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K. Connelly

The Inevitability of Death

Consciousness... does not appear to itself chopped up in bits. A 'river' or a 'stream' are the
metaphors by which it is most naturally described, let us call it the stream of thought, of
consciousness James William. In the modernist era of writing, authors were developing a
literary device called stream of consciousness, a narrative technique in nondramatic fiction
intended to render the flow of free association of ideas, images, and words at the pre-speech level
that impinge on the consciousness of an individual and form part of his awareness along with the
trend of his rational thoughts. In T. S. Elliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Alfred
Prufrock begins his song but his mind quickly begins to wander towards his regrets, his
pessimism, and his desire to change.
The opening lines of this poem immediately thrust us into the characters life and ideology.
As a set of lines they give us a good idea of the life of Prufrock, relating the beauty of the
evening sky to a patient etherized upon a table (line 3). This simile gives us an insight into
Prufrocks pessimistic view of his love life. The two lines start off the poem very beautifully,
giving us the impression that this is going to be a beautiful poem directed for wooing a woman.
Then, when we get to the third line there is a surprising shift in tone and we begin to see a new
imagery in the poem, with the line comparing a sunset to an etherized patient, as Prufrocks mind
begins to wander. Prufrock specifically uses the word etherized because he feels as if his love
life, and past life, is etherized and he is helpless and wants to change it. Prufrock wishes to turn
back and descend the stair (line 39) and go back and fix his life. The poem gradually redirects
towards himself as he recounts how his life has been a bust, never reaching the potential he

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desired and never disturb[ing] the universe (line 45). Up until this point he hasnt made
anything of his life and he is using this poem as a way to reflect. He lives his life in a
meticulous (line 116) conformity to the society around him, barely causing any disruptions. He
sees himself as a sort of mannequin, with necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin
(line 43). That simple pin is a representation of how little is holding him together as a regular
human.
Complimentary to Prufrocks regrets and humility is his bleak outlook on the future of
society and the industrial world he occupies. Prufrocks mind begins to reflect on the world he
lives in with the city covered in the yellow smoke that slides along the street (line 24). His
world is filled with disgust through the half-deserted streets (line 4) the pools that stand in
drains (line 18) and the soot that falls from chimneys (line 19) covering the world he lives in
and making it hard to find beauty. The use of this descriptive imagery tells us not only about
what world he lives in but also how he views the world. Prufrock has grown up in this city,
spending his days indoors because of the atrocities that lie outside. All his life he has seen on the
streets the disgusting nature of our world and how it is designed against us. Prufrock sees the
world as a terrible place, dull with little color and does not like it, much like he dislikes himself
and how boring and mundane he has lived.
As Prufrock recounts his life, he realizes and begins to reflect upon the inevitability of his
own death. He has lost his sense of purpose and has become an old man asking questions and
thinking thoughts of no major significance shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a
peach? (line 122) he no longer is plagued by the thoughts of a young man who worries of life
and making something of himself, Prufrock knows, and regrets, his life has been mundane. He
feels almost, at times, the Fool and knows that his life has been a joke, never reaching his full

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potential. He has measured out [his] life with coffee spoons (line 51) and begins to spit out all
the butt-ends of [his] days and ways (line 60) merely attempting to make some revelation that
his life has not been completely meaningless. One of the most intriguing metaphors he makes is
how he wishes to have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas
(line 73) expressing how his life has been so vacant that he would have made a better crab.
Prufrock knows his time is soon, he has seen the eternal Footman hold [his] coat, and snicker
(line 85). As the poem draws to a close, the reality of Prufrock and how his death draws near
becomes more apparent. He knows that our lives drag on till human voices wake us, and we
drown (line 131) in the flood of memories, of life flashing before our eyes right before we die.
The use of stream of consciousness can make for an extremely interesting body of work.
This is the case with T. S. Elliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, a very compelling piece
that through the main characters reflections, pessimism, and desire for love, forces us to
consider our own mortality. This piece is very powerful and plants the seeds of big questions that
many of us do not wish to consider. Even though we may not be overtly thinking of our death,
we know that death is certain and always in the back of our minds.

Works Cited

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Elliot, T. S. "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation,
n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.