The philosophy of Loneliness in No longer human

 "Mine has been a life of much shame. I can't even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being"

- Osamu Dazai, No Longer Human

As we may know, Loneliness is often Romanticized- the writer staring at a blank page. But in Dazai's No longer Human, loneliness is not a mood; it is a philosophy- a condition of being. It is not the absence of other, but the disconnection from ones self that makes existence unbearable.

Yozo Oba, the protagonist, is not a man who became 'lonely'. He was born with the 'wrong kind of soul' in the first place- one that sees too much, feels too deeply. What a pity.

He laughs, He performs, he adapts. His life is a series of masks. But the tragedy of performance is that the actor Will eventually forget who he was before the play began. And when the play is over... Guess what remains? Nothing! That's the life an 'actor' has to live. 

People think loneliness comes from being unloved. But no-no-no. Yozo teaches us that it comes from being seen and still being misunderstood. You can be surrounded by warmth and still feel that your soul speaks a language no one else can. And that is what differentiates No longer human from other books about the same topics- what are they about? Not being loved! Feeling like you are worse than everyone! Not being able to tell anyone about it since you'll be viewed as 'Ungrateful', sounds a bit too familiar, no? 

But that's not the case now is it? You can feel lonely even if you have all the wealth in the world. Even if you have all the money in the world. Even if you're the person who everyone adores- Loneliness won't disappear with that, now would it? 

No, it won't. And that's exactly what No longer human connects with. 

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