The love song of J.Alfred prufrock - Essay Example

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock The poem describes the loneliness of life which is reflected in Prufrock’s view of himself, of others, and of relationships between the two. Loneliness pertains to the state of human mind which bears indecision instead of active action, and bashfulness instead of confidence. And Prufrock is shown as a person whose mind is full of indecision and bashfulness throughout the poem. By presenting this Prufrock’s character, along with the allusive set of depressing atmosphere, T.S. Eliot lets the readers to see how lonely a life could be.. And thus, it is the goal of this essay to explore how Prufrock’s characters of being indecisive and being bashful unveil and how these characters connect to the poem’s overall theme of loneliness.

Body1 - Before discussing Prufrock’s character, it would be better to see first how Eliot builds up the prevalent atmosphere of disorientation and depression, which will soon develop into a sense of loneliness. Most of Prufrock’s evenings bear the lifelessness aspect of a “patient etherized upon a table” (3). And his journey is polluted with “Streets that follow like a tedious argument of insidious intent” (8). In other words, Prufrock has no leadership of his life and he does not have enough energy, since he is etherized, to think of anything fruitful rather than to hesitate.

Also, he feels hostility as he walks through the streets. All this depressing imagery leads even to a sense of defeat, with which Eliot shows readers what a poor guy Prufrock is. Yet, another good example that shows the depressing atmosphere of Prufrock’s world is related with “the yellow fog” (15). It can be said that, just like the yellow fog’s unpleasant rubbing and dampening lickering (15-18), Prufrock’s mind is full of negative feelings which never let Prufrock come out of anxiety.

And this anxiety roles as a breeding environment for other bad and disadvantageous emotions, such as indecisiveness, or bashfulness, to which Prufrock is vulnerable. Under the effect of these gloomy imagery setting, Eliot has implied the ensuing Prufrock’s inner conflict.Body2 - Alfred Prufrock’s inner conflict is characterized by his indecision, which is due to his over-thinking. Prufrock worries that the women, who are “coming and going and speaking of Michelangelo” (3,35), will say “How his hair is growing thin!”(41) or “But how his arms and legs are thin!” (44). Being too obsessed with this thought, Prufrock never seems “dare” to “descend the stair, With a bald spot in the middle of his (my) hair” (39).

In addition, Eliot’s intent of putting emphasis on Prufrock’s indecision can be found in the repetition of this line: In the room the women come and go Talking of Michelangelo.The repetition of this line indicates that time is flowing just like the people coming and going. By reminding this depiction of what we can expect from the ordinary social get-togethers, Eliot attempts to tell us that Prufrock has been thinking, for quiet a long time, of joining the get-togethers, which can be interpreted as a society, and that Prufrock is, thus, too indecisive to have a chance to talk to the women.

The same indecisive-behavioral act can be seen in his subjunctive contemplation, where he asks himself, also repeatedly, “Would it have been worth it, after all” (87등등). Prufrock’s incessant inner conflicts seem to keep him from having sincere relationships with people around him. If there were no lingering hesitation, Prufrock could, at least, have a chance to start relationships, and, if lucky, see it become mature. In this sense, Eliot shows how a man’s lack of being determinative can result in being alone.

Also, in a different light, Prufrock’s lack of confidence to even get close to people can be attributed to his overly-thinking sensitivity to the impressions that other people may have of him, for whom he had to “prepare a face” (29).Body3 - Another contributor to Prufrock’s loneliness worth noticing is Prufrock’s being bashful. Because he blushes with shame instead of smile with confidence, Prufrock cannot have the relationship that steps farther than just being a stranger walking by.

For example, when Prufrock makes statement about a woman, saying, “And I have known the arms already, known them all—Arms that are braceleted and white and bare”, we, readers, expect more of description of the woman because we are curious of her. However, what comes next is just a mere observation about “perfume from a dress”(65), and “Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl”(67), but no words that tells how kind she is or what topics were brought up between them due to the absence of any kind of interaction between them.

On top of that, since there is no reference to the eyes, Prufrock does not seem to be able to even look at the woman’s eyes either, when looking in the eyes of the partner is the most important thing if you want to look full of confidence and to be sociable. Furthermore, along “With a bald spot in the middle of his(my) hair”(40), Prufrock’s instable state of mind persists, from the beginning of the poem to the end, when he deplores, “I grow old … I grow old …I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled”(120-121).

And this lack of confidence is, for sure, also accountable for his loneliness.Conclusion The poem written by Elliot proffered pertinent issues revolving around the deepest and inner most sentiments of J. Alfred Prufrock, focusing specifically on his feelings of inferiority and being isolated from the social world. The essay thereby explored how Prufrock’s indecisiveness and being extremely bashful were unveiled and how these characters connect to the poem’s overall theme of loneliness. The objective was successfully attained by initially delving into the process by the prevalent atmosphere of disorientation and depression eventually developed into a sense of loneliness.

By assuming a pessimistic stance in life, Elliot revealed the brewing negative feelings of Prufrock about himself, further dampening his morale, lowering the standards by which he assesses his self-identity. Further, Prufrock’s persistent over-thinking contributed more to the inner-conflict that ultimately emerged. With an indecisive behavior manifested through constant hesitation to forge entering into social relationships particularly with women, Prufrock led himself to endless misery of remaining isolated and alone.

Finally, the trait of excessive bashfulness through exhibiting shame, cringing into one’s shell and overbearing self-consciousness of being bald and old convicted Prufrock to his self-imposed destiny of living alone, feeling inferior and unworthy of entering into any relationship with women. Elliot’s poem effectively and vividly depicted Prufrock’s agony as his incessant indecisiveness, unsubstantiated bashfulness, continuously brewing inner-conflict, and a poor assessment of his personal characteristics that focused merely on petty faults validated a man’s imposition to a life of solitariness and desolation.