cheapened values and morals. The notion that these souls are immortal symbolises that this moral decadence will continue forever. Hence, makes little promise of any spiritual regeneration.
In "Hollow men" to express human life as debased the final stanza reads:.
"This is the way the world ends.
This is the way the world ends.
This is the way the world ends.
Not with a bang but a whimper".
The stanza again highlights Eliot's view that human life is debased. Eliot expresses the notion that the end of human existence will not come about in a blaze of glory but instead through slow debasement. This slow decadence would be the result of the human race losing its continued desire for spiritual fulfilment. This is conveyed though the use of repetition before the last sentence. The repetition is symbolic of society's drive and once this determination is lost society is left with nothing, which results in its decadence and its lack of morals and ethics. The finality of this last line and implication that society will go so far as to bring about its own destruction, illustrates that Eliot believes that society is set on its fatal course thus having little if any, chance of spiritual regeneration.
Eliot employs the structure of the two poems to portray human lives as fragmented.
