Why do you think Poornima and Savitha have such different reactions to "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"? How is courage portrayed in this novel?

Poornima finds a collection of poetry in Mohan's coat, and reads the most dog-eared page, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." When she discusses the poem with Mohan, he claims "it's about the struggle to find courage" and that his favorite lines are "And indeed there will be time / To wonder, 'Do I dare,' and, 'Do I dare?' / Time to turn back and descend the stair." Mohan tells Poornima they are both like Prufrock, but Poornima disagrees: "No, she thought, you're wrong. You're wrong. He's nothing like me." Why do you think they have such different reactions to the poem? How is courage portrayed in this novel?

Poornima admits she doesn't fully understand the poems but she does understand that she has never lacked courage. She also wasn't allowed the time to ponder, "Do I dare?, she had to take action to save herself and her friend. She definitely had more moxie than Mohan.
I cannot find the reference to Savitha's reaction, so hopefully the next post will have that information.

I did not find Savitha's reaction either...

As Poornima has become stronger than she ever thought she could, the weakness of men is so much more apparent to her. Savitha's father, her own, Kishore, Mohan, Rishi- And it is obvious in the poem; Prufrock couldn't even be brave on paper. Poornima does not have time to waver or be feeble. Once she decides not to return to her village after her husband's family kicked her out, she had no choice but to take risks, to be brave in spite of all she had to fear. She does not have time to wonder. There is no struggle to find courage. It is a given. It is life or death. THERE IS NO TIME. Every day of her life Poornima has had to choose the stairs.

Courage is not a feeling. It is stealing glances at your husband's papers and learning to add. It is showing up to work every day with a disfigured face that disgusts and scares others. It is learning to speak English. It is traveling across the world to find your best friend.