The '20s, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Joyce and Woolf (connected to Micheal Cunningham), Appunti di Inglese

Scarica The '20s, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Joyce and Woolf (connected to Micheal Cunningham) e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! The ‘204 «the age of anxiety, pessimism, disillusionment *the age of the flappers *the age of the development of the cinema *the age of feminism *the age of jazz «the roaring ‘20s b characterized by something that tries to cover the emptiness of life videa that you have to enjoy life and live fully — hedonistic fury, hedonistic way of living (particularly in the Usa, but also in Europe) Cultural life — brilliant, peculiar, with different characteristics, various Lots of writers contribute to create the myth of the ‘208 1920 — in the Usa women got the right to vote The flappers Distinctive attitude and look, short hair and dresses, lots of jewelry and accessories, make-up Being a flapper — way of living, not “lady-like”, more independent; they smoked, drank, rode bikes and drove cars, danced... Criticized for their behaviour The American dream Still today at the base of the American conscience Nation with great ideals, in which anyone can be successful (morally, materially, religiously...), can reach his personal satisfaction. AIl the doors are open, if you work hard you can be fulfilled. There's space for everyone. The Declaration of Independence — for Americans, one of the most important values is the pursuit of happiness, everyone has the right to be happy Idea of the “from rags to riches” — you can be very poor and still become very successful Idea of the American dream — used by Kennedy in the ‘60s in the campaign for the L presidential elections indirectly used by Obama in his speech “Yes we can” The frontier At the beginning it was a physical concept, a sort of barrier. The colonizers (pioneers) arrived to the East, then moved westward to conquer undiscovered territories — the moved the frontier Linked to the idea of the American dream bto conquer means to survive, have success and new possibilities In the ‘20s bthe idea of the American dream changes, it's destroyed bthe success becomes just material bidea of becoming very very rich, with every means, it doesn't mean how + no morality Modern writers Cosmopolitan and international attitude — they come from different parts of Europe and Usa The majority of them went to Paris at the beginning, where they exchanged ideas. Sthey felt free to express themselves here, Paris was open and dynamic Lots of them went to Gertrude Stein's house ©focal meeting point for the artists, she helped them with their works she was one of the first women to accept and live her homosexuality without hiding it (in Paris this was possible) she was the first to use the words “lost generation" to define those artists who had survived the war and lived in the ‘20s The lost generation Dominant in that period's novels. This generation was characterized by the disillusioned and dislocation caused by the war and also by the new American life (jazz, automobile, movie, city life, nightlife...) 2 sides bdisillusionment, pessimism, anxiety — reactions to the shock bidea that people have to live fully and enjoy themselves the most + of the war Modernist novel Problem — how can a novel represent man and reality? L the traditional forms of realism weren't valid anymore, they had been overcome Sthere isn't a precise idea of time anymore, how can writers represent it? before the novel had a precise and important plot, the characters were important J eNow the important things are the thoughts, the mind, the consequences of events on the characters, their reactions (particularly for Joyce and Woolf). *There's not a plot, it's reduced, with few meaningless actions — disruption of the form «It represents the inner world, the character's mind new ways of writing — the most important is the stream of consciousness technique The stream of consciousness technique (interior monologue) Narrative technique that follows the human mental process, reproducing the characters’ stream of consciousness on the pages (their thought, emotions, reactions...) b the characters aren't introduced by the author, they're just told *verbal expression of the stream of consciousness «frequent lack of chronological order «the narrator may be present *«logical order may be lost or lacking «the actions take place in the character's mind «speech may be immediate, without any introduction «personal integrity *feels isolated but remains stoic (particularly near the end) *faces life with courage and dignity «at the beginning embodies the 2 types of hero (idealistic, enjoys life) fl farewell to arms (1929) Setting — \WNI (great part set during the retreat of Caporetto), north-east of Italy Protagonists > Frederic Henry, Catherine Barkely Main themes *\War — both Frederic and Kate are disillusioned by it for Hemingway it's inevitable, negative and useless Y at the end Henry understand this, loses his faith and ideals, rejects the values he believed in, because he's disappointed by the war war is inevitable because man is unable to preserve love — strong relationship war-love «Love — the only antidote man has to fight against war and the horrors oflife © but it's ineffective because