The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Notion of the “shell” 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 …showed first 75 words of 862 total…

…showed last 75 words of 862 total…present. In order to face people, he needs to create a mask because he does not consider himself adequate to face society. He ponders everything so intensely that he cannot enjoy life. The speaker becomes so engrossed in fearing embarrassment or rejection that he resorts to doing absolutely nothing about the situation. His desire is to create a new image for himself, but his disillusionment makes him realize that he cannot change who he is.