Most Trivial Things In Life example essay topic

The Modern humankind is caught up in a series of trivial pursuits that seem to make their lives shallower. Eliot uses "Prufrock" to show that the only cause for doing the trivial actions is to avoid the bigger issue. Which could be as simple as asking a woman out, or a complicated as facing death. Either way, J. Alfred Prufrock was avoiding everything challenging in his life. It was his goal to avoid death, because he didn't know how to deal with it. He avoided asking a woman out, because he was afraid of what she might say.

So he found other ways to continue his life, but it lead it to become useless. He slept with many women, but none of them seemed to please him. It was as though he was incapable of being pleasured, and therefore just filled his day with random women to sleep with because it was the only thing to keep him going. Prufrock already knew that he was condemned to hell; maybe he was already living in it. Nevertheless, he didn't stop sleeping with all these women, he continued as if it was his "guilty pleasure".

It couldn't possibly be though because it wasn't at all pleasurable for him, just a repetitive act that he did. Prufrock was a lonely man, with no hope of having his name carried on. He hadn't done anything worthwhile, or that some would remember him by, there was nothing remarkable about him. Prufrock longed to be more than just a workingman, somewhat like Michelangelo. Accomplish something wonderful to be remembered by, and not just known as a sex addict. Prufrock, however, could never achieve something great.

He was too afraid; it held him back and forced him to subject himself to only the most trivial things in life., It was these trivial things that Eliot wanted to show. The modernist society had forced many others into a life just like Prufrock lead. Unable to find true joy in any activity, everyone is subjected to trivial pursuits, shallow goals, and no pleasurable experiences. It was created by the notion that the things that you can't explain or want to know should just be avoided.

If one person couldn't figure them out, then it was impossible for all. And therefore, society should just give up and come to the realization that the time of great thinking has passed, and nothing new can be discovered. The modern society was full of judgment, not on character but on outward appearances. So when the final judgment day is to come, how is one to explain the empty and superficial life they have had.

Only filled with trivial and shallow things, nothing to show, no accomplishments, and no heir to the family name. It was this fear that overcame Prufrock the most. The fear of being alone, with nothing to show for himself, and letting his name die it's a fear that almost everyone has. So instead of taking action and doing something, Prufrock sat in the back and watched. Watched as his life slowly and pitifully went by, only stopping occasionally to have sex with women that didn't pleasure him. How is one not to be afraid then of death, it there is no action to try to change it.

Eliot does however leave one with a glimpse of hope. Stating that the only thing world really needs is a poetic genius. That it will one day, maybe a poet as great as Shakespeare will help to lead the shallow modern society out of this trench that they dug themselves into. It will save society from its shallow, trivial, and useless existance.