A CONTRADICTING BEAUTY
Beauty for the Populous and Prufrock
A Closer Look into Prufrock's World...
"Arms that lie alone a table,or wrap about a shawl"
"Arms that are braceleted and white and bare"
"...part my hair behind? "
"...skirts that trail along the floor - "
"The yellow fog that rubs it's back..."
"And seeing that it was a soft October night,
curled once about the house, and fell asleep..."
"Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains..."
"Evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table"
"I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?"
These differences in attitude towards beauty isolate Prufrock from society. His contrasting approach to thinking condemns him to be an outcast in a superficial and judgmental world. He recognizes that by exposing himself to society he will be labeled. Fearing the judgement of others, he distances himself from people and inflicts upon himself a lonely empty existence.
"And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, And in short, I was AFRAID. "
Prufrock does not imagine himself fitting into society's understanding of beauty.
[They will say: "But how his arms and legs are thin!"]
To Dare, or not to Dare? That is the question. . .
Thanks For Reading
Location: Ms. Beaudoin's Class