Scarica James Joyce: Life and Literary Works, with a Focus on Dubliners e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! JAMES JOYCE (1882-1941) BIOGRAPHY Joyce was born into a middle-class Catholic family in Dublin. He attended Jesuit schools and graduated at University College Dublin. His family suffered from financial problems. In 1891 Charles Stewart Parnell died: he had been a leader who had strongly supported the Irish cause for independence from England. His death was inspirational for Joyce’s first known literary work: a poem accusing all those who had turned against him → betrayal became an almost obsessive theme in his life and work. His mother’s death has also a big influence on him: in the first pages of “Ulysses”, Stephen Dedalus (Joyce’s literary alter ego) has nightmares about his mother dying and feels guilty for not having prayed at her bedside. On 16th June 1904 he met Nora Barnacle, who became his wife. He left Ireland with her, remaining in a self-imposed exile for the rest of his life. They settled in Trieste, where their two children were born and where Joyce’s job as a teacher put him in contact with Italo Svevo. Joyce published in 1914 his collection of short stories: “Dubliners”. He moved to Paris and, with WWII, to Zurich, where he died. DUBLINERS Structure Collection of short stories written between 1904 and 1907 and published for the first time in 1914. His tales have a symmetrical organization and a principle of thematic development, so that they can form a chapter in the moral history of the country. ➔ The 15 stories of “Dubliners” are divided into 4 sections: “the stories of childhood”; “stories of adolescence”; “stories of mature life”; “stories of public life”. The titles give a sense of relative anonymity and insignificance which is reflected also in the protagonists, a large number of whom are either anonymous or known by a single name. The very title “Dubliners” is generic, revealing Joyce’s intention to extend the fate of namelessness of the characters to all inhabitants of the city. The merging of different voices creates an orchestral effect and the combination of stories acts as the group portrait of a whole community. → “Dubliners” is a book about human fate. Joyce wants to transform ordinary events, daily gestures, into something more meaningful, as though those seemingly insignificant details acquired a symbolic value, transcending their immediate meaning. The main subject of his stories is the immobility of a city → life in Dublin is suffocating, and creates a sense of paralysis. Style and narrative techniques He wants to achieve an effect of verisimilitude: he uses names of actual pubs and hotels and churches and other distinctive features of the social life of his city. Use of numerous symbols, which makes his style unique and complicates the apparent simplicity of the stories. Free indirect style to render the complexity of human experiences. The merging of different voices enables the author to present the variety of characters within his “chorale” portrait of the city. Epiphanic method: the word comes from the Greek and means “showing”, and it indicates that, through seemingly insignificant words or moves, characters reach moments of intense perception. These emotional peaks turn into revelations of states which would have otherwise remained hidden to the characters. Themes and motifs Dublin= centre of paralysis. The paralysis takes different forms: it can be physical, moral, emotional, psychological. It manifests itself as corruption, lack of ambition or frustration. Characters seem generally unable to live their lives to the full, incapable of seeing the opportunities life places in front of them. Recurring images/motifs: images of dysfunction= empty fireplace, old and rusty bicycle pump, an abandoned distillery. In addition, relationships between men and women are portrayed as difficult if not ineffective or corrupted. Frequent: images of failed masculinity and examples of betrayal. Emigration is often seen as the only possibility to find a better life. ULYSSES (1922) Innovative style and technique When it was released, the novel was denounced as obscene and was banned both in the USA and the UK. The title alludes to Homer’s Odyssey (story of the Greek hero Odysseus), immediately creating a parallel with his novel. Joyce built his text around a complex system of allusions.
