Character sketch of the narrator the poem " The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock"

Essay by oesiCollege, Undergraduate August 2006

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In the poem " The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock" the narrator is J.Alfred Prukrock. T.S Elliot writes this poem and in this poem he uses a combination of human sympathy and ironic wit. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is not a poem about love, but about the thoughts of a man with a low self-esteem. The poem talk about one man's inability to love and who does not believe good things will ever happen to him, or that the world has anything to offer him. Prufrock does not love any body or does he believe that any one could ever love him. In this poem Prufrock thinks about two things, insecurities and the view that his life is useless because he is old.

The poem is filled with examples of Prufrock's insecurities. This insecurity is a hindrance for him. It holds him back from doing the things he wishes to do.

This is the sort of characteristic that makes Alfred into a hopeless character. He will not find happiness until he finds self-assurance within himself. The repetition of words like vision and revision show his feelings of insecurity in communicating with the people around him. J. Alfred Prufrock's self esteem affects his love life greatly. The woman he is in love with is younger than he is and this distresses him. He does not believe that some younger women could possibly accept him or find him attractive. Expressing any kind of affection to her is awkward and difficult. Prufrock knows what he must say but cannot bring himself to say it. "Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?" His insecurity in his love life is very troublesome for him indeed. He wishes greatly to express...