man can't preserve love + evident at the end (Kate and the baby die) *Death + inevitable, a constant in men's life dichotomy death-life — always present in man's life man reveals himself through how he lives and how he copes with death Rain — recurrent symbol (negative) introduced by Catherine (she dreams of her and Henry dying in the rain) Different visione of the war Hemingway doesn't want to give his own vision (objective), he wants the reader to look at different visions. He shares Henry's vision (he's a rather autobiographical character). Hemingway doesn't judge the different visions, introduces them objectively and leaves the reader free to decide which is the right one. 3 different visions «Henry — doesn't want to stop fighting until someone wins defeat is the worst thing *Passini — there's nothing worse than war defeat = go home completely realistic about war «Manera — the most realistic of the 3 idea that the govemment wants the war to go on because of interests Fiesta (1926) American title — The Sun Also Rises Setting + Paris and Spain, a few weeks It expresses the feelings of the lost generation. It's the first depiction of the reckless lives of Americans in Paris in the ‘208. It portrays a complex world in which people need new values, there are few certainties and conflicts, violence and death are inevitable parts of life. Central subject + man's loneliness in a hard world, how to live with pain and horrors of life Adaptation of the myth of the Fisher King (he lies in bed, unable to move, while his kingdom becomes barren) b Jake Barnes has been wounded and has become impotent; as a consequence, he lives in a sterile world. Existential void + sex, alcohol, used to try to escape and forget Men and women's relationship bwomen are perceived as dangerous because difficult to understand and complicated bex. Bretta, who has lots of success with young men and who seems to be the reason of Jake's suffering. She suffers from lack of emotional involvement. The story Narrated by Jake Bames, an American journalist in Paris, who has been wounded in the war and is now impotent. He's in love with Lady Brett Ashley and she is with him, but their love is impossible. They have adventures with their friend in Paris, Madrid and Pamplona, characterized by drinking, violence, irresponsible sex. VWhen Jake and his friends go to Spain for fiesta, competition for Brett results in a fight. She goes away with the young Pedro, but leaves him a few days later “not to ruin him", and goes back to Jake for comfort. The novel ends where it began, with Jake and Brett still trapped in a hopeless love. bcircular structure, there's no solution to this existential void the Bal Musette Setting: chapter 3, Parisian ballroom, spring night Characters: Jake, Braddocks and Cohn with their wives, Georgette (young prostitute picked by Jake) and Brett. Brett arrives later, accompanied by young men + her first appearance in the novel b through the dialogue we get the men's impressions about her (fascinated) Hemingway portrays a society that seems to be an aimless life in the cafès and nightclubs of Paris, a society that drinks too much and has irresponsible love affairs, trying to forget the pain. Hemingway's typical style — use of dialogues to describe the characters concise narrative parts, short sentences and no useless words Boredom + typical feeling of this generation (because they've lost values) Jake does what he does because he's bored Trancis Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) life He was born in Minnesota (midwest of the Usa) in a middle-class family. In 1917 he left college to join the army, but the war ended and he didn't participate. In 1920 he published his first novel This Side of Paradise, which brought him success. He married Zelda and the two had a complex and stormy relationship. In 1924 they went to Paris and met lots of artists. In 1925 he wrote The Great Gatsby. He went back to NY, but then started to have many problems (financial, alcohol). He moved to Hollywood and wrote screenplays. He died here in 1940, leaving The last Tycoon unfinished. Works This Side of Paradise (1920) “x in this novels he defines a new age, The Beautiful and Damned (1922) 7 the Jazz Age The Great Gatsby (1925) Tender is the Night (1934) The Last Tycoon (1941) He “invented a generation”, the lost generation, and was the first to show scenes that are now very familiar (ex.two people making love in a car). He also wrote many short stories, collected in Tales of the Jazz Age (1922) Style Strong plots Mixture of dialogue and action Vividly depicted characters Fascinating, poetic, marvellous and captivating language He experimented different plots and techniques and, from his experience in Hollywood, he borrowed cinematic techniques The Great Gatsby (1925) Selting: New York Characters: «Jay Gatsby — bom in the midwest part of the Usa, poor James Gatz, changes his name because this way it sounds more english «Daisy Buchanan — Jay's dream, fascinating, refined, elegant but void «Tom + Daisy's husband, rich but negative, represents the negative sides of the being rich «Myrtle Wilson — Tom has an affair with her, she's the opposite of Daisy, she's common, not that rich or fascinating, but she has values and feelings 1. The car It represents the destructive power of money 2. The valley of ashes Where Myrtle lives, very squalid place, first place Nick notices while arriving in NY 3. Gatsby's house Beautiful, big, has a double face — either full of people or empty In both cases it's the symbol of loneliness, underlines that material success implies spiritual loss and loneliness. 