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  • Essay / The Self-Esteem of J. Alfred Prufrock

    “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by TS Elliot, depicts the thoughts of a modern-day Hamlet. This follows what appears to be a typical evening with Mr. Prufrock. He is a man who often gets lost in his own mind, effectively losing his ability to engage in action, for fear of judgment, rejection, and assumption. This horrible anxiety prevents him from truly experiencing, from truly living. He leads an inactive life, constantly reassuring himself that he has nothing to fear since he has infinite time. He lives by constantly protecting himself, separating himself from society. The philosopher, in the words of philosopher Francis Herbert Bradley: “No experience can be open to inspection from without,” fully embodies Mr. J. Alfred Prufrock; Prufrock has a habit of not acting and therefore not experiencing a situation but rather creating scenarios in his head of what could really happen in order to avoid any form of judgment or bad thinking. It's as if Prufrock had placed a glass partition between himself and the world, to protect himself from all danger. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Prufrock regularly distances himself from others. He tends to wander alone in the evenings, roaming the empty and abandoned parts of the city: "Let's wander some half-deserted streets, the murmuring retreats of restless nights in cheap one-night hotels and sawdust restaurants with oysters. shells..." He finds these moments soothing, "like an etheric patient on a table", of traveling these "streets which follow one another like a tedious argument with insidious intentions", and of never having to come into contact with a human. On these walks, Prufrock simply observes the world, completely separates himself from it, acting as if he is simply observing a painting: "Shall I say, I have walked at dusk through narrow streets and observed the smoke which rises from the pipes of solitary houses. men in shirtsleeves, leaning out of the window…” He will never interact but he will always watch, never having experience but always having assumptions about said experience. Prufrock prefers to keep to himself because he believes that everyone will dismiss him with just one glance at his appearance, "And I've known the eyes before, I've known them all - the eyes that stare at you in one phrase , and when I'm formulated, smeared on a pin, When I'm pinned and writhing on the wall..." He assumes that everyone will make assumptions about it, dissect it with their own eyes like a scientific experiment without never know him (a bit of irony since he does the same thing with other people, refusing to interact since he "already knows" what they will think of him. He thinks he knows perfectly well what they will). women say behind his back: "how thin his hair is becoming!... But how thin his arms and legs are" when in reality he has never interacted with these women, "the women who come and go in!" speaking of Michelangelo.” Without interacting with these women, he loses the truth. He will never know their opinions about him if he never speaks to them. He regularly observes these cultured women while taking a step back during social encounters. He has done it so often, keeping his head down during these evenings, that he now knows these ladies by their arms and not by their minds: "And I have already known weapons, I have known them all - weapons who are bracelet, white and naked…” He systematically assumes that he knows about their gossip behind his back, preventing him from following up on them. If Prufrock simply interacted with these different women, he might be surprised at the results,maybe they would like it or maybe his suspicions were correct, 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 puts himself down and doesn't allow himself to feel confident enough to take action. Throughout the work, Prufrock shows his back and forth of emotions ranging from pride in himself to being reminded once again that he is not as great as he believes himself to be. He introduces himself as the great John the Baptist: "Although I saw my head (becoming slightly bald) brought on a platter..." but then turns around and declares that he is actually not that great: "I I'm not a prophet- and that's okay..." Furthermore, he describes his clothes, the physical objects he owns, as wonderful, but he considers himself the opposite: "With a bald spot in the middle of my hair- (They'll say, "How his hair is getting lighter!" ""Also, his age really plays a role in how he acts. Most of his self-esteem issues stem from the fact that he's getting older now physically to the point that it's quite noticeable It's like he's hitting a mid-life crisis, realizing he only has a good few years left before he ends up in bed, only a few years before he becomes like n. Any other old man Prufrock once believed his life was full of lavishness and pride, but now when. "...the eternal footman holds my coat and sneers...", he realizes that his time is limited. He didn't do everything he could have done, only contributing to his self-destructive nature, preventing him from putting himself in the crowd and living in the moment. Prufrock's self-loathing mindset has undoubtedly contributed to his inability to interact socially, but coupled with his philosophy of endless time, it is obvious that he will always observe and never do so. experience. Strangely, Prufrock is aware that he has little time left but he forces himself to believe that there will always be time to act, a little comfort, "And indeed there will be time... There will be time , there". it will be time to prepare a face to meet the faces you will meet; there will be time to murder and to create, and time for all labors and all days of work…” He tries to believe that he has all the time in the world to complete all that remains for him to accomplish. This belief led him to delay any further action. Prufrock states that he has time but yet knows that is not the case, and furthermore, to add insult to injury, he does not commit to 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 intention of leading you to an overwhelming question...oh, don't ask, 'What is it?' " until the end of the poem. , "...having squeezed the universe into a ball to make it roll towards an overwhelming question..." It is followed by his own assumption that if he asks this question it will be vehemently rejected by the person being questioned: "And would it have been worth it, after all. Would it have been worth it... If someone, putting down a pillow or throwing a shawl, and turning towards the window, said: "That's not at all that, that's not at all what I meant." His constant reflection on situations and his constant procrastination contribute to his lack of experience, to the lack of truth that he has. he holds. If he doesn't overcome these two problems, he can only assume that these women don't like him, that he will be rejected, that they will hate him, but he will never know if that rings true. in mind: this is just a sample. Get an item now,.