Alfred Prufrock, the speaker of Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” and Nick, the protagonist of Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River,” have certain traits in common but there are also difference between them. Both characters have are avoiding certain things; Prufrock avoids propositioning the woman he loves, and Nick avoids confronting memories from the war which still haunt him. Similarly, both characters suffer with anxiety. Prufrock is too anxious to speak frankly to the woman, and Nick suffers from PTSD and this affects him in everyday life. The two characters differ, however, in that Prufrock chooses to deceive people and delay telling the truth, whereas Nick prefers absolutely simplistic honesty that only he and the natural world can provide. Prufrock and Nick both avoid certain things because of their anxieties, but Prufrock misleads others as a result, whereas Nick keeps his life as simple and honest as possible.
Both Prufrock and Nick are avoiding certain feelings. Prufrock is avoiding true love out of cowardice. He deviates from his “overwhelming question” constantly, which raises suspicions about his honesty as well as his bravery. In the following lines, Prufrock is about to tell the woman something significant, but then changes his mind: “In a minute there is time / For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse” (Eliot 47-48). Through the poem, he insists that decisions can be delayed and made at a different time, so there is no need to make them. Of course, this logic is questionable as it could result in decisions always being put off, and therefore never being made. Also, the technique is manipulative; Prufrock’s tendency to almost tell the woman something and then not, serves to keep her guessing. Like Prufrock, Nick also seems to be avoiding something. The difference is that while Prufrock is avoiding confiding in the woman he loves, Nick is avoiding the feelings inside himself as a result of his PTSD. “Big Two-Hearted River” shows Nick attempting to make himself happy so as to avoid his deeper anxieties. Small events can trigger his PTSD, which is why he takes such care in all that he does.
Both Prufrock and Nick suffer anxieties that serve to hold them back from experiencing life to the full. Prufrock insinuates that he knows about love and is rather a ladies’ man. However, it seems that his only knowledge about love is based on other people’s conversations. This is evident in the following passage: “I know the voices dying with a dying fall / Beneath the music from a farther room. / So how should I presume?” (Eliot 52-54). Prufrock listens to muffled voices in a different room. He seems to wish he was experiencing the love for himself, but continually ruins his own chances by delaying opening up to his lover. At one point, he seems very close to asking his question, but then fails: “And indeed there will be time / To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?” / Time to turn back and descend the stair, / With a bald spot in the middle of my hair” (Eliot 37-40). Prufrock wonders “Do I dare?” as he tries to build up the courage to enter the room and ask her the question. However, his courage deserts him and he walks away again. He tries to console himself and tell himself that there is plenty of time to make decisions, but really he knows that he has let a real opportunity pass him by. As Huang and Liu point out: “It is Prufrock's timidity and indecision that make him only conceive the heroic action but incapable of fulfilling it” (Huang 1). Like Prufrock, Nick’s PTSD seems to be holding him back from experiencing to full richness of life. The following line demonstrates Nick’s anxiety: “Nick’s heart tightened as the trout moved. He felt all the old feeling” (Hemingway I.5). This tightening of his chest suggests that Nick is anxious and that it is an “old feeling” suggests that he has suffered from a great deal of anxiety in the past. Now, he is avoiding returning to those feelings of anxiety and, presumably, the memories that trigger them. These anxieties are often inappropriate to the current situation and are holding him back from experiencing real life. As Robert Lamb asserts, Hemingway’s work often includes: “haunted consciousness of his protagonists, and their attempts to escape a world of danger and pain through the faithful observance of customs they invent for themselves” (Lamb 1). “Big Two-Hearted River” certainly follows this pattern.
The two characters differ in that Prufrock likes to play games and manipulate others, whereas Nick prefers to rely on himself and on clues from the natural world to keep his life as honest as possible. Prufrock as a tricky character who asks his loved one to join him on a romantic walk but then takes her to insalubrious places. The opening lines of the poem alert the reader to the upcoming themes: “Let us go then, you and I, / When the evening is spread out against the sky / Like a patient etherised upon a table” (Eliot 1-3). The initial two lines seem to be an affectionate invitation to his lover, for a romantic walk together. However, the third line quickly distorts this tone, and instead introduces a sinister feeling as Prufrock claims that the night sky looks like a person who is having surgery. This line serves as an early warning that the speaker is not the romantic man he believes himself to be. Conversely, Nick seems to prefer stability and reliance on himself in the most simplistic way possible, for example: “He did not need to get his map out. He knew where he was from the position of the river” (Hemingway I.11). Nick prefers to use natural methods of finding his way, such as looking at the position of the sun and the river. Nick prefers to use instinct and common sense rather than a theoretical map that could contain mistakes. Nick likes to rely on himself alone and enjoys the honesty of the natural world. Nick appears relaxed once his camp is ready: “That was done. He had made his camp. He was settled. Nothing could touch him” (Hemingway I.26). Here, Nick’s camp represents safety that he didn’t experience in the war. Now that he has made a basic camp for himself, he has one less cause for anxiety.
The two characters use avoidance tactics because of their anxieties, but they differ in that Prufrock misleads other people, whereas Nick values honesty and simplicity. Prufrock is a tricky character who avoids propositioning the woman he loves, instead delaying the conversations and decisions. Nick suffers from PTSD since he fought in the war, and this causes him considerable anxiety. To cope with this, he relies on himself and the natural world in creating a simple life.
Works Cited
Eliot, T.S. “The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock.” Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1915. Print.
Hemmingway, Ernest. “Big Two-Hearted River.” In Our Time. Boni & Liveright. 1925. Print.
Huang, Ai-Liang, and Liu, Xia-Juan. “Analysis of the Protagonist's Character in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” Journal of Huanggang Polytechnic. 2011. Web. 24 Jan. 2017.
Lamb, Robert. “Fishing for Stories: What “Big Two-Hearted River” is Really About.” Project Muse. 1991. Web. 24 Jan. 2017.
