Eliot symbolizes the isolation of Prufrock in the beginning to show the character that he is in search of love. In his poem he uses a personification to symbolize the love of J. Alfred Prufrock:
The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house and fell asleep. (Eliot 297)
The personification is a description of a yellow cat. The reason why the characteristic resembles a cat is due to when it states, “the yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes, the yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes” (Eliot 297) these are qualities of what a cat does, rubbing itself on something and muzzling on objects. The cat is locked outside of a room. The cat represents the character, J. Alfred Prufrock, because the way it is showing how he is isolated from women which is what men desire. His reason for staying away
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In the poem, Alfred Prufrock says, “and I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, and in short, I was afraid.” (Eliot 299) The Eternal Footman can symbolize many things such as the devil or god. But in the end, it makes Alfred realize that he is growing older and is yearning for the time of youth. The reason is that death is just around the corner.
The title of the poem is The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. However, just by looking at the name of the character, J. Alfred Prufrock, it expression that his name is a little eccentric. His name is not normal, and he wants it that way. By using a distinguished initial and making his name long, he hopes he can get the attention of people around. Alfred Prufrock