long songs of alfred prufrock
...eaction towards him. He thinks people will make comments of his balding head and slim, aging body. Prufrock’s self consciousness has made him completely incapable of making any decisions. His puzzlement over such questions as “should I part my hair behind?” and “Do I dare to eat a peach?” show that cannot make decisions to simple questions because of his self-consciousness. Prufrock is scared of what people think of him. Unfortunately, his lack of confidence isn’t limited to his looks. Prufrock has a great difficulty communicating with people, not surprising considering his lack of self-confidence in his appearance. The reason Prufrock cannot communicate with people is because he cannot get enough courage to start a conversation. Throughout the poem, Prufrock asks the question “Do I dare?” This suggests that Prufrock is daring to talk to the women in the room, but cannot. Purfrock’s questions can also be tied into his attempts at relationships with women. His insecurities keep him from doing what he wants to do; he feels like he is unable to express his true feelings to women. “Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?” he knows what he wants to say but doesn’t have the confidence to put his feelings into words. Prufrock feels that he must “force” himself to talk to women. He compares himself to Hamlet, “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;” who was much different than Prufrock. Hamlet was able to express his feelings to his lover, an ability that Prufrock lacks; therefore, Prufrock says that he is no Hamlet. Prufrock’s self consciousness has made it difficult for him to communicate. Prufrock is caught between two classes in the beginning of the poem when it says “of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels/And sawdust restaurants with oyster shells,” and “The women who come and go talking of Michelangelo.” These two images represent two different ways of life. The first image portrays a lower standard of living, spending nights in cheap hotels, while the other, that Prufrock longs to be part of, is of high class. Prufrock is just out of reach of the group of people that he wishes to be with, but...