Prufrock and Modernism

Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” seems very much like a modernist poem. It seems as though Eliot’s poem takes a step away from the security of society and poets by posing his own ideas of inferiority. The epigraph shows the type of exclusion that Levenson discusses in his article. As we discussed, he locks some people out of understanding the poem by writing it in Italian. The poem also embodies the type of exclusivity of modernism that Scott discusses. In the same way modernism pushes away women and other races, so does Eliot in his poem. Instead of embracing his feelings and “the question” he pushes them away. In a sense, Eliot’s poem becomes modernism.  
This question he refuses to answer, as we dicussed in class, has to do with a woman. It has to do with his inability to truly express himself to her and get something out of her. In the same way the speaker of the poem is unable to confront the woman, so is modernism. I think this is important in understand modernism. As a movement, modernism is universal and timeless, as is this poem. The feeling of inferiority that the speaker feels can apply to anyone. The turn away from the humanistic idea of the self as the center reflects a struggle of the literary and non literary world.  
I think the continuous references to age and fog show the age of the literary world and the fog is a representation of the clouded view that blocks modernism from accepting anything different from the canon; the basic model.  

My Take on Modernism

The three articles we discussed in class concerning modernism differed from each other. In Levenson’s article, we see modernism defined in terms of being a specific event, and less of a movement. This, in my eyes, makes it seem less literary and more idealistic. This also makes it easy to see it as something fundamental that is in place to change the world. I typically do not think of movements in this sense so it is interesting to see it in this way. Levenson also seems to present modernism as a movement that is not all inclusive. He limits it to being only something some people can achieve.  
 From Scott’s article, I get the same sense of acknowledgement of exclusion. Unlike Levenson, Scott seems more drawn to challenging these exclusions rather than encouraging and accepting them. Scott is aware that modernism excludes a variation or race and gender and she thus introduces us to writers who were influential in the modernist realm.
 These differing ideas directly show the difficulty in establishing a definition for modernism. Because there are differing ideas of what it is, it is thus difficult to discern who was or is a part of the movement. To me, the central idea of modernism is advancement. It is an attempt to make things better, by providing people with another option. It is a turn from the past, from the ideas that limited people in the literary world. It also seems like a return to the natural in a sense. I definitely agree with the Levenson that in a sense it is timeless because it is a movement that could be revived at any time.  

Intro

     Hello fellow surfers! My name’s LaCrystal. Many of you know me and those of you who don’t probably have friends who do because I know lots of random people on campus. Let’s see, I’m English major, Women’s Studies minor in my senior year of school! WHOOO!! I really like Dr. Sparks because she’s mildly amusing. I really like reading and watching TV…mostly reality shows. I also enjoy doing things that people don’t expect me to do i.e. long board, jet ski, swim, and be on yearbook staffer. If you ever see me on the library bridge on my long board feel free to speak.  

     Academically, I really enjoy History and English. I enjoy learning about different cultures and animals. I’m not really a huge fan of science and I wish I were better at math. It’s so straight forward and I can appreciate that. After graduation, I plan on teaching, either through Teach for America or wherever else I can get hired. Unless someone knows a wealthy man they want to set me up with! I’m pretty comfortable with computers, probably because I’ve had so many problems with them! That being said, if you ever need help feel free to let me know; I’ve been known to be occasionally helpful.  

     I know as much about Woolf as I remember Dr. Sparks teaching me about a year ago. I know very little about Eliot other than what I’ve learned in class. I plan on focusing on earning an A in this course. I don’t want to make any other predictions and disappoint myself and the end if they don’t come true. I’m a bit of a realist in that respect. I guess that’s it. Don’t be surprised by the things I say or frightened by me.