The Great Gatsby and Alfred J. Prufrock's Love SongVery often, it seems, life can feel like an "etheric patient on the table” (Eliot, 3). Whether it is the apparent futility of existence as a whole, or the insecurity of those isolated moments of doubt; life is often fleeting. I believe life is best described as a fickle beast, always elusive; always refusing a new and unexpected route. This fleeting life is what Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby and Alfred J. Prufrock from “Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock” live. The experiences of these two men take remarkably similar paths as they search for love and life. Yet each sealed their common destiny in a different way. As they move toward the apparent abyss of death, both neglect everything they would have liked to do during their lives. By the time each man reaches his end, they both feel like they have failed themselves and life as a whole. Although they experience similar fates, Prufrock and Gatsby boast seemingly opposite beginnings. Prufrock is best described in his love song as a passenger on the road of life. He talks about his...