“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” introduces an aging man’s paralyzing and disturbing outlook on life. T.S. Eliot presents Prufrock, a character who, due to extreme indecisiveness, insecurity over his appearance, and fear of socializing, develops into a stagnant character with little hope for progress; he is paralyzed by an extreme case of self-consciousness, causing him to expect the worst and question his every decision. Although he begins by introducing an “overwhelming question”, he gradually digresses to the point where this question is no longer relevant. His insecurity is demonstrated through the weary and frantic questioning of “how should I presume?” and “should I begin?”, as he doubts his ability to socialize with others, particularly women. Prufrock’s relationship with women, spoiled by detachment and fear, is the source of his crippling insecurity, anxiety, and distress, which limits his ability to socialize and further isolates him from the world beyond his torturous mind.
Alfred Prufrock’s generalizes all women into having malignant, overcritical intentions, leading him to develop
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He starts by clearing up that he is “not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be,” clarifying that he is not destined to be a main character. For the first time in the poem, he notes that he is not a hero and his life has ordinary meaning. He goes on to say he is merely an “attendant lord”, referencing Polonius, a minor character in the play. Prufrock is content with being a minor character as he does not want attention to be drawn to him, and his presumed mistakes will not be as closely scrutinized. With this comparison to Polonius, he is honestly assessing himself and his flaws, admitting he is “obtuse”, “ridiculous”, and sometimes “the Fool”. The allusion describes himself honestly and he finally admits to being ridiculous in his paranoid
Essay Outline (5%) 1. (Introduction) a) Thesis statement: In her poem “Nineteen”, in which she remembers about one summer, Elizabeth Alexander mentions the need for continuous psychological transformations, which are triggered by the curiosity of differences and the desire of learning from others. b) Plan of development: Through the use of symbolism, tone and contrast, Alexander puts the emphasis on the coming-of-age of the persona, which is significant regarding her personal growth. 2.
The prejudice that the author brings forward strongly is the notion of feminism. The author’s main purpose of writing this novel is to examine the role of women played around
We see these traits are attributed quite clearly to Madam Ratignolle, who has to be “persuaded to leave her children” (568) even for the shortest amounts of time. She made a large family and is happy with being tasked to raise it and love her husband, a successful pharmacist. We also see her attempt to hinder Edna’s awakening, she makes an effort to keep Robert away from her, more inclined to keep up social appearances then willing to see that her friend is happier with another man. While being very good friends with Edna, we see Edna’s disproval of her lifestyle, calling it a “colorless existence” that is filled with “blind contentment.” (605) All in all, in Madam Ratignolle we see what a man would expect in a woman, we see a lack of opinion and power, we see the opposite of Edna Pontellier, the protagonist of our
Prufrock is a middle-aged and lonely man that has doubts over whether he should ask her or not, due to the fact that society will criticize him. Due to the fact that Prufrock knows that society is cruel and unforgiving, he chooses not to interact with the women in the end. Throughout the poem, he continually ponders
This is shown when Catherine achieves social authority only by denying the men who tried to control her, like her Father, and her lover Morris. To obey their commands would only add to her inferiority, but expressing an inability to obey is also a weakness. Therefore it can be said that Catherine gains power by acting coldly and imitating the male aggression she is shown. This is then generally applied to all women implying that women could thrive in patriarchal, male dominated work spaces of 1949 by imitating aggressive and destructive men. However, in the process, those women lose loved ones as well as stunt their own ability to love.
Love causes people to do strange things. People either love the idea of love, or desire to run as far away from it as possible. Clarence Hervey is a character that has good intentions to be liked by others and to find this love; however, he is arrogant and easily swayed, causing him to lack moral values and turn away from his true self. This is evident through Edgeworth’s use of contrasting diction, capricious syntax and deceptive imagery. Edgeworth often uses contrasting diction in this excerpt as to reflect the contrast that Hervey feels within himself.
T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” tells the emotional struggles of a man who believes that he is incapable of love and affection due to his appearance. A man who has internal struggles that prevent him from living and loving to his full potential. The man fears his natural instinct to love and be loved by others. The narrator needs to stop comparing himself to other people and be who he really is rather than who society tells him to be. Eliot makes allusions to different pieces of art to support the narrator’s claim that he is not good enough and does not deserve love.
