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Theories applicable on the novel portrait of an artist as a young man
Theories applicable on the novel portrait of an artist as a young man
Essays on archetype in literature
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Every classic novel shares some commonality with a preceding novel. This is not to say that no current writer can obtain any originality, only that writer’s face extreme difficulty in creating authentic concepts. Jean-Luc Godard once stated, “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.” Inasmuch, by comparing the themes of a work to general themes and motifs in Literature as a whole, one will find what is formally known as an archetype. To fully understand the usage of archetypes, one must first grasp what an archetype is. By definition, an archetype is “ ‘a very typical example of a certain person or thing’ usually seen as a general label that invokes immediate understanding in the listener or reader (like when someone calls your character a “player” in contemporary romance or a “rogue” or “rake” in historical romance).” ("On the Importance of Archetypes: Jayne Ann Krentz’s Perspective on Romance Fiction.") To narrow the scope, in James Joyce’s classic novel, A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, many of his characters and plot choices serve as common archetypes. Three archetypes employed are: the quest, the transformation, and the sidekick.
The first archetype evident in A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man is “the quest.” In this common paradigm, “the main character takes a journey that may be physical or emotional to understand his or her personality and the nature of the world. For example, Dante’s “The Divine Comedy”, Fielding’s “Joseph Andrews”, Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travel” etc.” ("Archetype - Definition and Examples.") In Joyce’s novel, the same idea plays true through the main character, Stephen. Stephen’s quest in the story serves less as a physical journey and more of a psychological search o...
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...at the university, Cranly, stays up for long talks about Stephen’s problems and feelings, as all friends should. Indeed, Cranly also never fully understands Stephens yearn for freedom, similar to how Ron Weasley never fully comprehended Harry’s yearn to do everything alone. Towards the end of the novel, Cranly’s final act of friendship is the advice given to Stephen to honor his mother and take communion.
Archetypes are found in every novel, primarily because what would any great story be if it did not have some of the most riveting characters and concepts; James Joyce’s A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man is no exception. Joyce clearly understands the usage of archetypes, and uses many of them throughout his novel. Three archetypes evident are the Stephens quest through philosophy, Stephen's transformation as an artist, and the role Cranly plays as a sidekick.
In literature, Archetypal Criticism is a critical approach where the reader interprets the meaning of a story by looking at the archetypal characters, events, and symbols that it contains. In general, an archetype is a universal, primordial representation of an event or character that is seen as a general blueprint for stories and myths, such as the Hero or Death and Rebirth (Meyer 1587). Archetypes can be very important in identifying and supporting a theme by giving us background and references for aspects throughout the story. Carol Joyce Oates uses a couple vital archetypes in her short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” a tale about Connie, a teenage girl, who goes through an innocence to experience situation, signifying a transition from childhood to adulthood.
Everyone can relate to an archetype character in a movie, book, or television show. An archetype in literature is a typical character with an action or a situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human nature. Common archetypes of characters are: a hero, caregiver, rebel, damsel in distressed, lover, villain, or tragic hero. In the play, The Crucible, there are several kinds of characters with archetypes. Tragic hero normally are in tragic plays which also can be called tragedy. “Tragedy is a drama in which a character that is usually a good and noble person of high rank which is brought to a disastrous end in his or her confrontation with a superior force but also comes to understand the meaning of his or her deeds and to
Imagery is used by many authors as a crucial element of character development. These authors draw parallels between the imagery in their stories and the main characters' thoughts and feelings. Through intense imagery, non-human elements such as the natural environment, animals, and inanimate objects are brought to life with characteristics that match those of the characters involved.
One of the literary techniques most prominently featured throughout the passage would be that of imagery. The author takes great care to interweave sentences comparing the traits
An archetype in literature is defined as a typical example of a certain type of person. A character in a poem or play can be placed into many different archetype categories. Archetypes help a reader to gain a better understanding of who a character in the work is on the inside. This deeper insight into the character allows the reader to follow the flow of the story easier and more effectively. There are many different archetypes that can help to advance the story. One of the most useful in advancing this story is the typical powerful character. Whether it be supernatural or cunningness this character always comes out on top in the situation and holds the most control over others and their actions. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”,
...mple of imagery is when Richard’s friends run up to him with his article in their hands and a baffled look on their faces. This shows that Richard is a very talented writer for his age and that Richard is a very ambitious person because his school never taught him to write the way he does. This also shows that Richard took it upon himself to become a talented author and wants to be a writer when he grows up.
The first theory to be discussed is Structurealism, this theory is composed of many different branches. The branches that this paper will be looking into are archetypes. The definition of archetype is typical images, characters, narrative designs and themes and other literary phenomena. Archetypes have their own form of criticism, called archetypal criticism. Archetypal criticism means the generic, recurring and conventional elements in literature that cannot be explained through historical influence or tradition.
