Poem the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Running head: AMERICAN LITERATURE 1

AMERICAN LITERATURE 4

American Literature

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Part A
T. S. Eliot’s poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, is one of the earliest and popular literary works of Eliot. The poem was compiled in 1910. However; it was published five years in the year 1910. In this poem, the author has subtly utilized his artistic prowess to develop the Prufrock, the persona and also the main character of the poem, to address the some of the key issues of the society. One of the main themes in this poem is the social conflict. Throughout the poem, the author has utilized stylistic devices such as imagery, monologue as well as symbolism to capture this theme. The poem provides a vivid description of Prufrock’s feelings, thoughts, actions as well as emotions. Prufrock, the poem’s speaker, is described as a tortured, eloquent, overeducated and emotionally stilted man. Prufrock seems to be tackling a prospectus lover, with whom he feels to “force the situation of crisis,” which is achieved through cementing their relationship (Eliot, 1915). The theme of social conflict has been successfully demonstrated through the love of Prufrock as well as the concurrences in the society and setting in which the poem has been developed.
The poem explains the conflict deep within Prufrock. Although he has a deep affection for his lover, Prufrock has developed some reservations to propose for the women he loves. There are conflicting thoughts in his minds which prevents him from making a concrete decision. Prufrock has the feelings of inadequacies. As such, he feels to be inferior and does not possess what it takes to propose such kind of a woman. In another instance, Prufrock considers himself to be second rate-status which aliens himself from the world. Also, the theme of social conflict has been captured in the poem through World War I, the Great War led to the fall of British Empire. Also, many young men and women lost their lives during the war. One of the significant of World War I is the rise of women who struggled to fight for their rights in the society. As such, it led to the recognition of the role of women in the society (Eliot, 1915). .
Part B
Mary Flannery O’Connor is one of the modern writers that focus on the critical question of spiritual life in the incongruous and bizarre situation. In her poem, A Good Man Is Hard to Find; O’Connor uses various characters in her poem to develop this theme. For instance, the author has successfully developed grandmother, one of the key characters in this artwork to bring out her point of view on the definition of “good” (O’Connor, 2015).
The grandmother embraces the label “good” in many instances, blurring the meaning of a “good man” to an extent that the l loses its original meaning. O’Connor initially applies it to Red Sammy after he complains of the mistrust of people in the society. Sammy questions the grandmother why he let two strangers charge their fuel. Sammy has been swindled, but the grandmother insists that he acted in that manner because he’s “a good man.” As such, her understanding of “good” seems to entail poor judgment, blind faith, and gullibility, none of which are generally “good,” (O’Connor, 2015). Also, she applies the tag “good” to the Misfit. After grandmother notices him, she questions Misfit whether he shoot a woman, although does not say that he wouldn’t. This theme has been well captured O’ Connor’s artist work.

Reference
Eliot, T. S. (1915). The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Poetry, 6(3), 130-135.
O’Connor, F. (2015). A good man is hard to find. New Canadian Library.