James Joyce: Life and Literary Production - Dubliners and the Epiphany, Schemi e mappe concettuali di Inglese

Scarica James Joyce: Life and Literary Production - Dubliners and the Epiphany e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! James Joyce  James Joyce was born in Dublin in 1882. He was educated at some Jesuit schools and at university college in Dublin. He had a strong interest for European culture, and this fact led him to think of himself as a European rather than an Irishman and made him travel a lot during his life.  He got married when he was quite young, and together with his wife Nora he settled in Trieste in 1905, where he met Italo Svevo.  Later we lived in Paris and Zurich  In 1940 when France was occupied by the German troops he returned to Zurich, were he died in 1941. Literary production:  “A portrait of the Artist as a Young man” (1916): autobiographical novel  “Dubliners” (1914)  “Ulysses” (1922) He set all his works in Ireland, and mostly in the city of Dublin. His effort was to give a realistic portrait of the life of ordinary people doing ordinary things and living ordinary lives. Joyce believed in the impersonality of the artist, as T.S. Eliot did. The artist’s task was to render life objectively, to give back to the reader a true image of it. This necessarily led to the isolation and detachment of the artist from society. As his words did not have to express the author’s viewpoint, Joyce used different points of view and narrative techniques appropriate to the characters portrayed. Dubliners Dubliners consists of fifteen short stories. The stories are arranged in four groups that correspond to four “phases” of life: ● childhood. ● adolescence. ● maturity. ● public life. A significant theme in all the stories is the feeling of paralysis that many of the characters experience as a result of being tied (legati) to antiquated and limited cultural and social traditions. The last story, “The Dead”, can be considered Joyce’s first masterpiece. It stands out (si distingue) from other fourteen stories because however similar in theme it is denser. Narrative technique: The omniscient narrator and the single point of view are rejected: each story is told from the perspective of a character (dalla prospettiva del personaggio). The linguistic register is varied, since the language used suits (si adatta) the age, the social class and the role of the characters. The use of epiphany: The description in each story is realistic and concise with abundance of external details, even the most unpleasant. The use of realism is mixed with symbolism (details have a deeper meaning). Understanding the epiphany in each story is often the key to the story itself. The Joyce’s theory of the epiphany suggests the search for something existing under the surface of things and events. The episode described is apparently unimportant but essential to the life of the characters. A pervasive theme: paralysis The paralysis of Dublin which Joyce wanted to portrait is both physical and moral linked to (legata alla) religion, politics and culture. Joyce’s Dubliners accept their condition because they are not aware of it (non sono consapevoli) or because they lack the courage (gli manca il coraggio) to break the chains that bind them (di rompere le catene che li legano). But there is not paralysis alone but also its revelation to its victims. The coming to awareness (la presa di coscienza) marks the climax (segna il culmine) of these stories. The main theme is the failure to find a way out (via di uscita) of paralysis. None of characters succeeds (riesce): they live as exiles at home, unable to cut the bonds (in grado di tagliare i legami) that tie them (che li legano) to their own world. Joyce’s use of perspective and his characteristic stream-of-consciousness style allow the reader to see Eveline’s thought progression clearly as she contemplates running away to Argentina with her lover, Frank. Eveline’s inability to make a decision, a sort of mental paralysis, results in actual physical paralysis at the end of the story as she stands outside watching Frank board the ship but cannot bring herself to join him. Through her inability to make a decision, she inadvertently decides to stay behind in Dublin. EVELINE Eveline has a logical thought process as she considers her options. She observed her father’s violence toward her mother and brothers growing up, and resolves to leave so she will not end up in the same situation. At the same time she knows that both her father and the children she takes care of are relying on her, but also reasons that she deserves to pursue her own happiness. Despite this logic, her emotions kick in and she begins to feel guilty for leaving them. She is also influenced by her fear of the unknown. She admits that her current life is “a hard life,” but now that she is making plans to leave, Eveline starts to think about all of the good things and the certainty that her current life provides, finding it not “a wholly undesirable life.” Nostalgia plays a large role in Eveline’s decision to stay as well. She is attached to the past, and even though the people from her past are long gone, she cannot bring herself to leave the city that she associates with them. Rather than focusing on her present relationship with her father, she uses their past experiences together to justify her bond with him, remembering when he read her ghost stories and made her toast while she was sick and another time when the family went for a picnic while her mother was still alive. Joyce is perhaps using “Eveline” as an opportunity to critique this type of glorification of the past, since here it prevents Eveline from escaping an abusive relationship and pursuing her own happiness. Her nostalgia causes her to sacrifice her future, and despite her logical thought process, her final decision is ultimately caused by a gut feeling. Eveline’s paralysis is also caused by her sense of powerlessness. She continually looks to two things to save her from her situation: Frank, or men in general, and religion/God. She is constantly either praying to God or thinking about how Frank will help her become more respectable or change her situation: “He would save her.” Because Eveline is a woman in 20th Century Dublin, it is logical that she looks to Frank to save her. Marriage was the primary way for women to gain social or economic status during the time period, and part of the reason Eveline is looking for someone or something to save her is because in 20th Century Dublin she is mostly powerless. Eveline also looks to God, or her religion, to save her. She prays to God for the power to make a decision, and even at the station as she watches Frank board the boat she is “moving her lips in silent fervent prayer.” Eveline’s religion also further perpetuates the idea that someone else, another male figure, can save her, and that she perhaps does not need to make an active decision. But this feeling of helplessness, however rooted in women’s roles and society, is also part of the reason Eveline is unable to take control of her fate and make a decision. She has grown up in a society where she is powerless and needs someone to save her, and so she is