One particular criterion character effectively supports the central idea in “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving. The character's type develops with the personality development throughout the story. Three types of characters: round, flat, and stock, appear in most stories. The round character displays a fully developed personality and full emotions. Flat characters, also known as supporting characters, do not develop fully or express complex emotions. A stock character, also known as a stereotype, fits an established characterization from real life or literature. With these three types of characters leading the reader through the story, the reader learns the events taking place as well as the changes in the character’s lives. The author keeps the reader informed of the changes affecting the characters throughout the narrative through style. When a character undergoes a fundamental change in nature or personality during the story, the character has dynamic style. However, a character without change defines a static character. Although all characters have a style and type sometimes understanding the differences appears complicated. A chart often helps establish a better understanding of character type and style.
When analyzing literature from an archetypal perspective, one does not simply look at the character’s behavior in that literary piece. Rather, when using the archetypal theory, one connects the traits and actions of the characters in the literary work, the settings, the surroundings, and the situations to a familiar type of literary character. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the characters Abigail Williams, John Proctor, and Reverend Hale exhibit common archetypal behavior and fit into a certain archetypal figure.
Throughout Dubliners James Joyce deliberately effaces the traditional markers of the short story: causality, closure, etc. In doing so, "the novel continually offers up texts which mark their own complexity by highlighting the very thing which traditional realism seeks to conceal: the artifice and insufficiency inherent in a writer's attempt to represent reality.(Seidel 31)" By refusing to take a reductive approach towards the world(s) he presents on the page - to offer up "meaning" or "ending" - Joyce moves the reader into complex and unsettling epistemological and ontological realms. Meaning is no longer unitary and prescriptive, the author will not reveal (read impose) what the story "means" at its close and therefore we can't definitively "know" anything about it. Instead, meaning, like modernism, engenders its own multiplicity in Joyce's works, diffuses into something necessarily plural: meanings. An ontological crisis is inextricable from this crisis of meaning and representation. In Joyce's stories the reader is displaced from her/his traditionally passive role as receptor of the knowledge an author seeks to impart, and "positioned as both reader and writer of text, in some ways playing as integral a part in constructing the work as the author does.(Benstock 17)"
Religion is an important and recurring theme in James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Through his experiences with religion, Stephen Dedalus both matures and progressively becomes more individualistic as he grows. Though reared in a Catholic school, several key events lead Stephen to throw off the yoke of conformity and choose his own life, the life of an artist.
Stephen is painfully aware of his difficulty relating to others early on— the other boys at his first school mock him about his name and his family; his body feels "small and weak" amongst the other boys’ on the football field; he is pushed into a ditch. (Joyce, 246) Frequently, Stephen appears to mentally separate from himself and observe himself from outside Earth’s confines; he writes a progression of "himself and where he was" that reads "Stephen Dedalus…Class of Elements…Clongowes Wood College…Sallins…County Kildare…Ireland…Europe…The World…The Universe". (Joyce, 255) Though Stephen demonstrates by this list that he is all too aware of his own self and his technical place in the universe, his need to solidify this awareness to himself reveals his uncertainties about how he relates to his surroundings.
Even as a young boy, Stephen experienced rejection and isolation at school. On the playground Stephen "felt his body [too] small and weak amid the [other] players" (Joyce 8). His schoolmates even poked fun at his name. In response to his rejection by the other boys Stephen makes a conscious decision to "[keep] on the fringe of his line, out of sight of his prefect" and the other boys. Stephen is later depicted as choosing the "warm study hall" rather than the playground with his friends outside (Joyce 10). His rejection at school leads him to isolate himself in his schoolwork, thus putting himself on a scholarly path that will give him the intellectual skills necessary for the artist within him to achieve adulthood.
An important similarity between them is their isolation. Joyce believed that the separation from society is important for an artist in order to see society clearly. Common people are easily swayed by authority figures, as Dante and other Irish Catholics are against Parnell by the church's condemnation, or by other trendy movements such as the peace testimonial, all of which are rejected by Stephen in the end. When Stephen in his discourse on beauty describes the basket, he says "your mind first of all separates the basket from the rest of the visible universe which is not the basket. The first phase of apprehension is a bounding line drawn about the object to be apprehended" (212). Thus, by extension, if an artist is to apprehend the society, a line must be bound around society separating the artist from it in order to view it; it is difficult in a maze of hedges to comprehend the pattern, but when viewed from above the paths in and out become clear. The artist must stand outside the changeable mindset of the average human being in orde...
James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man presents an account of the formative years of aspiring author Stephen Dedalus. "The very title of the novel suggests that Joyce's focus throughout will be those aspects of the young man's life that are key to his artistic development" (Drew 276). Each event in Stephen's life -- from the opening story of the moocow to his experiences with religion and the university -- contributes to his growth as an artist. Central to the experiences of Stephen's life are, of course, the people with whom he interacts, and of primary importance among these people are women, who, as his story progresses, prove to be a driving force behind Stephen's art.