UnforgettableLemon
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Anyone here a Joyce fan? I think above any other writer, James Joyce has spoken to me and inspired me to keep learning. A glance at Finnegan's Wake will throw most people off of their balance, and a lot of people will dismiss it. I've looked at parts of it, and I don't believe anyone will ever fully explore it's multifaceted and obscenely complex language games. But it's so much fun to try.
But of Joyce's more "accessible" works, and I use that term very loosely, what do you enjoy? I'm currently in the process of reading Ulysses, but I think I'm going to have to take a break from it. The workload for this semester is a bit frustrating, especially when I'm supposed to be working on two papers for conferences beyond what I'm required to do in class. But I will have to say that, though more difficult and subtle, I prefer Joyce's Stream-of-Consciousness more than other modernist writers like Woolf. Don't get me wrong, I think Woolf is fantastic. But Joyce is a bit more demanding. There is an obvious logic in the internal monologue of Clarissa Dalloway, these events remind her of this person, this reminds he of Peter, Peter was around when Susan was around, etc. With Joyce it's like watching a rapid montage and getting more sensory input. You have to stop and think about what's going on externally to follow the book. Beyond internal monologue, the structure of Ulysses really blows my mind, too. First of all, there's the fact that each chapter is linked to an episode of Homer's Odyssey. But it's not like watching O Brother, Where Art Thou? where the literary allusions simply beat you over the head. (I love that movie, again, don't get me wrong
). You have to work at it. Just as you have to work at reading it. The varying perspectives and styles. It's interesting (and I guess obvious) that modernism, especially Joyce's aesthetic principle, sort of anticipates postmodernism. The idea of pastiche, for example. You've got drama, prose, verse, and multiple variations thereof within this one novel. I need to finish this so badly.
Everyone should read something out of Dubliners. Anyone interested in urban life at the turn of the century, in Irish culture, anything. It's funny to think of how controversial this book was at the time. It's an unbiased view of the city, not glossing over the bad, but not really condemning it, either. Interesting that he put together the character of the city of Dublin itself so meticulously, and then would proceed to go into self-imposed exile from Ireland afterwards. Didn't stop him from writing, but I'm sure there was more about Dublin that could have been said.
Of the stories, I think that four really stand out for me. "The Sisters" is chilling, and sets the tone for the book. The notion of death being introduced so early one could be alarming, but mortality is a big part of the collection. Childhood relationships are also introduced here, and carry throughout. Here, the boy loses his mentor figure, and has to face death. The idea of being alone with a corpse, hearing nothing but silence while surrounded by loud and almost trivial chatter. It's just bloody brilliant. The child and adult theme is explored in a rather, um, different light in An Encounter. The language used here is so indirect, but not obtruse. I had a hard time following this one initially, but once I realized the fact that it was about two boys meeting and old pervert, I felt really stupid for not picking up on it. It's so subtle. And disturbing. But Joyce was writing about real people.
Structurally, the book follows characters of different ages in ascending order. It's almost a meditation on growing up as much as it is on life in Dublin city. After these initial tales of children, we move to the transitional phase between childhood and young adulthood with "Araby". This is a wonderful little tale of disillusionment. The boy idealizes his friend's sister, and so many things about romance and love, only to have it all shattered by the realization of just how empty "adult" life can be. This one I can relate to. In ways this story always reminds me of U2. The equation of the girl with God, the sexual and the divine. But I digress.
Ultimately, and almost invariably held as such, the greatest work of Dubliners is the final story, "The Dead". Wow. It is impossible in my estimation to overemphasize the profound nature of this story. The cold imagery, Gabriel's confrontation with the three women, and then the epiphany. It's one of the more complex and universal ones in the whole book. The idea of never knowing someone, even someone you think you love but you realize can never really love you. Also, the imagery of the snow falling across Ireland, covering everyone, the living and the dead, the inevitability of loss and death. Just... damn. John Huston's film is worth checking out.
But my favorite work of Joyce's is undoubtedly A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Here you can already see so many of the ideas that would be further explored in Ulysses. Games with structure and language are abundant, but more accessible than they would be in later work. Stephen's five phases of life: Childhood, religion, recklessness, repentance, and liberation are all presented with different language. The childhood begins with incomplete sentences and nonsense, eventually evolving into a reflection of life in school. The relgious teenage years are full of foreboding religious instruction, and the language of sermons fills many pages. It is finally during his liberation period, when he frees himself to follow the life of an artist, that the language becomes poetic and breathaking. Read his description of the girl in the waves. Wow. I think this is possibly Joyce's most positive work as well.
