love song and winesburg

Winesburg, Ohio- Sherwood Anderson

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock- T.S. Eliot

Although Winesburg, Ohio and “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” seem very different, closer comparison shows that they share some striking similarities. One idea that reoccurs in both works is the contrast between youth and age. Throughout Winesburg, many of the stories center around people who have already grown old, looking back on their experiences and youth.

In “Hands,” Wing Biddlebaum recalls his youth as a teacher and the dreams he had and wished to transfer to his students. These hopes and dreams are contrasted with his current aged state through his hands. When he was youthful, his hands were free and expressive. However, now in his age he finds himself self-conscious of his hands, hiding them away as if they were something to be afraid of. As he looks back on the freedom of youth, he regrets to some extent, but at the same time is over taken by nostalgia, which becomes yet another comparison between youth and age when Wing, in his old age, imparts his wisdom to the young George Willard, saying “You must begin to dream. From this time on you must shut your ears to the roaring of the voices.”

Reading “Mother” reveals a similar pattern. Elizabeth, now in her later years, does little more than sit by her window, watching the world go by but never actually participating in it or interacting with anyone outside of her home. This inactive, almost trapped, lifestyle is completely different from the freedom she possessed as a young girl. She thinks of her life before marriage, roaming free with “the traveling men” and trying to find what exactly she wanted to with her life. However, despite the fact that Elizabeth no longer lives that youthful life, she still expresses a longing for that lifestyle. She says to her son, George Willard, “I think you had better fo out among the boys. You are too much indoors.” Too Elizabeth, who is trapped by the decaying house she lives in, still value and longs for the outside world, as is shown by her belief that being engaged in that outside world is what is best for her son.

The speaker of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” describes a similar situation, contrasting between the youth the speaker longs for and the old age that the speaker is experiencing. This can particularly be seen in the last section of the poem, where the speaker says outright “I grow old…I grow old.” However, the speaker then conveys a longing to return to his days of youth. “I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. . . Do I dare eat a peach?” As rolling the bottoms of your trousers was a very youthful thing to do, by doing so, the speaker hopes to return once again to his days of youth. Yet at the same time, the speaker, like Wing and Elizabeth, realizes the futility of pursuing a vanished passed, causing the uncertainty in the question “Do I dare eat a peach?” A peach, juicy and full of flavor and life, perfectly symbolizes youth, and it this symbol of youth that the speaker is unsure about biting into, knowing that there can be no true return to youth. However, just as Wing and Elizabeth express their nostalgia to George, the speaker does the same with the reader, talking of mermaids, yet another symbol of youth, being mythical creature that always seems to be young and breathtakingly beautiful. However, in the end, he acknowledges that it is his fate to be old. “I do not think that they will sing to me,” the speaker says of the mermaids, knowing that their youthfulness will not reach him.

This contrast between youth and age in both works brings to mind both defeat and hope. The defeat comes in the form of the aged acknowledging their age and inability to return to the youth that they long for. However, because of their nostalgia, they are able to see the hope for the current youth and encourage them, because age has yet to overcome them.