4. The green light At the end of Daisy's house path. Symbol of Gatsby's dream and idealism, and of the possibility of the American dream. At the end it's associated to the first pilgrims who arrived in America L Nick asks himself if they had seen some sort of green light, too, while arriving © = if they had seen this possibility, the possibility to conquer something new Nick meets Gatsby Lots of people go to Gatsby's party but no one seems to know him, there are many rumors and gossip about him. Descriptions — important to describe the parties, what life was like in the ‘205. At a certain point in the narration, to Nick's eyes the scene becomes profound (he's probably drunk). Gatsby's smile bone of the characteristics Nick continues to underline breassures b genuine, nice, simple, human, natural bit lasts just for a moment, then vanishes «dichotomy innocent Gatsby (West) - lost Gatsby (East) She fears being understood, he's wearing a sort of social mask She's elegant up to the point that he's absurd, artificial contrast with his natural smile Gatsby stays just for a moment after meeting Nick, then goes away. James Joyce (1882-1941) He was born in Dublin into a middle-class catholic family. His father supported the Irish independence. « he considered himself a Dubliner but also a European (convinced of the fact that a European Union would have been better) In 1904 he met Nora Barnacle, they fell in love and she followed him in his exile. He committed himself to a life of self-imposed exile (they lived in Trieste for 10 years) bhe escaped from Ireland because felt suffocated by its culture,religion and politic, he thought Ireland was too provincial. He had eyes problems, went blind — this influenced his style the sound of words became more important, he used different languages and sometimes invented words In 1914 Dubliners is published and in 1918 Ulysses is serialized In 1920 he moved to Paris, where Dubliners was published in 1922. In 1940, when Germans occupied France, he went back to Switzerland, where he died. The relationship with Ireland Complex, on the surface he seems to have rejected everything about it, but actually all his works are centred on Ireland (Dublin). He precisely describes everything about this city, with lots of details.For him, Dublin was the “omphalos” of the world (place that has all the vices and virtues of the world). 2 phases of his production The first more traditional, linked to the XIX century, the other full of experimentation (XX century). Dubliners (1914) Joyce's first masterpiece. Collection of 15 short stories, apparently not linked apart from the fact that they're set in Dublin, actually have common themes (paralysis, death and stagnation). + 14 divided in 4 groups + 1 L © The dead, the last one, sort of resume of the others, the childnood, youth, maturity longest and less pessimistic and public life These stories are moral symbols/parables of life in Dublin. The epiphany In religion it's a “revelation’. Narrative technique used in the stories + innovative Epiphany — usually at the end or near it sudden revelation a character has about his own (psychological) condition ©usually it's that they've been living in a state of paralysis (miserable condition) J the characters have the possibility of escaping paralysis, but Dubliners are so paralysed that they can't escape it After the epiphany nothing actually happens — pessimism The epiphany and the association of ideas in Dubliners. but also in Ulysses, are caused by trivial events or sensorial perceptions. Time Innovative the way in which the author deals with it, it's mixed up, itbecomes subjective, there's juxtaposition of past, present and future. Objectivity Joyce thinks the writer has to be objective, doesn't have to explain, he just has to convey something, to involve the reader (he has to understand the epiphany and the story). Paralysis Common theme of the stories and also of the ‘20s men, particularly of Dubliners. Dublin is the centre of paralysis. Its opposite is escape. Style and narrative technique Traditional style (typical of the XIX century) + innovative style J J setting described in a realistic way symbolism there's no plot in the stories, no action, the characters aren't seen in what they do but in what they think, focus on their minds epiphany éveline Belongs to the group “Adolescence” Beginning in medias res, her name is given later. She's poor, belonging to the working class, and she's 19. We get to know her through her flux of thoughts. She's in a crisis, paralized, has to make a decision. She's supposed to go away with her love, Frank, and escape from Dublin and her violent father. In the end she can't leave, she's paralized. Lots of details, shifts in time (subjective), symbols. Frank represents the possibility to escape. The dust is the symbol of paralysis. Eveline's epiphany — she realises she has to escape, otherwise she'Il have the same destiny as her mother if she says in Dublin But the sense of duty and family ties paralize her, she's passive (at the beginning