The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock to me is the tale of a man that desires social connections but at the same time feels like an outcast, that he just doesn't fit in and fears what others will see in him. First he refers to a room with women talking about Michelangelo where a yellow fog rubs its back and muzzle on the window panes, licked into the corners of the evening. I think that fog represents Prufrock in a way, getting as close as he can to the women in the room but not able to get through to them.
Then he talks about eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase, when he is formulated on a pin, wriggling on the wall, and how should he begin. This further shows his feeling of not belonging in my opinion because it shows him being pegged to the wall like he is a bug, exposed in his entirety to them and not having a clue what to do to have is voice heard, to show them who he is.
He talks if he dares or not, they will say his hair is growing thin and that his arms and legs are growing thin. I see this as yet another example of how he sees himself as not being accepted by these women that he so much wants to talk with. Then he describes himself as not being Hamlet but a mere attendant lord that will start a scene or two and even at times be the fool. I think this also shows that he thinks his existence isn't of real importance which further supports his feeling of not belonging.
Eliot has very well depicted a man that feels alienated from society as a whole and is too insecure to change that.
The man in the story is aging and is thin yet he finds time to go out at night. He is in a hell which can escape like a trap bug pinned down unable to move out from the underpinning of society has placed on him. But in particular the pinning of the ladies have done to him because they know how to pin into a corner. Unable to escape the fog or smear of his age and illness his seen as such like a fog unable to escape its grip. The yellow fog is evidence that is tinted with the pollution of the society's advancement. The blog is good and it has given a small tilted look at the short story. Maybe it is a play in which the character is only playing a minor role in which he will die for it. But why should this character should be placed in such a role to begin with and why should it feel so real but yet so small in the mind of the character?
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I believe that more than just being lonely, the character is afraid of being forgotten. It seems to me that as he ages and looks back on what might have been, he is filled with regret for things has never accomplished and is now just waiting to be swallowed up by time. This love song might represent the final available means of being remembered. I believe the fog might symbolize time. It is always present and rarely noticed. You never hear someone comment on how little time has passed (unless they are talking about being bored in class), you only really appreciate time that is gone, or when you are counting down to something. The character, now recognizing his wasted existence notices the fog moving stealthily amongst people, and down quiet streets just as it does for us every second of every day. This story serves as a fable to help awaken a new sense of urgency in our hearts and minds.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the blogger, this is a poem in which the main character feels like an outcast, alienated from society and is too timid to do anything about it. I can say that I have at times felt this way, especially toward women. I can easily relate to this character and I wonder if Eliot's audience was the Prufrocks of the world. Figuring out a way to gain someone's affection or even attention is not easy for someone who is shy, reading this in a poem may help someone overcome their shyness before they become too old and start growing thing. They may start doing opposite of the way Prufrock is doing and this could be their call to action. On the other hand, it could also call to one's attetion that this is reality and they are not alone. So they could end up being Prufrock and accept their place in the world.
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