May 27, 2011 Response

     Life during Elliot and Ginsberg’s time, as well as life in contemporary America, is often times about finding your true inner self and establishing a sense of pride about your individuality. Elliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” and Ginsberg’s “Howl Part 1” depict two contrasting perspectives on individuality: one view from a self-conscious, insecure man, and the other view from a secure individual expressing his opinions on society.

     In Elliot’s poem, J. Alfred Prufrock allows his insecurity to get the best of him and prevent him from living an authentic life. When Prufrock notices a group of women he is interested in approaching, his mind fills with doubts and second-guessing. He continually asks himself, “Do I dare?” and then eventually asks, “Do I dare Disturb the universe?” (48). Here, Prufrock thinks of himself as an inconvenience or ‘disturbance’ to society, and does not want to address the women because he thinks he is not “good enough” for them. He uses a metaphor, stating, “I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas” (74). I think this metaphor alludes to the fact that Prufrock does not feel he has a voice in the world and is not living his dream of an authentic life, and instead “scuttling” through the world in silence. He desires confidence and good looks (when he references his “bald head”), and feels sorry for himself for allowing his insecurities to impede on his desires. At one point, I think that Prufrock even blames God, when he states, “But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed…I am no prophet – and here’s no great matter…And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker” (85). I have no idea if this is an accurate assumption, but is the ‘Footman’ he’s referring to God? Is Prufrock wondering why, if he has “wept and prayed” and done what he is ‘supposed’ to do, is he still self-conscious and unable to fulfill an authentic life? It’s just an idea? Prufrock also continuously alludes to Michaelangelo, and I think he does this to compare societal status’s from himself to the women (associating the women with a prominent status and himself as worthless). He then becomes angry and frustrated, declaring, “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be” indicating that his life will never be what he wants because that is not in the cards for his fate. “Till human voices wake us, and we drown” (131) is the final line of the poem, and I think that this is significant because it shows how Prufrock’s self confidence has not changed or grown since the beginning of the poem. Even though time has passed, he is still self-conscious and has made no progress. It’s similar to the song lyrics “Creep” because the same message holds true for today: people are still afraid to be themselves and thus hope for something else. The lines “I want a perfect body, I want a perfect soul” indicate how people are always comparing themselves to the ‘norm’ and what is expected of them.

     From a contrasting point of view, Ginsberg’s “Howl Part 1” describes how the “best minds of his generation” are being destroyed. This poem presents classic irony. You would initially think that the “best minds of his generation” are people who are successful in their jobs and people who are making money for themselves and their families. However, Ginsberg discusses that the “best minds” are people like him; people who engage in drugs, careless sex, and alcohol to reach a spiritual path to liberation and individuality. He refers to these people as those “who chained themselves to subways,” “who were expelled from academics,” “who burned cigarette holes in their arms protesting narcotic tobacco haze of Capitalism” and “who lounged hungry and lonesome.” However, when these people deviate from the norms of society, they are chastised by the average everyday people, who are disturbed by their ways of expressing individuality. He even references his friend again, Carl, stating, “ah, Carl, while you are not safe I am not safe, and now you’re really in the total animal soup of time,” indicating that the time period for progression and change is chaotic. Overall, I feel that Elliot’s poem is entirely pessimistic, while Ginsberg’s poem presents a small amount of hope. I think Ginsberg is stating facts in a rather nonchalant manner. Although he is upset by the reactions he receives from society, he is not as ‘brought down’ by society as Prufrock. I was a little surprised at Ginsberg’s use of graphic language. I can imagine how controversial his poetry must have been in such a conservative era. However, when you think about it, Ginsberg does have a point. He is so confident and comfortable with himself and his individuality that he has the ability to write these poems in the first place. Sometimes that is better than someone who is popular in society yet has no confidence.

     These poems remind me of high school…people were so focused on fitting in that often times they compromised themselves just to be accepted. This concept goes against everything Ginsberg believed in (individuality). It’s sad how far people go sometimes to “blend in” and feel acceptance. They’re certainly not living an authentic life.