Conversely, through his ability to listen and express emotions, Robert forms a deeper connection – one nonexistent in the narrator’s marriage – with both his and the narrator’s wife. Robert and Beulah have a relationship that the narrator cannot at all understand. In fact, the narrator pities both of them, feeling “sorry for the blind man” for not knowing how Beulah looks and “thinking what a pitiful life [Beulah] must have led” (Carver 213). The narrator perceives love as literal, fed by physical beauty and not emotion, whereas Robert and Beulah prove the opposite, that love is fed by something deeper. The narrator’s primary thought involves whether Beulah could “wear makeup or not,” highlighting his materialistic concept of love (Carver 213).
He can feel the potential in himself and he knows that action could bring him possible love and joy, however, he is paralyzed by his own uncertainty and indecision. Alfred Prufrock criticizes the modern way of life and it 's society as a place where a superficial community prevails and where individuals like him have no chances to “thrive”. His monologue is less of a physical journey to the modern city, but mostly into his own mind; a journey of one man’s frustrated search to find the meaning of his existence. Prufrock is incapable of fulfilling the expectations of this new society, and engaging into all those activities for which he feels intimidation and contempt. This results in a continuous state of procrastination.
Hamlet portrays his father to be have many characteristics of a God, “Hyperion’s curls, the front of Jove himself,/ An eye like Mars to threaten and command,/ A station like the herald Mercury” (57-59) while his uncle, Polonius, is described, “like a mildewed ear” (65). Hamlet is trying to get his mother to admit that she didn’t marry Polonius out of love, but out of craziness. Later on he accuses his mother of going from a “fair mountain” (67) to a “moor” (68). Expressing that she could have found someone better then his uncle; as well as how bad his uncle is compared to his dead father.
The poem tells about a man who accompanies the reader through the streets of the city to a social meeting, where he would like to take part, but does not dare to accomplish that. All that is shown through his flow of thoughts. Depicting the alienation of an individual and his loneliness in the society, his all-knowing nature, and the fear of getting older, Eliot did not only describe the man of the twentieth century, but was also looking forward to create the image of the man from the twenty-first century. As many of the Eliot’s characters and of the contemporary people, Prufrock feels isolated in the world of superficial relations and lacking the meaning.
As Valency argues, the life that Nora lives is one of sheltered fiction. Valency continues, describing Nora as a “rebellious daughter” and Torvald as the “archetype father.” [Valency 155]. This is the exact reason that Nora is so happy in her voiceless marriage: she has never been able to experience independence. Sigmund Freud argues that women look to marry a man like their fathers, in his developing theory called the “Electra Complex.”
Plath sees Nazis the same way she saw her father: sadistic, controlling, and manipulative, and she connotes these traits with those of all men. Examples can be drawn countlessly from both poems. “Lady Lazarus” captures how men view women as aesthetically-appealing objects, showing little concern for any internal flaws. Plath refers to the men as “The peanut-crunching crowd” (26) observing “the big strip tease” (29). This is a criticism of the male obsession with women as sexual objects.
Many of the men who returned alive felt that their masculinity was threatened by the cultural and political shifts, which is demonstrated in the poem with the description fo Prufrock’s hair and limbs ‘growing thin’. Eliot's Prufrock is the type of man he felt that the hostile environment of the 20th century would create - ineffectual, weak and unmanly. The poet describes the mental anguish of the modern man through the use of free, disjointed verse and stream-of-consciousness, in the form of a dramatic interior monologue. The poem is the narrator's internal dialogue, an unorganised flow of feelings and thoughts that allows the readers to do thing . Another technique used by Eliot was the repetition of the simple phrase ‘ Do I dare’, emphasising the constant crippling insecurity that prevents Prufrock from engaging with other members of the society he wishes to be accepted into.
He can tell his fuller self’s state of mind. It mirrors his own. His thoughts are filled with the quest for power and his ensured survival. There is also suspicion towards those who profess themselves loyal.