Friday May 27th:

Eliot poem “The love song of J.Alfred Prufrock” tells the life of a man who lust over a woman. The poem simply tells about a certain mistress that Prufrock would like to “force the moment into crisis” by pursing their relationship. Purfrock doesn’t want to approach this woman because he is scared of life itself and he can mentally hear comments from others that are being made about him and this relationship that he wants. Purfrock condemns himself to isolation because he is scared of not becoming a hero. As the poem changes the scenery and continues on Purfrock comes to the conclusion that “I am not Prince Hamlet”. I think that by this he means though he is not someone as important as Hamlet he yet is still important to himself.

 Through this Purforck lets the woman stand in his way of accomplishing what he wants and he become doubtful.  Through Purforck life I think he really wants to feels as if he is someone important to people as he did by referring to Prince Hamlet because he was an important person. I think this idea consumes Purfrock and he because so discouraged because he is not the person he wants other people to see him as but as time progresses he finally realizes that it’s not important to be the most important person to a bunch of people as long as he is important to himself.

 Ginsbergs poem “Howl” expresses the frustration of his generation that he felt was being suppressed b a dominate American culture that valued conformity over artistic license and opportunity. Ginsberg states that people were breaking from the habit of conformity to the virtues and ideals of the American civilization and expressing a vision of free expression.

Ginsberg states in his first sentence “ I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night” . Ginsberg says this in reference to his friends and everyone who would become associated with the beat generation and they are referenced to as the protagonists in the story. During the story Ginsberg refers to the “best minds several times” In order for the “best minds” to be heard they howl at the moon at night.  

Ginsberg focuses on being pessimistic because he expressing his antagonism to show his views on life and Eliot is also pessimistic because he feels as he has no place in this world due to all the aesthetics that are around. I found both of these articles to be very confusing for me to understand but overall the express in two different ways how people shouldn’t have authentic individual lives.

Questions: Do we have authentic individual lives?

Do we worry too much of what other people think of us and live our lives accruing to that?

Connection: The connection I made from this is Lady Gaga’s song Born This Way. It makes me think about how she describes individuality and how you should be who you are and not something you aren’t!