In T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, the speaker, Prufrock, is very pessimistic and lacks confidence based on the beginning and the end of the poem. His negativity is evident when he describes the weather by saying, “When the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherized upon a table” (2-3). This line was very unexpected and shocking because most speakers tend to be more romantic when they describe the weather whereas Prufrock compares the weather to someone or something being injected with anesthesia. Prufrock’s lack of confidence is more evident towards the end of the poem when he says, “I am no prophet—and here’s o great matter; I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker” (83-84), and “No! I am no Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord, one that will to swell a progress, start a scene or two” (111-112).  Both of these lines show that he feels that he is not good enough to be compared to Hamlet, and is content with being an attendant.

“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!’)

In these lines, Prufrock describes his appearance and is worried about other people judging him. Despite his bald spot and thin arms and legs, his outfit is “rich and modest”. However, his elegant clothes do not make him feel more confident about himself.

Questions:

1. Why did he bring up the lines “In the room the women come and go talking of Michelangelo” twice? What is the significance?
2. Why is the fog yellow?
3. What does the mermaids singing represent?

1) In T.S. Eliot’s poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, the speaker of the poem, Alfred Prufrock, is a balding, lean-armed, and insecure middle-aged man. As the poem progresses, the reader can almost categorize Prufrock as a coward. He lists some of the things that he knows well, such as living through mornings with coffee, women. However, his lack of self-esteem and confidence discourages him from approaching women and others in the society throughout his life. As a result, Prufrock has lived a life without ever trying to go outside of his comfort zone, and is isolated from the rest of the society.

2) “I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me” (line 124-125).

Lack of self-esteem and confidence is a big part of this poem, and I believe this quote here depicts clearly of how Prufrock is discouraged with his own thoughts. This quote depicts mermaids, mythical creatures that are known to seduction of men with their good appearances and amazing voices. But in Prufrock’s mind, he thinks that even the mermaids would not like to seduce him because he is not good enough and will even be rejected by the mermaids. As readers, we can get a glimpse of how Prufrock’s lack of confidence plays a role here, if mermaids, mythical creatures that are known for seducing men are not even interested in him, then why would humans even be consider him?

Three questions:

1) Why does T. S. Eliot say that life is measured in teaspoons?

2) Where is Prufrock?

3) In line 26-27, what does Prufrock mean when he says that there will be time “to prepare a face meet the faces that you meet?”

1. “There will be time to murder and create, And time for all the works and days of hands” “Do I dare Disturb the universe? In a minute there is time For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse. ” — The Main character, Prufrock,  belongs to a group of young people who are very common in contemporary society (at that time). They are sensitive; they have their own ideals and aspirations; they are dissatisfied with the increasingly indifferent industrial cities, but they do not have power to change. Thus, He live in anger and pain at the same time, therefore, he can only choose to endure the reality of cowardice.
2. “There will be time to murder and create,
   And time for all the works and days of hands”（line 28-29）  My interpretation to these lines is: The poet put “Murder” and “Create” side by side, in order to bring readers a strong impact. The poet wants use such a strong contrast to connect the early twentieth century capitalist society is full of confusion and contradictions. On the one hand, people create modern industrial civilization, on the other hand, they  stifle the rich tradition of value. From these two words the reader can clearly feel the situation of capitalist society at that time.
3.  Question 1.  Whats the connection between the opening part and the rest of the poem?  Question 2. For what purpose does the poet compose this poem?  Question 3.  Why do the women talking of Michelangelo?

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is solemn in its use of diction. Prufrock talks about the night sky, deserted streets, fog and smoke, which highlight the negative connotation of the poem. With this analysis, Prufrock as a character is overwhelmed by the environment around him. The poem is a monologue, potentially inside Prufrock’s mind as he voices out inner conflicts and leads the readers along with him. At the beginning, he compares the evening sky to a “patient etherized upon a table”. My understanding of Prufrock is that he is entirely listless and unable to advance, thus requiring something to numb his mind and carry on his mundane lifestyle. He frequents the red-light district, goes to cheap hotels, goes through ominous half-deserted streets, drinks liquor, and eats oyster shells, which are actually aphrodisiacs. The women that Prufrock sees talks of Michelangelo – my understanding is that the women are ostentatious, which is a characteristic that drives Prufrock to behave in order to fit in. No matter how much he tries to impress by putting on expensive clothing, he is criticized by others’ opinion (or so he believes). In a sense, Prufrock is also superficial and materialistic (he cares a lot for his clothing and how others view him). His imperfections make him lonely, discontented, and vulnerable, and his high expectations stray him away from being satisfied in physical relationships. Prufrock serves as the epitome of frustration pent up inside the human mind, even inside a modern, complex environment with endless entertainment. Prufrock is a relatable, yet very unlikeable character because he does not opt for change, even though he dreads his current self.

