Q and A: (Continuation of my last post)

Q: Do you think Prufrock’s struggles are peculiar to him or are they more universal?

-Bazz

A: I definitely think that Prufrock’s struggles are more universal. A lot of what he talked about had to do with his image as well as what other people were thinking. In today’s society, especially with the media these days, that is the most common psychological struggle. He worries about bald spots and how skinny he is. Getting older as well as weight are too things most people worry about and wish to change about themselves.

Modernizzzm

Right now as a class we are blogging to learn about and understand modernist ideas

I’ll be researching the pshycological aspect of modernism…

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

-T.S. Elliot

And indeed there will be time
To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair–
[They will say: "How his hair is growing thin!"]
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin–
[They will say: "But how his arms and legs are thin!"]
Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

 

 

This excerpt describes the feeling of insecurity that the narrator, Prufrock experiences. Feeling inferior to everyone else, as well as feeling like he doesn’t even belong in their universe causes him to believe that he may become a disturbance, if anything, to all the other people. Alfred shows his insecurity by constantly bringing into the context what the other people may have said about him, for example his skinny arms and legs as well as his thin hair. His psychological stuggle is shown in the second line as he says, “Do I dare?”.