and end). Stylistic features There are lots of quotations (from Homer, Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare...) b considered a modern epic Thoughts connected by free association, which comes from trivial events. When it came out, it was considered inappropriate and almost impossible to read (even compared to a “telephone directory”). In Joyce's idea this novel is very realistic, because it should represent how our mind works «he creates a parallelism between the outer world and the inner world. Fragmentation of reality and man, man's isclation Man is alienated from society ex. Stephen Dedalus The funeral 2 levels of narration — immediate passage from one to the other without any introduction Vo Bloom Narrator Association of ideas, broken syntax, no right pointuation. Difficult to understand what's reality and what's in his mind. Ves 1 said yes and 1 will say yes Ending of the novel — Molly's interior monologue, very long flux of thoughts ° o_o Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) life She grew up in London, in a big family, educated at home with lots of cultural inputs. She was passionate about the sea and water in general, and this influenced her novels. In 1895 her mother passed away and she started to be depressed and show emotional instability. This got worse when her father died in 1904. She moved with her brothers to Bloomsbury (London). Their house hosted lots of artists and intellectuals, the Bloomsbury Group. They were a restricted circle, anti-victorian, unconventional about their ideas and left-wing in politics. In 1912 she married Leonard Woolf and they founded the Hogarth Press. In 1913 she tried to kill herself with drugs. She participated in the movement of women's suffrage and wrote some essays on women's emancipation, for example A Room of One's Own (1929). In her last years her mental condition got worse, also due to WWII, and she drowned herself in the River Ouse in Sussex on 28 March 1941. Works The Voyage Out (1915) “ rather traditional Night and Day (1919) 7 novels Modern Fiction (1919) > essay on the difference between time of the clock-time of the mind Jacob's Room (1922) — her first modemist novel Mrs Dalloway (1925) To the Lighthouse (1927) Orlando (1928) The Waves (1931) Between the Acts (1941) Une of time As Joyce, she prefers short time units in which the novel is developed. The time is extremely dilated in them and there are the time of the clock (objective) and the time of the mind (subjective). The basis of good fiction Her conception of the novel is similar to Joyce's, even if the results are different. Before writing novels she wrote diaries and essays about fiction, novels and her ideas about them. For her the most important aspect of a novel is the character b Revolutionary: the novel doesn' need a plot, what's important is the attention to the inner world The moment of being «similar to Joyce's epiphany «linked to the idea of exploring the character's mind «moment in which the character understands himself «moment of vision, perception, revelation *the character succeeds in linking the outside with the inside The moments of non-being Our minds are made up of lots of them and just a few “moments of being”. Mrs Dalloway (1925) Title The first idea was “The hours" L gives the idea of the importance of time bused in the ‘90s by Cunningam “Mrs Dalloway” Limmediately says who's the protagonist bit only gives the surname © meaningful, Clarissa's problem is that she's lost herself, she's in crisis Protagonist «Clarissa Dalloway — middle-age woman, upper middle-class, she has just recovered from illness *Septimus Warren Smith — middle-class, VWNI veteran suffering from shell-shock «Time Other characters «Richard, Clarissa's husband *Peter, her ex suitor *Lucretia, Septimus' wife Plot Simple, similar to Ulysses Single day centred on the characters! life in London. Clarissa is preparing a party for the evening, while Septimus is going to his psychiatrist. Apparently they don't do anything except from meaningless actions. The story follows their thoughts and the other minor characters' thoughts. Clarissa and Septimus are opposite and complementary © they represents 2 different way of living and social classes © they're both in crisis Clarissa is rational, sane Septimus is irrational, insane © Septimus is a sort of mirror of Clarissa's unconscious 9 they perceive the world in 2 different ways © they don't know each other and never meet, but Septimus' decision of killing himself influences Clarissa (Moment of being) Clarissa will know about his suicide at her party and will understand the value of life More modem and independent than Mrs Ramsay. Represented as the outsider, as an observer (role of the artist). Wants to find order and harmony because life's a mess. Sort of alter ego of Virginia Woolf. Wants to portray Mrs Ramsay but finds it difficult to find her essence, so it's difficult to finish her work. ©she can't finish it in the first section. In the 3rd part she decides to finish it. atthe same moment in which James and his father arrive to the lighthouse, she finishes it. she understands Mrs Ramsay and says Mrs Ramsay “comes to life again" in that way, it's like she's with her again. flrt — ordering power, always succeeds in making order and giving harmony to life b what makes sense in the