“There will be time, there will be time

To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;

There will be time to murder and create,

And time for all the works and days of hands

That lift and drop a question on your plate;

Time for you and time for me,

And time yet for a hundred indecisions,

And for a hundred visions and revisions,

Before the taking of a toast and tea.” (lines 26-34)

My interpretation of this section is that Prufrock is concealing his true personality and faking his disposition for social gatherings. He repeats “there will be time” to distract himself from doing the things that he desires. He insists that he can revise what he hasn’t done, because there is plenty of time to do it in the future. Because of this, his existence is meaningless. This pointlessness is reinforced by the footnote which alludes to the work of the Greek poet Hesiod – it states that it is a contrast to the productive labor emphasized in Works and Days. Prufrock, on the other hand, is entirely stagnant. I believe Prufrock wants some sort of change, but is unwilling to take the risks.

Questions:

The phrases ‘you and I’ and ‘you and me’ are often repeated in the poem. To whom is Prufrock addressing to by ‘you’?

Towards the end of the poem, Prufrock talks of mermaids singing to each other. He includes “I do not think that they will sing to me” (line 125). Why? What does this mean?

Why is this titled a ‘Love Song’ when Prufrock clearly does not have a proper grasp on love?

1. The central character of T.S. Elliot’s poem entitled “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a man that appears confused and dejected not only about his relationships with women, but also with society as a whole. Whether it stems from his lack of self-confidence or low self-esteem, this man seems resigned to his fate of living a life of isolation due to his inability to connect with other people in the surrounding world. Proof of this is seen when he describes how others view his physical appearance in a negative manner, specifically his short arms and baldness. Further evidence of his personal insecurities are on display when he remarks that at times he feels as if others view him as obtuse or foolish and that, “I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing to me (544).” The belief that others will judge him based upon his outward appearance and that even the mermaids will not give him the time of day highlights the lack of self-confidence this individual possesses, a development that has resulted in continued struggles with women and society.

2. The lines of the poem that I understood and felt were integral to the themes of Elliot’s piece highlight his glaring lack of self-confidence. As Elliot wrote, “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord, one that will do. To swell a progress, start a scene or two, Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool, Deferential, glad to be of use, politic, cautious and meticulous; Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse; At times, indeed, almost ridiculous- Almost, at times, the Fool.” (Lines 111-119)

I believe these lines are critical because they truly demonstrate how little he thinks of his position in society. Rather than view himself as someone of significance or importance, he feels as if he belongs in the shadows as someone that fails to make a real difference in this world. Taking this a step further, there are times where he will be regarded as not only weird or obtuse, but also as the foolish one in the room. With these sorts of ideas about himself, it is no wonder that this character continuously struggles to overcome his challenges and become a fledging member of society.

3. (Three Questions)

a) What do you feel is the biggest character flaw that is standing in the way of this character finding success and happiness in life

b) Do you place more of the blame on the man for developing these feelings, or is the onus on society for how it has treated him throughout his troubled life?

c) Is there still time for the figure to turn his life around? Or is it too late to inflict meaningful change due to the lifelong anguish he has experienced?

1- The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot is a poem about a man who feels very unconfident and uncertain about himself. He seems to have “the complex of inferiority”, which make him to be incapable to have relationships with women. This complex makes him to be worried and nervous with women, but he is also unsociable and detached from the society in general.  As a result he lives in solitude and pessimism. Throughout the poem we can see how he feels distant from the society, because of his low self-esteem for himself.

“I should have been a pair of ragged claws

Scuttling across the floors of silent seas” (73-74).

He thinks that he is fool and ridiculous, but he does not want to believe this.

“Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;

At times, indeed, almost ridiculous –

Almost, at times, the Fool” (117-119)

2- At the end of the poem, Prufrock looks like he identifies his self more with mermaids than with real people. We can see this in the use of the pronoun “we” when speak of the mermaids.

“We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown” (129-130).

These lines makes us think that Prufrock wishes to escape humanity and the isolation of modern life and live surrounded by the mythical or supernatural.

In the final line of the poem, his fantasy world is devastated by humanity and comes crashing down:

“Till human voices wake us, and we drown” (line 131).

He has impossible, exasperated, desire for women who reject him. He cannot have any of those girls and any sign of the social world “human voices” drowns him down, like Dante, in his “inferno”.

3- Every reader reads and interprets poetry differently. The ideas and interpretations of other people help us to understand better the poetry. For this reason, I am including the following questions:

a- Why does Prufrock have so much difficulty making decisions?

b- What is the narrator thinks: “It is impossible to say just what I mean!”

c- Do you think Prufrock suffers from a psychological disorders, like paranoia or depression?

