The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock
The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock is a poem by T. S. Eliot about a neurotic, socially awkward man. J. Alfred Prufrock is a middle-aged man that projects his life onto the images around him. He seems to be able to compare every aspect of his life to some inanimate object. This makes me wonder if he believes that he himself is also as insignificant and overlooked as the inanimate objects around him. That is the effect that his comparisons give to the reader.
The yellow fog is the first of these objects to appear. This yellow fog seems only to linger in the windows; outside all of the action. It only lingers in the corners of evening, unseen, and is nothing more than a pool that will eventually be drained. This yellow fog is so still and motionless that soot from the chimney above collects on it and the fog eventually becomes so unnoticeable that it appears to fall asleep (15-22)! Prufrock is the yellow fog that lingers outside all the action and stays quiet and kept to himself. This is how he sees himself. There are many characteristics of fog that seem to fit the image that Prufrock has painted of himself. Fog is something you can kind of see in the background, but you cannot have any other interactions with it. You cannot touch, smell, taste, or even hear it. Also, fog always appears in the background, and when you get too close to it, it seems as though it has disappeared from that spot and moved even further back. This analogy to fog gives the effect of Prufrock being a silhouette in the distance.
Prufrocks neurotic tendencies are apparent in line 58: When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall (58). These lines give the image of something small and insignificant, like a bug, being pinned to the wall. And while it is struggling to get free, many people surround the poor bug with piercing eyes waiting to see what it will say. It can also be compared to a mean child using a magnifying glass under the sun to torture an innocent creature. This image gives the effect of something someone/something being ridiculed and struggling in a situation that it really does not want to be in (55-61). Prufrock must always feel like he is being ridiculed. He feels as though he cant walk down the stairs because people will notice his bald spot (41) and that eating a peach is social suicide for him because his messy appearance will get all the attention in the room. Indeed, Prufrock feels like a wriggling bug trying to escape the social pressure.
Prufrock doesnt have very high expectations of himself in life either. No! I am not Prince Hamlet, (111) he asserts. He makes this clarification because some might relate him so for his tendencies to think and think and never do. This is Prince Hamlets condition throughout the entire play. It takes several scenes before he decides to do something about his fathers murder; just as Prufrock thinks several times before performing a simple task like eating a peach. However, Prufrock does not consider himself as high and mighty as Prince Hamlet. He is perfectly happy being a simple lord or advisor to the Prince. This give the effect that Prufrock would much rather avoid positions that require interactions with people and would call a lot of attention to him. No no, an advisor will do. He just wants to be useful.
As suggested above, Prufrock doesnt seem to want a life full of surprises. He would much rather see himself fall into a routine; for example, some people have a routine of drinking coffee every morning. Thus Prufrock is able to measure out his life in coffee spoons. Taking this from a mathematical perspective, he knows the average life expectancy (and given that he does not seem to consider himself above average) and he knows how many spoons of coffee he uses per day and therefore he can measure out his life in coffee spoons. Of course it is not supposed to be mathematical but it is the same idea. Prufrock is a routine-oriented kind of guy who would rather not stray too far from it.
After taking a closer look at the analogies he makes with his life in his love song, I believe that J Alfred Prufrock really does feel just as important as an inanimate object. He feels likes a forgotten object in the background that cant have any human interactions, has his destiny controlled by routine, and is satisfied with occasionally being useful. Another object that fits this exact description is a toaster (background object that cant interact, has a routine (making toast every morning), and is fine with occasionally being useful). No wonder the mermaids wont sing to him. In his eyes, it would be no different than singing to a toaster. Jokes aside, Prufrocks various analogies effectively portray him as an object in the background.
Already have an account? Log In Now
3519