Question

Read lines 55-61 from the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” and answer the question.

And I have known the eyes already, known them all—
The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase.
And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,
When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,
Then how should I begin
To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?
And how should I presume?

The word fix has three different meanings. What phrases from the text suggest each of these meanings? Select three choices.
When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,

Then how should I begin

And how should I presume?

To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?

And I have known the eyes already, known them all —

To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?

And I have known the eyes already, known them all —

The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,

And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,

Answer 1

The phrases from the text that suggest each of the three meanings of the word "fix" are:

1. The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase - This phrase suggests the meaning of "fix" as "gaze intently or steadily at," indicating how the eyes hold someone's attention with a formulated phrase.
2. When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall - This phrase suggests the meaning of "fix" as "secure or fasten," describing the speaker being physically fixed or secured to the wall.
3. Then how should I begin / And how should I presume? - These phrases suggest the meaning of "fix" as "arrange or establish," indicating the speaker's struggle to figure out how to start or establish a course of action.