Your assignment for Monday has four steps. Please be sure to read through it carefully, so that you complete all the steps and earn full credit.
1. Read “Modernity and Modernism, 1900 -1945”, the introduction to Volume F of The Norton Anthology of World Literature.
2. Read the introductory materials about T.S. Eliot (pp.537-541) as well as Eliot’s poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (pp.541-544).
3. Prepare a blog post in which you do the following:
–Describe the character of Prufrock, being sure to base your description on evidence gleaned from the poem.
–Much of the poem can be difficult to comprehend. Choose a line, pair of lines, or section of the poem that you feel you DO have a handle on, and explain it on the blog, being sure to include the lines you are discussing.
–Conclude your blog post with three questions that you have about the poem. They could be very small, specific questions about particular details within the poem or more general questions about its overall meaning.
4. Return to the blog and read your classmates’ posts. Choose two questions to respond to and post your responses (as comments) on the blog no later than Monday, November 28th at 12:00pm. You may NOT respond to a question someone else has already answered!! Nor can you answer your own questions. (Yes, this assignment favors the early bird….)

Chidam covers his brother by lying to the landlord saying that Chandara is the one who committed the murder. This is a lie, but he tells it because he thinks it will be easier to save his wife than his brother from trouble. The police came and questioned the family. Chidam had asked Chandara to take the blame for the murder. Chandara is silent, and because Chidam and she had been fighting, she agrees. When the police question her, she tells them she murdered Radha. Chandara is instructed to speak a certain way to the police but she opposes that and takes the complete blame. Her husband tries to interfere but the police stop him. What Chandara tells the police is not what she was instructed to do she makes herself look like she had no reason to attack Radha, and she plays the part as if she deserves to be jailed and hanged.

I can compare “Punishment” to “Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger”. I say this because both passages show how women are not really taken into consideration, hence more very invaluable. Just like Du Tenth Chandara willingly takes the blame of committing a murder even though she did not do anything. I believe she takes the blame in exchange for freedom. Dhukiram kills his wife unintentionally, which I believe doesn’t have anything to do with the next couple. When two people are in love they are usually willing to sacrifice to make the other person happy, however in both passages the men want their wives to sacrifice no only for them but their families as well. Not realizing that the women are married to them alone. However culture helps play large impact on this, in many Asian societies the systems are patriarchal, and that is what makes the men very dominant in a relationship. Furthermore Du Tenth and Chandara both face a struggle where they believe the only way out is for the termination of their lives.

First of all, I think the protagonists of these two stories are very similar. They were both women and betrayed by their lover. In the story of punishment, Chandara loves her husband, and she knows she is different than her sister in law. Also, her husband is not like Dukhiram. She knows her husband is charming, and there has a lot of eyes on her husband. From chapter 2, ” They quarreled sometimes, but there was  mutual respect too:neither could defeat the other.” I can know they love each other. When Chidam tells her to admit murder, she is dumbfounded. She can’t believe her husband could ask her to do this thing.  She feels betray, and from the ending, I can know she lose her trust on her husband, even though, Chidam tries to save her, there is no one would believe him. Chidam should know that murder is not an easy thing to get avoid, and he put his wife’s life in danger. After all, I can know the result of Chandara is death by the hanging. The other side, Du Tenth, she loves Li Jia, but in the end, she finds out Li Jia has betrayed her. Li Jia wants to sell her to get money and back to home to see his father. And Du Tenth can’t afford this betray, so she jumps into the river, and dead. Li Jia and Chidam betray their wives for the family, but Du Tenth and Chandara choose a wrong way to end the thing they have to face. I think Du Tenth and Chandara have similar destinies. They can’t choose their own lives, they have to listen to their husband’s arrangement. These two stories can reflect the social status of women. Their husband helps them to make the decision, no matter it would hurt them or not.

The Lengths We Will Go to Please Friends and Loved Ones

     It is a natural tendency of humans that as they approach adulthood and develop the ability to become full-fledged members of society, they hope to satisfy or impress their loved ones and friends that have always been there for them. Perhaps the single greatest fear individuals have is becoming a failure to not only themselves, but also to everyone who sacrificed for them while they were growing up. The unconditional love and gratitude we feel towards those that have taken care of us when we were unable to do so inspires us to go out and make something of ourselves. We can see just how strong the motivation is to please those closest to from Lu Xun’s piece entitled In the Wine Shop and Feng Menglong’s story dubbed Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger. Xun’s work details an individual’s return to a town in which he worked in the past where he encounters an old acquaintance that feels he has amounted to nothing. Menglong writes of a dastardly tale involving a prostitute whose freedom is purchased by a lover, only to be re-sold at a profit in order to please his disapproving parents. Both cases provide evidence that people are deeply concerned about how influential figures in their lives view them in adulthood.

The acquaintance that becomes the center of In the Wine Shop seems to be down on his luck and has questioned his place in the world. As is written in Lu Xun’s work, “Naturally I am much more obtuse than before, but there are still some things I realize. This makes me grateful to you, at the same time rather uneasy. I am afraid I am only letting down the old friends who even now still have some hope for me (Xun).” It is clear from these words that this character worries about being viewed as a disappointment by people in his past. Rather than amount to nothing, he hoped to show them all that he was not a waste of time and effort, but is nervous that this is not the case. The male character who resells the prostitute in Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger states, “With the thousand taels I will have a pretext on which to call on my parents,” a statement that indicates he will abandon something as strong as love just to impress his parents.