In the novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers centers his novel on fragmented individuals struggling to relate to and communicate with society; this struggle prevents them from discovering their own identity. Set in a Southern town, McCullers plays a deaf-mute John Singer who communicates fluently with Antonapoulos, his deaf-mute friend, through the use of sign language. Over time, John Singer develops a strong bond with Antonapoulos, but this bond is shattered after Antonapoulos is admitted to the asylum. For Singer, “Nothing seemed real except the ten years with Antonapoulos…the months passed in this empty, dreamy way” (McCullers 11). After Antonapoulos is admitted to an asylum, some misfits begin to visit Singer, intrigued by Singer's serenity and presence. In search of happiness and interaction, the characters divulge and reveal their lives to Singer. Without Singer, they feel a feeling of loneliness within them that creates problems for all these solitary hunters. Although these individuals deify Singer, Singer does not discover a feeling of relationship with them and finds life meaningless to the point that he ultimately commits suicide. Due to social and personal issues, the characters face the hardship of isolation and consult John Singer for comfort and support with their emotional frailties, believing he is the only person who understands them. Furthermore, McCullers describes how all lost souls find it essential to form a god with whom they can communicate in times of isolation, struggle, and despair. Mainly, McCullers describes how only through communion will the characters be able to feel part of society and merge their fragmentation to discover their... middle of paper... monalities, Singer closes exclusively to Antonapoulos. Closing himself to Antonapoulos indicates that Singer imposes his individual identity on Antonapoulos and does not create his own identity. Singer isolates himself from everyone and, in doing so, demolishes the possibility of finding his own identity, his own selfhood. Basically, Singer establishes a perception of communication but does not reach a common understanding. Through lost and lonely souls, McCullers describes the significance of forming a god to eliminate feelings of isolation and despair, however, trusting in a god also destroys the lost soul. In addition to solitary hunters, Singer's connection to Antonapoulos illustrates a relationship in which one places one's trust in a god but, by committing this action, destroys oneself. Through communication exclusively with Antonapoulos, Singer truly speaks to the mirror of himself.