ENG4U I.S.U 2006

For those familiar with Eliot, you will enjoy my elaborated thoughts on his poem.

As humanity evolves each day, unknown realities seep into each person’s brain begging for acceptance. The fear of the unknown is what drives many human beings to their maximum ascension. T.S. Eliot’s theme of procrastination only leads to paranoia and fear of the future which results in a lonely, distraught life as one J. Alfred Prufrock. Love constantly battles insecurity in Prufrock’s mind for he does not know how to act nor how to begin to think.
In this narrative, T.S. Eliot creates a character that is living in a state of insecurity and negativity. “The yellow fog… The yellow smoke…” (Eliot, 15-16) The yellow fog/smoke symbolizes Prufrock’s negative feelings towards himself. The feelings exist in the day but at night it/they sleeps. “Curled once about the house and fell asleep” (Eliot, 22) Prufrock also compares his feelings to that of an animal or creature, the words ‘leap’ and ‘curled’ represent this, thus one could say his feelings are uncontrollable. Also, “Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys” (Eliot, 19) he wants soot to fall on ‘its back’ which could allude to how he cannot endure the way his life is progressing. There is a motif of this ‘smoke’ in lines 24 [twenty-four] and 71 [seventy-one] which could be saying in a way Prufrock is not alone; perhaps there are other men or people that experience the same problems and/or feelings, thus proving Prufrock has no positive views of himself.
The reader is introduced to Prufrock speaking of a woman he seems to be infatuated with, and yet he is too afraid to commit or strike a conversation with her, therefore remaining silenced. “To lead you to an overwhelming question…” (Eliot, 10) It is questionable to add that Prufrock says ‘lead’ and yet does not finish the sentence. Prufrock lets it linger, almost as if he’s dangling a piece of delicate fish bait over his victim. “Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels” (Eliot, 6) explains his brief obsession. The word ‘cheap’ single-handedly tells the reader that Prufrock is desperate. Prufrock wants a woman, yet he won’t even spend some of his precious money on her because he is a rich jerk. But at least he’s getting nowhere seeing how all the nights he spends in these hotels, are indeed restless. Which results in an ironic solution, Prufrock is a lousy lover. “In the room the women come and go Talking of Michelangelo” (Eliot, 13-14) shows Prufrock’s jealousy. Michelangelo was a beautiful artist who, at the time, was admired by millions of men and women. Prufrock also mimics what people will say to him as he grows up, or on: “[They will say ‘How his hair is growing thin!’]” (Eliot, 40) and again at line 44 [forty-four]; the square brackets in Prufrock’s stanza show inner thoughts that Prufrock has which are not necessarily true, hence Prufrock’s problem with paranoia and insecurity. Prufrock compares himself to an insect, “When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall” (Eliot, 58) and again to a crab, “I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas.” (Eliot, 73-74) as if his problems are so terrible he would rather not be a man. One could interpret lines 73-74 as an allusion to Prufrock’s weird obsession with mermaids. Throughout Prufrock’s narrative poem he is repeatedly struggling with procrastination. “And would it have been worth it, after all”, “Would it have been worth while…” (Eliot, 87, 90, 99-100, 106 etc) It is a repeating motif because Prufrock is just so deranged that he simply cannot make up his mind. An allusion to Hamlet is presented, “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be” (Eliot, 111) where Prufrock denies being the “king” of procrastination “so-to-speak.” The following line (121) Prufrock compares himself to an ‘attendant lord’ which could very likely refer to Polonius – a role in Hamlet who could represent a “fool” with a large vocabulary. (Eliot, 113-119) At 104 [one hundred-four], it is susceptible to wonder, does Prufrock know that he has a problem? “It is impossible to say just what I mean!” (Eliot, 104) Concluding that Prufrock is letting the procrastination overweigh his civility leaving him paralyzed and unable to communicate or inevitably move on.
Acceptance is a viable resource to salvation. Prufrock is living in fear because his life is too boring. “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” (Eliot, 51) It is as if he has seen where his life is going and he still does nothing about it. “And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, And in short I was afraid.” (85-86) Eternal represents something unending or beyond time like God or time itself so reasonably the Footman holding his coat must be destiny, formally known as Death. So these feelings Prufrock inhabits should strive him to act on his feelings instead of thinking about it constantly. But these feelings don’t, therefore this story goes unresolved. Prufrock’s natural feelings of growing old and not being able to accomplish anything are honest and real – probably the only thing Prufrock can actually admit to. He is afraid of getting older, hence his “bald spot” and wearing “trousers rolled” (Eliot, 40, 120-121) “I grow old… I grow old…” (Eliot, 120) it is convenient that Prufrock is afraid of his destiny; look at where he is in the present. It is also good for the reader to actually read the lines, and notice that there is no actual reference to time continuing which concludes that it is only a fear. Nearing the end, Prufrock finally confesses to the reader his fantasy involving mermaids. These ‘sea-girls’ traditionally represent “feminine powers, temptation and beauty.” ¹ It is obvious to note that Prufrock is constantly fighting to achieve his fantasy of winning over the girl, or in his case the ‘mermaid.’ Mermaids like “Ariel” from The Little Mermaid ² have no voice above water so to hear mermaids is impossible unless one is living in an underwater world. (Eliot, 131) Prufrock references ‘silent seas’ (Eliot, 74) obviously seas cannot be silent as water is always in motion thus this personification could create a ‘happy place’ or some substantial happiness in Prufrock’s mind. Since Prufrock cannot grasp the necessity of love in reality, he creates a “so-to-speak” parallel reality where he is a mermaid too. “We have lingered… and we drown.” (Eliot, 129, 131) The we pronoun stresses more than one and since mermaids aren’t proven to exist; only theoretically… one can conclude Prufrock is a depressed and lonely savage. Aside from this newfound happiness, the audience should recognize line 125 [one hundred-twenty-five] even in Prufrock’s fantasy he cannot get the girl. One could argue that it is a game he plays, like “hard to get” but the final line (131) summarizes the whole story: Prufrock is hopeless.
In conclusion, after many hours of analyzing and interpreting it is appropriate to realize Prufrock is in a stupor. Paralyzed by himself, Prufrock is a fundamentally hopeless and an abandoned “case.” He has neither friends nor lady-friends so he is forced to create an alternate answer to his loneliness. The answer is fantasy but since Prufrock is constantly procrastinating and insecure about literally everything, inevitably even in his own fantasy he is alone. It is ironic as well because fantasies are in our control, so Prufrock is either happy about his tendencies or has finally just accepted the way he is. Therefore, Prufrock’s love song – to himself, is a superficial and desperate excuse to try and make himself happy. Which, in fact does not, therefore Prufrock is just an overdramatic crab, just as he seemingly wants to be.