The Love Song

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock contains T.S. Eliots perception on modern man. The narrator of the poem, J. Alfred Prufrock, represents Eliots depiction of modern man. Eliot explains his reasons for writing about this topic by saying, "Poetry may help to break up the conventional modes of perception and valuation which are perpetually forming, and make people see the world afresh, or some new part of it. It may make us from time to time a little more aware of the deeper, unnamed feelings which form the substratum of our being, to which we rarely penetrate; for our lives are mostly a constant evasion of ourselves, and an evasion of the visible and sensible world. But to say all this is only to say what you know already, if you have felt poetry and thought about your feelings." Eliot personally feels that modern man has an exiguous view on the quality of life and the truly important entities. His character, J. Alfred Prufrock, represents all aspects of modern man that ! Eliot despises. For example, Prufrock is obsessed with appearance and age and he exhibits deficient communication skills. All three of these fixations lead Prufrock to individual isolation, perpetual loathing of mankind, and they negatively affect his love life. Alfred J. Prufrock lacks confidence in himself mentally and physically because he allows the terror of what others think greatly effect his life. When people see his balding head or his slim and aging body, Prufrock can not even image the consequences. The fact that the younger generation is constantly examining him, bothers Prufrock a great deal. Farther into the poem, he continues to ramble about how people will talk about him behind his back. They will say "How is hair is growing thin..."But how his arms and legs are thin!" Prufrocks insecurity indisputably hinders him. It holds him back from doing the things he wishes to do. This sort of char...