The poem “The
Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot centers on Prufrock who is confused
and fearful towards life. Prufrock depicts himself as a man with low
self-esteem by describing himself as a bug and crab. A bug is typically associated
with negative aspects since it is considered a dirty pest. Therefore, Prufrock pictures
himself as a dirty bug and a crab that moves around in a clumsy and awkward
manner. Also, he is constantly questioning himself by stating “Do I dare/
disturb the universe?” (Lines 45-46) His constant questioning indicates his
belief that his actions will be scrutinized by society which deepens his sense
of doubt. He even states “And I have known the eyes already, known them all/The
eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase.” (Lines 55-56) Thus, we can infer
that society’s prejudice has shaped Prufrock’s way of thinking making him a
rather shallow character. Society most likely ostracized him for his
unattractive appearance and nervous demeanor which he ironically creates or
intensifies. Therefore, Prufrock is unable to become an assertive man who knows
what he is going to do with his life. His inability to overcome society’s
prejudice strongly alludes to the residents of Winesburg Ohio. The residents are all haunted by this a single
truth that they live by. Prufrock as well lives by one truth identifying him as
a grotesque. He lives by the truth that people will always judge him as a meaningless,
old man. As a result, Prufrock wastes his whole life obsessing over this one
truth which drives him to isolation and hell. One character from Winesburg Ohio who strongly relates to
Prufrock is Wing Baddlebaum. Wing like Prufrock is diffident and constantly
struggles with society’s prejudice. Yet, Wing suffers a more painful experience
with society than Prufrock’s. His dream of “[expressing] his love of man”
through teaching schoolboys was cruelly snatched away from him by means of
violence. (9) Consequently, he becomes unsure of his life since society is
against his cherished ideas and dreams. (One difference to point out between
Prufrock and Wing is that Prufrock does not possess any definite dreams.) Wing
then expresses his confusion towards life by his hands which compares with
Prufrock’s fragmented dreams. Both of these individuals are unsure about what
they did wrong and choose to blame themselves. For Wing, he believes that his “hands
must be to blame” while Prufrock believes it is the yellow fog which represents
his soul. (9) In reality, society’s eagerness to ostracize and blame others is
the cause to their confusion. I believe that Eliot and Anderson employed these
characters to illustrate that society takes advantage of those who are
emotionally vulnerable. When society catches a glimpse of naive vulnerability,
it is eager to manipulate it to justify their cruel acts. This is especially a
prevalent theme in our society. For instance, the Salem Witch Trials were
caused by society’s eagerness to blame a certain group to absolve their inner
sins. Lastly, Hitler’s persecution against Jews was his justification for
punishing those who supposedly “wronged” him. Therefore, Anderson and Eliot are prudently cautioning readers of repeated misdeeds that often go unnoticed.
I found the connection you made between Wing Biddlebaum and the speaker in "Prufrock" really mind opening. I had never actually thought of the two characters as sharing something so characterizing; the social prejudice they appear to face by society. Although the prejudice by society was not explicitly stated in "Prufrock", there were definitely was noticeable elements of insecurity within the speaker himself. He was keen to admire the women and beauties of life from afar, and this created a persona of aloofness and disillusionment within the speaker himself. His tendency to remain aloof and admire from afar is evident within lines of the poem, as follow: “And I have known the arms already, known them all–/Arms that are braceleted and white and bare”. The elements of insecurity and questioning his own actions are seen in the lines: “And should I then presume/And how should I begin?” In a similar way, Wing Biddlebaum experiences moments of insecurity, apparent in his tendency to stuff his hands within his pockets to hide them from his surroundings. He lives on the outskirts of town, and isolates himself from the town of Winesburg. These definitely highlight the similarities of the two characters; yes I concur. But as aforementioned in your post, I do not think that this makes the speaker of “Prufrock” or Wing Biddlebaum shallow because they care about society’s opinion. On the contrary, I think this adds complexity to their characters. It unveils the idea of a tragedy in their past, that has resulted in them becoming “grotesque”, if you will. Their present state of beings also represents the development that has taken place of is currently taking place within their minds. This continues to add depth to both characters, and their insecurities reflect their constant questioning, perhaps indicating both of the characters extended periods of thinking and contemplating their own existence and actions, furthering the idea that both characters have much depth and reason to them. All the more, I loved reading your blog, and it really opened up the idea of the character similarities of both literary works, and deepened the understanding of how the speaker in “Prufrock” fits the definition of a “grotesque” from Winesburg, Ohio.
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