In American literature, postmodernism was a significant literary trend. It questioned the established social practices’ ideas. It was a prominent movement that advocated for more accurate depictions of the world and its transformation. The metaphors and analogies in T. S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock provide readers with a realistic perspective on how the world evolved after World War I. He makes the suggestion that the planet will keep developing. People will accept ideas and views they previously did not recognize after that shift. James Joyce’s Dubliners, The Dead, alludes to the act of estrangement in contemporary society. In the book, James identifies social class and geographical division as the two main causes of sociocultural immobility. Thus, the paper aims to discuss modern alienation caused by such issues as societal classism, regional inequality, emotional stiffness, city life, and loss of religious ideology and spiritualism in the works by Eliot and Joyce.
Social classism, a root of all community paralysis, causes modern hostility, as depicted in The Dead. For instance, when the maid, Lily, opens the door for Gabriel at the start of the short tale, classism becomes immediately clear and is the first element that a reader notices. The reader would initially think of it as a straightforward act of kindness performed inadvertently by a maid. Periodical classism may be found in Gabriel’s concentrated recollection of herself as a small girl sitting on “the lowest step, nursing a rag doll” (Friedman, 2018, p. 107). Lily never ascended the social scale during her life, implying that she is still on that “lowest step” of societal structure. Furthermore, given that she is “done schooling this year,” there is almost little possibility that she will abandon that step (Friedman, 2018, p. 107). Lily is forced to avoid the parties scheduled for that evening since she feels so cut off from the more affluent people. As such, Lily portrays modern classical isolation in the form of societal classism.
Regional imbalance with regard to the country of one’s origin is a basis for modern estrangement. Multiple times in the short tale The Dead, there are regional inequalities as portrayed by marriage wrangles and relationships. According to James, individuals from East Ireland have a kind of animosity towards people who reside in the western parts of the world. For instance, Gabriel’s late mother did not approve of her son’s decision to marry a woman from the West. Due to the difficulty of forging a single Irish identity, these regional differences represent a form of societal incapacity. As a result, social disengagement hinders the creation of a prosperous, united Ireland. Therefore, it is the result of territorial isolation that caused disapproval of Gabriel’s marriage; hence, modern discrimination.
Contemporary psychological naivety and the feeling of self-worth as instigated by emotional immobility result in modern isolation. For instance, one of Gretta’s defining traits is psychological naivety causing unsolved psychological or emotional issues. Through the text, it appears that Gretta never overcomes her memories of the past and her bond with the little boy, causing her an emotional collapse at the end. According to Joyce (2014), Gretta is bound to the hereafter because of her passion for objectifying her past, which keeps her from exploring options in the present. She is oblivious to her husband’s desire to put her to bed due to her affection for a man who is no longer with her. In a manner, her abrupt slumber at the conclusion is a representation of her slipping into a world of fantasies and artificial optimism, leading to emotional estrangement, a modern practice of isolation.
Furthermore, the text has represented such modern isolation as caused by the feeling of self-worth and disregard for others. For example, Gabriel’s excessive feeling of self-worth is a significant psychological issue for the rest of the characters. Gabriel thinks that since he is a man, has a college degree, and publishes his writings for others to read him as unique and valuable and give him the right to criticize others (Joyce, 2014). Considering that his ego supports a false sense of self-worth and the sense of identity that may be easily undermined if questioned, the task of overcoming it can be seen as the source of his paralysis. In light of this, Gabriel’s concept of self was examined, which finally caused him to spiral out of control and undermine his belief in himself (Joyce, 2014). Therefore, Gabriel’s psychological loss of self-belief demonstrates contemporary segregation
Likewise, one of the contemporary characters who is impacted by modern city life is Eliot’s Prufrock. He asks the second person, “you,” who is likely the reader or his beloved, to pay him a visit at the opening of the poem (Poetry Foundation, n.d, para. 1). Additionally, he compares the sky to “a patient etherized upon a table”, which is a rather twisted kind of analogy, in order to demonstrate his alienation (Poetry Foundation, n.d, para. 1). Furthermore, Prufrock describes the city streets as “half-deserted streets”; they may have been crowded with people, but since they all seemed foreign to him, he found the streets to be empty and lonely (Poetry Foundation, n.d, para. 1). In this regard, the protagonist possesses a feeling of alienation, which is tied to the concerns of self in modernist works.
Moreover, the concept of religion and loss of spiritualism causes modern segregation with regard to Prufrock in the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S Eliot. Prufrock infers that he wishes he had the power to resurrect someone by mentioning biblical figures like Lazarus. The theological and spiritual perspective presented in the English text The Cloud of Unknowing, written in the 14th century, is frequently reflected in Prufrock’s scepticism, despair, and uncertainty (Johnston, 1996). This composition, whose author is unknown, often echoes Prufrock’s spiritual struggle and desertion in Eliot’s poem. It is an illustration of how, despite Eliot’s familiarity with classic literature and holy texts, he questioned his goals. Although he did not say it in public, his writings make it apparent. Case in point, modern alienation comes in the form of religion and loss of spirituality.
Overall, in their works Eliot and Joyce portray modern alienation through different issues and struggles that define the person’s feeling of estrangement. For instance, Joyce depicts such forms of contemporary discrimination and isolation as societal classism, regional division, and emotional immobility among its characters. On the other hand, Eliot shows modern isolation as city life, loss of spirituality, and religious ideology. Both authors challenged social conservatism using literary methods like allusion, analogies, symbolism, and critique in a way that was simpler to comprehend and connect. Those tools allowed authors to introduce to the modern reader alienation and demonstrate its aspects through social issues.
References
Friedman, S.S. (2018). Joyce: The return of the repressed. Cornell University Press.
Johnston, W. (Ed.). (1996). The cloud of unknowing: And the book of privy counseling. Doubleday Publishers.
Joyce, J. (2014). The dead. HarperPerennial Classics.
Poetry Foundation. (n.d). The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot.