T.S. Eliot in his poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," has made a case for the unnecessary complexity of life. A complexity which has been created by society and continues to fool society to an extent where people do not realize it. Everything that exists, all the way down to the necktie, is a facade, a mask whereby people hide from each other.

J. Alfred Prufrock thinks to himself how his necktie is "rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin," a clear reference to society and its ideals. The necktie is shown as expensive and beautiful, yet underneath it all, holding it up, is something simple. The foundations of life are built on a simple structure, yet are masked by a simple structure.

Prufrock thinks how the people at the party will look at his thin arms and legs, which are but a cover for the true person behind, or inside the body. People judge others by their looks, and do not go beyond, for society is so blinded by its own facades, that they cannot break through. Also Prufrock's hair is another example of the covers put on by society. Prufrock thinks to comb his hair back so he would not look bald, for the true sight of his empty head is unsightly to others for they are used to the facade of hair to cover up what is really there.

Finally, an outstanding line in the poem that does not fit in with the rest of the poem, exists as a universal reminder of the covers people put on. "In the room the women come and go/Talking of Michelangelo." The coming and going and going and talking seem so simple and common, yet the women, to seem sophisticated, talk of Michelangelo. Michelangelo, such a great artist cannot be talked about as the women seem to be doing. The first part of the lines exist to show the commonality in society, yet the last part clashes and shows how an unfitting disguise is used to achieve a level which can only be achieved through the common side of people.

And finally, to what value do these masks exist? As T.S. Eliot writes, the faces people put on can be changed, revised, hundreds of times in only a minute, for their value is nothing, and they exist only for the purpose of vanity, fame, and wealth. These faces are so blinding to society that everything is "tea, and cakes, and ices," and stops them from going these masks and seeing how they are creating a yellow smog.