Anyway, I had more complete and thorough thoughts than this, but I doubt anybody will read all of this as it is. Just wanted to say I love Joyce, and see if anyone else was on the same wavelength.
But of Joyce's more "accessible" works, and I use that term very loosely, what do you enjoy? I'm currently in the process of reading Ulysses, but I think I'm going to have to take a break from it. The workload for this semester is a bit frustrating, especially when I'm supposed to be working on two papers for conferences beyond what I'm required to do in class. But I will have to say that, though more difficult and subtle, I prefer Joyce's Stream-of-Consciousness more than other modernist writers like Woolf. Don't get me wrong, I think Woolf is fantastic. But Joyce is a bit more demanding. There is an obvious logic in the internal monologue of Clarissa Dalloway, these events remind her of this person, this reminds he of Peter, Peter was around when Susan was around, etc. With Joyce it's like watching a rapid montage and getting more sensory input. You have to stop and think about what's going on externally to follow the book. Beyond internal monologue, the structure of Ulysses really blows my mind, too. First of all, there's the fact that each chapter is linked to an episode of Homer's Odyssey. But it's not like watching O Brother, Where Art Thou? where the literary allusions simply beat you over the head. (I love that movie, again, don't get me wrong
). You have to work at it. Just as you have to work at reading it. The varying perspectives and styles. It's interesting (and I guess obvious) that modernism, especially Joyce's aesthetic principle, sort of anticipates postmodernism. The idea of pastiche, for example. You've got drama, prose, verse, and multiple variations thereof within this one novel. I need to finish this so badly.Everyone should read something out of Dubliners. Anyone interested in urban life at the turn of the century, in Irish culture, anything. It's funny to think of how controversial this book was at the time. It's an unbiased view of the city, not glossing over the bad, but not really condemning it, either. Interesting that he put together the character of the city of Dublin itself so meticulously, and then would proceed to go into self-imposed exile from Ireland afterwards. Didn't stop him from writing, but I'm sure there was more about Dublin that could have been said.
Of the stories, I think that four really stand out for me. "The Sisters" is chilling, and sets the tone for the book. The notion of death being introduced so early one could be alarming, but mortality is a big part of the collection. Childhood relationships are also introduced here, and carry throughout. Here, the boy loses his mentor figure, and has to face death. The idea of being alone with a corpse, hearing nothing but silence while surrounded by loud and almost trivial chatter. It's just bloody brilliant. The child and adult theme is explored in a rather, um, different light in An Encounter. The language used here is so indirect, but not obtruse. I had a hard time following this one initially, but once I realized the fact that it was about two boys meeting and old pervert, I felt really stupid for not picking up on it. It's so subtle. And disturbing. But Joyce was writing about real people.
Structurally, the book follows characters of different ages in ascending order. It's almost a meditation on growing up as much as it is on life in Dublin city. After these initial tales of children, we move to the transitional phase between childhood and young adulthood with "Araby". This is a wonderful little tale of disillusionment. The boy idealizes his friend's sister, and so many things about romance and love, only to have it all shattered by the realization of just how empty "adult" life can be. This one I can relate to. In ways this story always reminds me of U2. The equation of the girl with God, the sexual and the divine. But I digress.
Ultimately, and almost invariably held as such, the greatest work of Dubliners is the final story, "The Dead". Wow. It is impossible in my estimation to overemphasize the profound nature of this story. The cold imagery, Gabriel's confrontation with the three women, and then the epiphany. It's one of the more complex and universal ones in the whole book. The idea of never knowing someone, even someone you think you love but you realize can never really love you. Also, the imagery of the snow falling across Ireland, covering everyone, the living and the dead, the inevitability of loss and death. Just... damn. John Huston's film is worth checking out.
But my favorite work of Joyce's is undoubtedly A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Here you can already see so many of the ideas that would be further explored in Ulysses. Games with structure and language are abundant, but more accessible than they would be in later work. Stephen's five phases of life: Childhood, religion, recklessness, repentance, and liberation are all presented with different language. The childhood begins with incomplete sentences and nonsense, eventually evolving into a reflection of life in school. The relgious teenage years are full of foreboding religious instruction, and the language of sermons fills many pages. It is finally during his liberation period, when he frees himself to follow the life of an artist, that the language becomes poetic and breathaking. Read his description of the girl in the waves. Wow. I think this is possibly Joyce's most positive work as well.
Anyway, I had more complete and thorough thoughts than this, but I doubt anybody will read all of this as it is. Just wanted to say I love Joyce, and see if anyone else was on the same wavelength.
