Prufrock vs. Kowalski

Introduction

Various writers in English literature have worked on the similar themes, yet being different in presentation of their ideas to the readers. Hence it becomes interesting to compare the work of two authors, in order to figure out the similarities and differences in their works. This paper presents a comparison between T.S. Eliot's 1915 “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” and Thomas Lanier Williams' play “A Streetcar Named Desire” which was first presented in 1947. In both these plays, the themes and settings remain same, as both were presented in the post-war settings, however remarkable contrast is found in the characters of plays.

Discussion

The two works under discussion for this paper share the theme of passiveness and aggressiveness respectively. The nature of characters in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” are remarkably different from each other. The former one is a poetic inner conversation, with a major character of Prufrock who was very much passive in nature had with him (Eliot, 1915). The personality of Prufrock is recognized as a fearful man who was very much concerned for his possible rejection and humiliation; he was insecure and lonely. On the other hand, the play “A Streetcar Named Desire,” has a major character Stanley Kowalski, who is portrayed as a very much secure, bold, and aggressive man (Williams, 1947). One of the major common features of these literary pieces is their occurrence in the urban settings. Another similarity is that both works were published in the post-war settings; Eliot published after World War I and Williams did after World War II.

Although, both the plays take place in the urban settings, where socializing and man-woman relationships were common, but the personality traits of the major characters differ significantly. Prufrock is portrayed as a man of passive nature, therefore he tries to build enough confidence to approach a certain women most likely in his circle of friends. However he never succeeded due to fear and lacks of confidence; he was never able to approach the woman. He kept on satisfying himself that there will be a time when he would be able to have a relationship with a woman (Eliot, 31). This reveals that Prufrock had an extreme desire to be in a relationship, as he was too tired of his loneliness. He knew and acknowledged his desires very well, but never brought his thoughts from his head to mouth under the influence of his fear. He was so self conscious that he keeps on thinking about what the others would think of him, instead of focusing on his own feelings and desires. This attitude of Prufrock continued throughout the poem; even by the end of the poem, he remained alone as was in the beginning.

On the other hand, the major character Stanley of the play A Streetcar Named Desire was aggressive in nature. Stella explains Stanley's nature to Blanche upon her arrival. He was in the military, and his wife often witnesses ...