Prufrock and Winesburg

T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of  J. Alfred Prufrock" and Sherwood Anderson 's novel Winesburg, Ohio share many common themes including feelings of inadequacy and inability to communicate.  Eliot communicates these ideas through the Prufrock's seemingly somber and depressed depiction of himself and his inadequacy while Anderson communicates the themes through the depiction of the grotesques.

One of the largest feelings that Prufrock repeats is the feeling of his own inadequacy in the eye society.  He talks about how "In the room the women com and go/Talking of Michelangelo" (Eliot 13).  The title of the poem suggests that Prufrock's purpose is to gain the interest of women, but in this line the women are instead paying attention to Michelangelo.  The name Michelangelo can be accredited to the famous Italian painter, sculptor, architect, and poet of the Renaissance.  One of Michelangelo's most famous artwork is the Statue of David with which Michelangelo, out of stone, depicts a man with toned, hardened muscles and alabaster skin that represents the epitome of perfection in a man.  Prufrock, on the other hand, worries about his inadequacies when he self-consciously points out "...How his hair is growing thin" (Eliot 41) and "...how his arms and legs are thin" (Eliot 44).  This feeling of inadequacy is also seen in Winesburg, Ohio among many of the grotesques when in "Sophistication", George Willard worries if he will seem childish and impotent to Helen White compared to the college professor or in "Loneliness" when Enoch tries to proof himself to the woman by lecturing her about his understanding of the world.

The debilitation effect of inability to communicate, on of the largest themes in Winesburg, Ohio is also seen in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock".  In the poem, Prufrock is unable to find a way to communicate his thoughts as he wonders "...how should I begin/To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?/And how should I presume" (Eliot 59).  We also see Prufrock's regret after he talks when he says "That is not it at all,/That is not what I meant, at all" (Eliot 109).  This inability to communicate in something as personal and revealing as a love song shows how Prufrock is disconnected from society and how meaningless his frustration and planning was.  The inability to communicate in Winesburg, Ohio appears throughout the novel with many of the grotesques.  In "Hands", Wing Biddlebaum's inability to express himself with after the incident leaves him feeling entrapped in his own body.  In "Loneliness", Enoch Robinson struggles to communicate his understanding and then eventually forcing his understanding out makes him grotesque.  Like Prufrock, the societal pressure forces Enoch to try to express himself but it is the expression that leads to regret.

Both works deal with the pressure society has on individuals through society's judgement.  The feelings of inadequacy and inability to communicate in both works show the possible stagnation of an individual under the crushing pressure of society.