T.S Eliot's character Alfred J. Prufrock communicates to the reader feelings of alienation. He represents the society of T.S Elliots time. Prufrock feels isolated from society and trapped in an environment that is dull, bleak, and meaningless. He clearly expresses his fear of running out of time, which could result in the loss of his ability to find a mate. His lack of self-esteem steers him away from women in fear of what they will think of him and/or being rejected. He lives down to society’s expectations of him, or what he thinks their expectations are. Prufrock says that “[They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”] and “They will say: “But how his arms and legs are growing thin!”] (41-44) these are just suppositions however others opinions play a big part in determining what Prufrock does and how he acts. Because of Prufrocks negative expectations for situations (eg. Talking to a woman), it shapes his behavior and attitude which …show more content…
He feels if he were to challenge the universe, he would disturb its equilibrium. Prufrock says that he is terrified of “The eyes that fix him in a formulated phrase” (Elliot 56), suggesting that he is filled with insecurity and fears judgment and criticism from others. He feels like he is inferior to those around him and will never be able to live up to their expectations. Prufrock accepts the fact that he will always be rejected and brushed off by women. In Prufrocks eyes, things will always be the same for him and he will never make any progress or accomplish anything. Prufrock compares himself to an insect “pinned and wriggling on the wall” (55-58), which means that he feels small and meaningless. Alfred J. Prufrock can identify his dilemma but lacks the braveness to do resolve it and therefore he lives his mediocre and inadequate life feeling isolated, unaccomplished, and
J. Alfred Prufrock constantly lived in fear, in fear of life and death. T. S. Eliot divided his classic poem into three equally important sections. Each division provided the reader with insight into the mental structure of J. Alfred Prufrock. In actuality, Prufrock maintained a good heart and a worthy instinct, but he never seemed to truly exist. A false shadow hung over his existence. Prufrock never allowed himself to actually live. He had no ambitions that would drive him to succeed. The poem is a silent cry for help from Prufrock. In each section, T. S. Eliot provided his audience with vague attempts to understand J. Alfred Prufrock. Each individual reader can only interpret these
Detail 2: As can be deduced from the poem, Prufrock spends all of his time pondering how to behave, and to act in society, as he wants to become a man of action. Prufrock imagines himself achieving great things for himself and having everything he desires. Nonetheless, he cannot find a way to realize his wishes. Prufrock is well aware of his tragedy, and he makes sure the audience understands that he is a flawed man full of fears, whims and self-fancies. Again, just as we find in Hamlet’s character, Prufrock’s personality makes him cautious of acting towards any goal he might have, and his over-analytic persona makes him incapable of taking control of any situation. Prufrock explains his problems through a simple example from one of his failures. He recounts that he was incapable of asking a girl to date him, and despite his loving for her, he did nothing to make his love count.
He is terrified of being caught as a homosexual. Stated in stanza 9, “And I have known the eyes already,known them all~/The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase…” Prufrock is that species being pinned,being classified. He feels as if he is being observed,as if every piece of him is formulated. Prufrock knows for certain that people will treat him as if another new species. He will not be treated as a human being. The ones with homophobia will be the collectors.Again,Prufrock is afraid of what the rest of the world thinks of a homosexual.
