james joyce riassunto inglese, Appunti di Inglese

Scarica james joyce riassunto inglese e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! JAMES JOYCE (1882-1941) pp.344-46, powerpoint, schede Life James Joyce was a rebel among rebels, in contrast with the other literary contemporaries who tried to rediscover the Irish Celtic identity. He was born in Dublin in a Catholic family and he received an excellent education, studying modern languages. He rejected the Catholic religion and the life in Dublin, deciding to leave the city. In 1904 he met Nora Barnacle, whom he later married. They went to Paris, Zurich and Italy, in Trieste, where he befriended and greatly influenced the Italian writer Italo Svevo. At the beginning of First World War, he went with his family to Zurich. He then went to Paris but returned to Zurich after the fall of France during the Second World War. He continued writing even if he suffered from an eye disease which left him almost blind. He died in Zurich in 1941. Main works ● Dubliners (1914); ● Ulysses (1922). Features in his works and style Joyce is probably one of the most radicals innovators of the modern novel. He moved from from the symbolic and realistic style of of Dubliners to the revolutionary style of Ulysses. The setting of most of his works is Ireland, especially Dublin. He rebelled against the Catholic Church even in his works. All the facts in his narratives are explored from different points of view simultaneously; greater importance is given to the inner world of the characters, time is perceived as subjective and his task was to render life objectively, resulting in isolation and detachment of the artist from the society. Joyce’s style is characterized by realism and disciplined prose, and it also involves different points of view, free-direct speech and interior monologues. Dubliners “Dubliners” is a collection of fifteen stories in which Joyce portrays the lives of different people living in Dublin. Joyce tried to publish it in Ireland but after being refused several times, he finally published it in London in 1914 (seven years later) under a pseudonym. “The Dead”, the last story (and the longest) wasn’t in the first draft of the collection but was added later on.The fifteen stories which make up Dubliners represent the four phases of the human life: childhood, adolescence (Eveline), maturity and public life (The Dead). The protagonists are all common people; Joyce focuses on specific moments in their lives that, at first, seem to belong to the everyday activities but they become special as they correspond to important moments of self awareness. ● Setting: all the events take place in Dublin (even if in different locations), which is not simply a setting: in fact, it is a link between all the characters. The character from one story can be mentioned in another story, creating a web in the narrative. ● Technique: The descriptions are naturalistic, concise and detailed. Each story opens in medias res; Joyce uses an external narrator but the point of view is the one of the main character. The author uses free direct speech and free direct thought to make a direct presentation of the character’s thoughts. There are different linguistic registers: the language suits the age, the social class and the role of the characters. There’s no didactic or moral aim because of the impersonality of the artist. Joyce also uses the narrative technique of the epiphany. The epiphany is the special moment in which a trivial gesture, an external object, a banal situation or an episode lead the character to a sudden revelation of an emblematic truth or reality. Understanding the epiphany in each story is the key to the story itself. In the end, the characters don’t act upon the realisation but passively continue with their life as before. ● Themes: the main themes in “Dubliners” are paralysis and escape. Paralysis is a condition characteristic to modern man: it is a consequence of a hectic and impersonal city life and it can have different sources (an unfulfilling job, an unsuccessful marriage…). In most of the stories the protagonists have some desire they want to fulfill, they attempt to do so but are forced to give up because of circumstances which prevent them to react. Paralysis can be physical (caused by external forces) or moral (linked to religion, politics and culture). The climax of the stories is reached when the characters become aware of their own paralysis. The escape is an alternative to paralysis but it always leads to failure. (+il nostro libro dice che l’epifania è un tema, il powerpoint e la prof dicono che è una tecnica narrativa). Eveline: summary Eveline Hill sits at a window in her home and looks out onto the street while fondly recalling her childhood, when she played with other children in a field now developed with new homes. Her thoughts turn to her sometimes abusive father with whom she lives, and to the prospect of freeing herself from her hard life juggling jobs as a shop worker and a nanny to support herself and her father. Eveline faces a difficult dilemma: remain at home like a dutiful daughter, or leave Dublin with her lover, Frank, who is a sailor. He wants her to marry him and live with him in Buenos Aires, and she has already agreed to leave with him in secret. As Eveline recalls, Frank’s courtship of her was pleasant until her father began to voice his disapproval and bicker with Frank. After that, the two lovers met clandestinely. As Eveline reviews her decision to embark on a new life, she holds in her lap two letters, one to her father and one to her brother Harry. She begins to favor the sunnier memories of her old family life, when her mother was alive and her brother was living at home, and notes that she did promise her mother to dedicate herself to maintaining the home. She reasons that her life at home, cleaning and cooking, is hard but perhaps not the worst option—her father is not always mean, after all. The sound of a street organ then reminds her of her mother’s death, and her thoughts change course. She remembers her mother’s uneventful, sad life, and passionately embraces her decision to escape the same fate by leaving with Frank. At the docks in Dublin, Eveline waits in a crowd to board the ship with Frank. She appears detached and worried, overwhelmed by the images around her, and prays to God for direction. Her previous declaration of intent seems to have never happened. When the boat whistle blows and Frank pulls on her hand to lead her with him, Eveline resists. She clutches the barrier as Frank is swept into the throng moving toward the ship. He continually shouts “Come!” but Eveline remains fixed to the land, motionless and emotionless. Eveline: analysis ● Characters: Eveline (passive, influenced by her family’s mentality); her father (a violent and strict man, represents Eveline’s fear); her mother (conservative, when she was alive she did what was her duty as Eveline should); Frank (Eveline’s fiancé, a very kind, open-hearted and brave boy, represents her unknown future); antithesis