The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock Essay Example for Free

The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock EssayWithout a doubt, T.S. Eliot is one of the most important figures of English literature. In the world of numbers he towers even more. One of the Eliots best kn deliver works is The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, which at the eon of its publication was even considered as one of the most important events in the history of English poetry (Lowe, 1). This must not comes as a surprise bearing in mind the fact that in that location is something radical somewhat the rime as if Eliot was saying that he intends to do something new something never through ahead. He succeeded to a great extent and he wrote a poem that is haunting in its effectual musical mode of describing an unhealthy form of rigid self-examination beca make use of the main character is the ultimate representative of both those who argon self-conscious to a fault. J. Alfred Prufrocks extreme egoism greatly affected his someoneality and his birth with others especi altoge thery to the one he make loves.The problem of J. Alfred Prufrock can be further simplified into the following1. He was a an extremely self-conscious part and2. He was an extremely self-conscious loverBeing a very self-conscious man give already create serious problems for Prufrock but if he will add self-conscious lover to his resume then he is in for a big trouble. A self-conscious man is already struggling with low self-esteem, immobilized by analysis paralysis and wasting age second guessing himself but if he becomes a lover his anxieties is taken to the next level. only when before going any further it is better to start understanding Prufrock as a man.A conscious ManThere is nothing wrong with a healthy dose of self-consciousness. This prevents a psyche from thought process too highly about himself and saves him from the destructive forces of pride and other narcissistic behavior. Being self-conscious is the hold in of a smart man making him sensitive to others around him and he will always do his best to look presentable and try as much as he can not to offend anyone. But there is also the extreme side of being self-conscious. Robert micturate was correct when he remarked that there is such a thing as an excess of consciousness or as Cook would like to put it, an unhealthy self-consciousness (224). He was talking about Prufrock, the literary character who expertly demonstrated how to be flip in such extremes.It can be argued that one of the root causes of extreme self-consciousness is fear. Fear of being rejected, fear of loss, fear of the unknown, fear of betrayal, fear of pain and so much more. But trying to insulate a persons life-time from these tragedies may help him to avoid particularised setbacks but it does not guarantee happiness or experiencing life to the fullest. So Prufrock will now have to choose between protecting himself from pain or the come about of becoming self-fulfilled and most importantly the panorama to be with the person that he loves. For many it is a no-brainer question they will take a chance than to forever regret not risking anything and therefore losing everything.Prufrocks timidity was expertly hidden by the use of his intellect. He justifies his pathetic existence by the superiority of his reasoning. Beginning in lines 26 Prufrock believed in his own delusion and he saidThere will be duration, there will be timeTo prep arTime for you and time for me,And time yet for a hundred indecisions,And for hundred visions and revisions,Before the victorious of a toast and teaPrufrock could be forgiven if he is dealing with life and death situations that require circumspect planning and analysis. Everyone will understand if he was contemplating on a career change or decision making to marry someone or not. But most of the time his problems are as simple as deciding to go out or not or to eat a piece a fruit or refrain from doing so. It requires decision to do such things but a normal person will do it in a snap, not to brood over it for days and not outgo so much time over it that he can even write a poem describing his thought process.A Self-conscious LoverIt was made clear that this poem should focus on love, in particular the love between a man and a woman. In order to direct the focus of the reviewer to this subject matter Eliot made sure that the title should inform that this is a love song, a businesslike song from Prufrock to his lover. Moreover, Eliot introduces the poem using the words from perhaps the greatest lover of all, Dante who went to hell and back for the love of his life Beatrice (McCormick, 108). There is only one difficulty with that assertion it is hard to see the ramblings of the self-tortured man as a love song. How could he win his lover through the use of such language? Is there a woman out there who will be flattered by his inability to act resolutely? Maybe Prufrock was looking for a female version of a self-doubter like him.As mentione d earlier, being a self-conscious man is enough to bring trouble to a man but if the same person falls in love his world will totally turn upside down. Being self-conscious means the inability to decide if he will move forward or backward. A man in love will only feel one action and it is moving forward, the natural reply of a man is attracted to a lovely thing. It is a natural behavior when a man is emaciated to a beautiful woman. One could just imagine the conflict raging on inside Prufrock, his natural tendencies forces him to move in circles while his heart pushes him to move forward. It is like sliding down a nonstick slope and one tries to stop the downhill slide with bare hands. It is painful and not a wise move. Prufrock already had enough on his plate dealing with mundane things but when love entered the picture he was totally overwhelmed from extreme self-consciousness.In line 55, in one of the most revealing part of the poem, Prufrock tells of his danger in the presen ce of other peopleAnd I have known the arms already, known them all The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,Then how should I begin?Prufrock sees himself like a specimen being studied closely by others. He may be right that there are those who make it their business to gossip and spread lies against other people, but life should not be lived that way and that there is no excuse for his behavior. Yet Prufrock refuses to change his mind.ConclusionPrufrock felt like he was about to ram against a wall. The wall of criticism is standing between him and his lady love. The critics are many and they besiege him. He felt that he was like someone pinned to the wall while the rich and powerful ladies are circling around and examining his limited capabilities and mediocre appearance. On the other hand he felt something inside him that encourages him to pass over beyond the wall and by doing so win th e love of a woman.At the end Prufrock was win over that he does not have what it takes to confront the inner voices that tell him he was not good enough. He decided to quit the fight. He rationalizes that it is not worth it and that there is no use delaying the inevitable and for him there is no sense in struggling when he knew perfectly well that at the end he will lose the fight. At the end nothing of value can be seen except that the life of J. Alfred Prufrock serves as an example to what awaits a man with an unhealthy sense of consciousness.