chaos of life, and also a life giver (-Aesthetic Movement) Memory — links past and present, they coexist and influence each other L © continuously mixed up in the characters' minds Usually a past memory helps the character to understand the present. Through memory the character reflects on the past, which is reinterpreted and sometimes changed at the light of the present. +Past and present are more important than future The subjectivity of reality Lily finds it difficult to finish her work because she says she'd need at least 50 pairs of eyes because each person would see Mrs Ramsay in a different way and everyone would contribute to create Mrs Ramsay. The novel mirrors this idea b There are lots of characters and different points of view © there's a 3rd person narrator but actually the point of view shifts continuously from one character to another Reality can be defined only by gathering together the different perceptions ofit. The idea of transience and loss The second part is based on them. The war has destroyed everything — loss is continuous The characters continuously try to stop loss and transience and preserve experience b The only one who succeeds in doing this is Lily, through art The journey Different meanings «symbol of the joumey of life «symbol of experience (journey from innocence to experience) «going through the sea © symbols = the flow of experiences, positive or negative (subjective) The lighthouse Symbol with different meanings (depending on the character) * for James — dream * for Mr Ramsay — achievement * symbol of fiction — joumey of the reader towards the truth L idea that anyone can interpret fiction in different ways Changes from one moment to the other, it's seen in different ways No going to the lighthouse Beginning of the novel. The Ramsay family is talking about whether or not going to the lighthouse the next day.Through the discussion the narrator gives an insight into the characters’ minds. Contrast between what Mrs and Mr Ramsay say. James and the oedipus complex (he says he could have killed his father for destroying their dream of the trip). The point of view changes continuously. James idealises the lighthouse, it's a dream for him. Actually the reality of the lighthouse is poverty, because the keeper and his son live a poor life. Orlando (1928) Virginia Woolf's most experimental novel, it's a pastiche. Protagonist «Time «Orlando * English literature Plot The novel begins when he's a young man (Elizabethan period). He has lots of adventures, then wakes up one day as a lady in the XX century. She (He) has lots of adventures and goes from one century to the other. Setting The novel begins in the XVI century and finishes in the XX century. Idea of gender At the end he understands that the perfect human being is the androgyn, the perfect mix is the human that has both male and female characteristics. Orlando wants to find his/her sexual identity, wants to understand what being a man or a woman means. English literature Virginia Woolf tries to give us an idea of what English literature has been up to until the XX century — it's a sort of love letter to the English literature L The style of each chapter is the typical style of the period in which he's living © Virginia really mirrors the historical and literary characteristics of those periods A room of One's Quwn (1929) She says that in order to be a writer, a woman needs «her own room — = the possibility to write in quiet, without any disturb «independence — women can't be considered good writers up to the moment they are become independent and free to express themselves CHAPTER 3 She imagines Shakespeare had a sister and wonders what would have happened to her. She says you are not a genius when you are born, you have to study, and if you have this possibility you can become one. Michael Cunningham (1952) The hours Title — it was the original title of Mrs Dalloway, Cunningham decides to keep it to establish a relationship with the novel and also to underline the importance of time The story It tells the story of 3 different women and their relationship with Mrs Dalloway. The events happen in a few hours (probably 9-10 as in Mrs Dalloway), the time is the same in the 3 different periods. Setting 3 different times (juxtaposed) * 1923 + when Virginia Woolf is writing Mrs Dalloway * 1949 2001 3 different locations (juxtaposed) * Richmond «Los Angeles «New York The 3 stories seems to happen at the same time — very modemist idea Characters - Virginia Woolf - Laura Brown - Clarissa Vaughn They're all linked by * the novel b_1 Virginia is writing it Laura is going to read it Clarissa is called “Mrs Dalloway" by her friend Richard she reminds him of her because of her way of living (rather unconventional in youth, now living a rather conventional life) * the fact that they're all going to create something * the fact that they're in crisis * the problem of death and suicide V x negative positive something something to cope with to look for (escape) At the end we also discover that Laura is Richard's mother, so the stories merge in one story. The process of creation The 3 women realize it's difficult. It's a fundamental moment in people's life. Virginia is going to write her novel Laura is going to prepare a cake for her husband Clarissa is going to organise a party for her friend Richard