Alfred Prufrock Suffering
Julia Brooks
3/31/17
Period 4
Is it Worth it All?
Is love worth the heartbreak? This is a question that every person has asked at least once in their life. If you could go back and forget every moment you had with someone so that you wouldn’t feel the pain of losing them, would you? The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot explores this question through Prufrock who is on a journey through life and whose anxieties separate him from the rest of society. Prufrock’s fear of judgment debilitates him, rendering him unable to create human connections. He is in complete denial of his incompetency and by not facing his fears, he robs himself of the life he desperately wants leading to a heart full of regret.
Prufrock's obsession with the …show more content…
It seeps into every corner (of his life) and ruins everything, but at the same time is keeping him calm and leading him to believe that time will save him. It represents his clouded judgment and refusal to accept how little time he has left. Eliot uses the words “rubs”, “muzzle” and “licks” to make the reader think of a friendly animal such as a cat. While this presence may seem as pleasant as a kitten, it is something that never leaves and the fact that it is smoke gives the reader the insight into its true unwantedness and filth. Unfortunately for Prufrock, he is fully addicted to the yellow fog and its lulling nature. Prufrock is in denial of his limited time and tricks himself into thinking he can make his move …show more content…
(111-119)
Some say that Prufrock is at last at peace with himself because he is finally giving answers instead of asking questions, however, claiming that he was not meant to be as grand as Prince Hamlet is a justification for not doing anything with his life. Prufrock is fully aware of his wasted potential. As he looks back on his life he realizes his foolishness and regrets wasting his life in this way.
Prufrock's fear of judgment and his lack of progression along with his refusal to believe of his own incompetence leads to regret and dissatisfaction with life. He wants so bad to go back in time “To say: ‘I am Lazarus, come from the dead,/Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all’-”(94-95). The abrasive tone of this passage proves desire for an immediate change of the past. He tricked himself out of his own life by not facing his fears. In this fantasy, he wishes he could go back in time to warn himself of the mistakes he will make. Bringing Lazarus, the man who rose from the dead, into the poem convinces the reader of how Prufrock truly sees himself. He is so hopeless that he feels he is no longer living. As he looks back on his life he realizes his foolishness and regrets wasting his life in this way and when the fairy tale ends, the “human voices wake us, and we drown”(131). Prufrock became so lost and purposeless that he dies. so the answer to his previous questions of whether or not it would have been worth it is finally resolved as
3/31/17
Period 4
Is it Worth it All?
Is love worth the heartbreak? This is a question that every person has asked at least once in their life. If you could go back and forget every moment you had with someone so that you wouldn’t feel the pain of losing them, would you? The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot explores this question through Prufrock who is on a journey through life and whose anxieties separate him from the rest of society. Prufrock’s fear of judgment debilitates him, rendering him unable to create human connections. He is in complete denial of his incompetency and by not facing his fears, he robs himself of the life he desperately wants leading to a heart full of regret.
Prufrock's obsession with the …show more content…
It seeps into every corner (of his life) and ruins everything, but at the same time is keeping him calm and leading him to believe that time will save him. It represents his clouded judgment and refusal to accept how little time he has left. Eliot uses the words “rubs”, “muzzle” and “licks” to make the reader think of a friendly animal such as a cat. While this presence may seem as pleasant as a kitten, it is something that never leaves and the fact that it is smoke gives the reader the insight into its true unwantedness and filth. Unfortunately for Prufrock, he is fully addicted to the yellow fog and its lulling nature. Prufrock is in denial of his limited time and tricks himself into thinking he can make his move …show more content…
(111-119)
Some say that Prufrock is at last at peace with himself because he is finally giving answers instead of asking questions, however, claiming that he was not meant to be as grand as Prince Hamlet is a justification for not doing anything with his life. Prufrock is fully aware of his wasted potential. As he looks back on his life he realizes his foolishness and regrets wasting his life in this way.
Prufrock's fear of judgment and his lack of progression along with his refusal to believe of his own incompetence leads to regret and dissatisfaction with life. He wants so bad to go back in time “To say: ‘I am Lazarus, come from the dead,/Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all’-”(94-95). The abrasive tone of this passage proves desire for an immediate change of the past. He tricked himself out of his own life by not facing his fears. In this fantasy, he wishes he could go back in time to warn himself of the mistakes he will make. Bringing Lazarus, the man who rose from the dead, into the poem convinces the reader of how Prufrock truly sees himself. He is so hopeless that he feels he is no longer living. As he looks back on his life he realizes his foolishness and regrets wasting his life in this way and when the fairy tale ends, the “human voices wake us, and we drown”(131). Prufrock became so lost and purposeless that he dies. so the answer to his previous questions of whether or not it would have been worth it is finally resolved as