“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by TS Elliot, describes the thoughts of a modern Hamlet. What follows, as it seems, is the typical evening with Mr. Prufrock. He is a man who often gets lost in his own mind, effectively losing the ability to commit to any action, for fear of judgement, rejection and second-guessing. This horrible anxiety prevents him from truly experiencing, from truly living. He lives an inactive life, constantly making sure he has nothing to worry about as he has an infinite amount of time. He lives by constantly protecting himself, separating himself from society. The quote from the philosopher Francis Herbert Bradley: “No experience can be exposed to inspection from without” fully embodies Mr. J. Alfred Prufrock; Prufrock has a habit of not taking action, thus not being able to experience a situation, but rather creating scenarios in his mind of what might actually happen so that he can avoid any form of judgment or bad thinking. It's as if Prufrock has placed a glass partition between him and the world, to protect himself from all harm. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Prufrock regularly distances himself from other people. He tends to wander alone during the evening, wandering around the empty and abandoned area of ​​the city: “We go, along certain half-deserted streets, the mumbling retreats of restless nights in cheap one-night hotels and sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells… ” He finds these moments to be calming, “like a patient etherized on a table,” as he travels these “roads that follow one another like a boring discussion with insidious intent,” without ever having to come into contact with any human being. During these walks Prufrock simply observes the world, completely separating himself from it, behaving as if he were simply looking at a painting: "I must say that I have gone at dusk through narrow streets and observed the smoke rising from the pipes of lonely houses men in sleeves shirt, look out the windows..." He will never interact but will always watch, never having an experience but always having assumptions about said experience. Prufrock prefers to keep to himself as he believes that everyone will reject him with just a simple look at his appearance: "And I've known the eyes before, I've known them all - the eyes that stare at you in a formulated sentence, and when I'm formulated, lying on one pin, When I'm pinned and squirming on the wall…” He assumes that everyone else is making assumptions about him, analyzing him like a science experiment with their own eyes without even knowing him (a bit of irony since he does the same with other people, refusing to interact because he “already knows” what they will think of him.) He thinks he knows perfectly well what women are saying behind his back: "how his hair is thinning!... But how thin his arms and legs are." !" when in reality he has never even interacted with these women, “the women who come and go talking about Michelangelo”. Without interacting with these women, he loses the truth. He will never know what they think of him if he never talks to them. He regularly observes these cultured women by remaining aloof during social gatherings. He has done this so often, keeping his head low to the ground during these parties, that he now knows these women by their arms, not by their minds: "And I have already known the weapons, I have known them all - weapons that are bracelets, white and naked…” He constantly assumes that he knows about their gossip behind his back, preventing him from acting on it If Prufrock simply interacted with these various women, he might be surprised by the outcome, perhaps they would like him, or perhaps his suspicionswere well founded, but then he would know for sure and experience the situation fully. This fear of judgment is due to his low self-esteem, the way he constantly degrades himself and doesn't allow himself to feel confident enough to take action. Throughout the work, Prufrock shows his swing of emotions ranging from pride in himself to remembering once again that he is not as great as he thinks he is. He refers to himself as the great John the Baptist, "Though I saw my head (which had become slightly bald) carried on a platter..." but then turns and states that it is actually not that great, "I am not so great" prophet- and it doesn't really matter here..." Furthermore, he refers to his clothes, the physical objects he owns, as wonderful but sees himself as the opposite: "With a bald patch in the middle of his hair- ( They will say: "How thinning his hair is!" My morning coat, my collar falling firmly to my chin. My rich and modest tie, but supported by a simple pin - (They will say: "But how thin the his arms and his legs! ”)"Also, his age really plays a role in how he acts. Most of his self-esteem issues stem from the fact that he is now physically aging to the point where it's quite noticeable. It's as if he's reaching a midlife crisis, realizing that he only has a few good years left before he's bedridden, just a few more years before he's just like any other old man. Prufrock previously believed that his life was full of lavishness and pride but now, when “…the eternal valet holds my coat and cackles…”, he realizes that his time is short. He didn't do everything he could have done, he just contributed to his self-destructive nature, preventing him from getting in the crowd and living in the moment. Prufrock's self-loathing mentality no doubt aided in his inability to interact socially, but combined with his philosophy of infinite time, it is evident that he will always observe and never have the experience. In a strange way, Prufrock is aware that he has little time, but forces himself to believe that there will always be time for action, some personal comfort, "And indeed there will be time... There will be time, there will be time ." it will be time to prepare a face to meet the faces you will meet; there will be time to kill and create, and time for all the works and days of hands...” He tries to believe that he has all the time in the world to complete everything he has yet to complete. This belief caused him to delay further action. Prufrock claims he has time but knows he doesn't and to add insult to injury he doesn't take any action. His inability to act is seen throughout the poem with this unknown question. This question is mentioned in various stanzas ranging from the first stanza, "...with the insidious intent of leading you to an overwhelming question...oh, ask not, 'What is it?'" to the end of the poem. , "...having compressed the universe into a ball to roll it towards an overwhelming question..." He follows his own assumption that if he asks this question, he will be vehemently rejected by the one who asked him: "And it would be it would have been worth it, after all... If one, placing a pillow or throwing away a shawl, and turning towards the window, said: "That's not what I meant at all." his constant thinking about situations and his constant procrastination contribute to his lack of experience, to the lack of truth he maintains. If he doesn't overcome both of these aspects, he will only be able to assume that these women don't like him, that he will be rejected, that they will hate him, but will never know if this rings true. Keep in mind: this is just an example. Get a personalized document from ours now,.