In this poem, the narrator has a severe confidence problem and is therefore extremely disillusioned and stuck in his "shell". In this disillusionment, he handles everyday events with extreme analysis and over-cautious action. He makes himself believe that he is too different from the rest of the world and therefore it does not accept him. The speaker, who is undoubtedly Prufrock, never engages in conversation with the woman because he becomes frightened and feels as if he is not good enough for her or anyone else. Prufrock's disillusionment is evident throughout the entire poem and prohibits him from obtaining the desire of intimately meeting the woman because of his identity.
Prufrock has an idea that he will create a new, exciting personality so that he may approach the women and become familiar with them. The speaker is continuously commenting on his appearance. He is extremely self-conscious. Prufrock says, "Shall I part my hair behind?" (line 122). He feels that if he changes his appearance than the women will like him. Prufrock wants to put up a front that will make him more attractive to women. He discusses getting rid of his old, boring self and creating a new one when he says:
There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create (28)
He prepares his new personality in his mind, going over and over again what he will say and how he will act. Then, when the moment of testing arrives, he freezes. He is trapped in his shell and even if he wants to break out, he can't. His entrapment leads him to difficult confrontations with others. Prufrock can never push pass polite conversation for the fear of rejection. Socially, he knows the people well (line 49) and he struggles with the thought that if he did move past polite conversation that
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