T.S. Eliot

I found it interesting that T.S. Eliot was actually born in America, but was so influenced by British and French poets. I was very drawn to his poem "The Waste Land", but it seems so intense that I don't know if I even can begin to discuss magnitude of this poem. However, I found "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" a little more direct.
Contrary to the title, we find that this is not a love song at all. This poem shows man's modern dilemma. Prufrock is a man who feels alienated and lost in modern society. No one listens to him. He is insecure, self-conscious, and scared of the world around him. We can see Prufrock's pessimism when he describes the landscape around him:
"When the evening is spread out against the sky/ Like a patient etherised upon a table;/ Let us go, through the certain half-deserted streets,/ The muttering retreats/ Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels/ And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells/ Streets that follow like a tedious argument"

A few lines down Prufrock describes a "yellow fog" that covers the town. I think this is Eliot's way of saying the world is tainted. He describes the fog as being everywhere, showing this feeling of discontempt regarding the modern world. Eliot uses Prufrock to describe a modern man in the modern world. We see this man as indecisive, nervous, self-conscious, and completely lacking any self-esteem. I think this shows a certain disconnect from the world because it is too much for the man and he does not know how to assimilate. The following lines illustrate this point:
"To wonder, "Do I dare?" and, "Do I dare?"/ With a bald spot in the middle of my hair-/ (They will say: "How his hair is growing thin!")/ My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,/ My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin-/ (They will say: "But how his arms and legs are thin!")"
Prufrock is scared to approach women or even walk by them because they might talk about his bald spot. Though he is completely bundled up, they might notice his thin arms and legs. Prufrock is trapped. No matter what he does, he feels as though he cannot connect to this modern world.

Eliot takes us through more lines of Prufrock's insecurity. He finally says:
"And would it have been worth it all, after all/ Would it have been worth while"
Prufrock goes back and forth wondering if he should try to become what the modern world accepts. However, he tells us in lines 108-110 that it would not be worth it because his woman would probably say wonderful things to him and then say "That is not what I meant, at all".
I think Eliot is trying to further show disconnect here. He is saying that we are missing a connection with the modern world. We don't understand each other like we should.

In the conclusion of this poem, we see that Prufrock still has no assurance. He says that he could never be Prince Hamlet, just an attendant. We still see his insecurities:
"Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?/ I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach./ I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each./ I do not think that they will sing to me."

It seems that "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is showing how parts of humanity are drowning. We are losing connection and becoming less in touch with reality. I think Eliot uses all of Prufrock's insecurities and idiosyncrasies to show us how not to feel alienated from the modern world.