Essay on Narrative Style and Character in James Joyces Clay

Narrative Style and Character in James Joyces Clay For many readers, one of the most appealing factors within literature is often the dynamic representation of character. The idiosyncrasies and appearance of characters are often depicted in great depth and presented with a particular bias in mind. The brief format of the short story does not allow for great lengths of detail to be included therefore, alternate writing styles are used. James Joyce adopts the free and indirect narrative technique to present the story of Maria the suppressive spinster in his short story Clay. This particular approach influences the reader to sympathize with Joyces flawed character, while ironically†¦show more content†¦The reader is presented with a second example of Marias uncomfortable state of emotion, regarding her marital status, in the cake store. Maria blushes and smiles after being asked if she wanted to purchase wedding cake, as though t he thought appealed to her. A final example of Marias sexual repression arises when she discovers that she has left the plum cake on the tram. Her conversation with the intoxicated gentleman causes her to be distracted. She later recalls how confused the gentleman with the greyish moustache had made her, [she] colored with shame and vexation and disappointment (pp182) The shame suggested here could simply indicate her feelings towards her absentmindedness however, Karen Lawrence Suggests it could also be construed as shame for having an interest in the man, which again suggests sexual repression. (Joyce And Feminism p.256 ) The character flaws are not directly stated. Joyce uses a free indirect discourse; the narrative assumes the language and rapport of Maria-allowing a third person narrative to exploit a first person point of view(Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms p87). The narrative moves in and out of her consciousness. After the washer women settle in for their tea and Mooney proposes that Maria will receive a ring, Ginger Mooney lifted up her mug of tea and proposed Marias health †¦she knew that Mooney meant well though of course she had the notions of a common woman. (pp181) The point of view is hidden withinShow MoreRelatedDiscuss Joyce’s Use of Free Indirect Discourse in ‘Counterparts and a Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man1379 Words   |  6 PagesJames Joyce Discuss Joyce’s use of free indirect discourse in Counterparts and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Joyce utilises free indirect discourse to convey the sense of an individual processing the world around him in an idiosyncratically subjective way. In many of Joyce’s portraits, whether of his Dubliners or of his semi-autobiographical Stephen Dedalus, the narrative is confined by the limitations of the character’s state of mind; as the individual consciousness pervadesRead MoreHumanities11870 Words   |  48 Pagesthe perspective, the composition, color, etc. After going through a process of decision making and execution, an artwork is produced. Over time, the artist develops a set of unique solutions that he/she is familiar with. This becomes the artists style. In other words, the artist slowly coins his/her own artistic language. Most artists will start with an established masters language before molding his/her own identity. The viewer, on the other hand, needs to reverse engineer and decode theRead MoreAnalysis: Dogville30953 Words   |  124 Pagesderfor svà ¦rt at tage den til indtà ¦gt for à ©n bestemt holdning. Alligevel er den blevet anmeldt, anskuet og diskuteret som om, den udtrykker en sà ¥dan. Det er den diskrepans, der er emnet i denne rapport. 1.1 Motivation Film er levende billeder. Narrative film er historier fortalt via levende billeder – altsà ¥ en visuel gestaltning af fiktioner, som vi kender dem fra bl.a. romaner. Vores interesse var ved projektarbejdets start, hvordan disse levende billeder bliver fortalt tilskueren, og hvilken indflydelseRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesSelf-Assessment Library How Creative Am I? 190 Point/Counterpoint Checklists Lead to Better Decisions 191 CONTENTS xi Questions for Review 192 Experiential Exercise Biases in Decision Making 193 Ethical Dilemma Do Unethical Decisions Come from Bad Character? 193 Case Incident 1 Computerized Decision Making 194 Case Incident 2 Predictions That Didn’t Quite Pan Out 195 7 Motivation Concepts 201 Defining Motivation 202 Early Theories of Motivation 203 Hierarchy of Needs Theory 203 †¢ Theory