While having an perception on life and a wise priority set, Prufrock is unable to push himself to obtaining happiness. A change would be rough, but it would afford him the opportunity to live his life in a way that exemplifies his wisdom, not societies demands of him. Yet, due to his fear, he continues to give in to society and avoid his chance at happiness. Later on in his monologue, he is afforded a second chance to attain happiness. Now it is within the limitations of society – a relationship with a woman – but because of his fears of rejection, he ponders having the strength to force the moment to its crisis? and watches as happiness passes him by. Happiness can be attained, through self-government or a relationship, his fear hinders his action on both occasions. Furthermore, he incorrectly assumes that there will not be another chance to attain happiness. Prufrock’s failure is caused by his fear, which shatters his proven rationality and wisdom and renders him
Prufrock is very insecure about himself. This is especially seen in the first ten lines. He is insecure when he talks of his
He is clearly incapacitated to act, trapped by his own fear that he will be unable to garner any interaction from the women with whom he wants to converse. Prufrock plans his approach and reminds himself often that; 'there will be time.';
Throughout the entirety of the poem, Prufrock struggles with paralyzing inaction stemming from his self-doubt. This holds a large portion of Prufrock’s inability to gain clarity. An example of this self doubt is expressed when he stated, “[They will say; ‘how his hair is growing thin!’]... [They will say: ‘But
The Story of Prufrock starts out with him deciphering with himself if he should make this “change” in his life; he has always been a loner who only observes the world, instead of joining it, but
In T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," the author is establishing the trouble the narrator is having dealing with middle age. Prufrock(the narrator) believes that age is a burden and is deeply troubled by it.. His love of some women cannot be because he feels the prime of his life is over. His preoccupation with the passing of time characterizes the fear of aging he has. The poem deals with the aging and fears associated with it of the narrator. The themes of insecurity and time are concentrated on. This insecurity is definitely a hindrance for him. It holds him back from doing the things he wishes to do. This is the sort of characteristic that makes Alfred into a tragic,
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot is not a love song at all—but an insight into the mind of an extremely self-conscious, middle-aged man. Prufrock struggles in coping with the world he is living in—a world where his differences make him feel lonely and alienated. Eliot uses allusions and imagery, characterization, and the society Prufrock lives in to present how Prufrock partly contributes to his own alienation. Our ability of self-awareness separates us from other species, making humans more intelligent and giving people the upper hand in social settings, but, like Prufrock, it can sometimes cause us to feel alienated.
T.S Eliot explores the struggle of individuals through reconciliation of their perspectives on the world and their place within it by displaying the thoughts and emotions of the personas in which embody him in the poems, ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ and ‘The Hollow Men.’ The existentialistic view on things coupled with the experiences and discoveries which the personas have already made identifies the internal struggle and disillusionment with society that an individual has whilst undertaking the journey of self realization in fear of being rejected or unable to live a meaningful existence. In ‘The Love Song,’ Prufrocks’ inability to live a meaningful existence in the modern world stems from his humanity (or lack thereof) as his existentialism
Prufrock is a well educated and shy man, but he is also able to notice the flaws in society. He is able to realize how people are materialistic and focus too much on what they have, rather than the bare necessities of human interaction. Everyone must learn to communicate effectively, but people are too cruel to see past just what they see on the surface. Prufrock’s able to witness distinctions between society and himself, but at the same time he is only setting himself apart from everyone else. His looks and thoughts set him apart from society, but he realizes that he will never really fit in, so he does not bother trying to be someone he is not. The idea of fear from what others have to say about Prufrock and what the woman might say is what, in the end, causes him to keep to himself, while at the same time remaining his true
Griffith states, “Prufrock’s own ‘angst’ is the major cause of his inauthentic state of being, compounded by the presence of the ‘they’” (121). This explains that Prufrock’s feelings of uneasiness that he gets when mentioning women helps to deter himself from trying to communicate with them. He cannot possible conceive a feeling of love from something he finds unfavorable. Griffith mentions how time allows Prufrock to postpone the meeting of women, so he can continue living in the shadow of fear (118).
In ‘Prufrock’ Eliot explorers the alienation of mankind through the use of complex loneliness within the human condition in a sordid world, enhancing my personal
T.S. Eliot was an outstanding author and an exemplary representation of the ideas of modernism. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," despite being one of T.S Eliot's earliest publications, still manages to remain one of the most famous. He uses this poem to not only draw out the psychological aspect of members of modern society, but also to draw out the aspect of the time that he lived in. The speaker of this poem is a modern man who feels alone, isolated, and incapable of making decisive actions for himself. Prufrock desires to speak to a woman about his love for her, but he continuously hesitates while attempting to do so. This poem demonstrates a theme of fragmentation, which is a theme that we can see throughout the entire