James Joyce Research Paper

James Joyce is considered to be one of the most prominent authors of the twentieth century. His inspirational work and unique style have had an everlasting effect on literature. “James Joyce was born on February 2, 1882, in a small town called Rathgar(Biography.com Editors)” He grew up in a wealthy family, early on in his life, until his father could no longer keep up his level of income. His father, John, became an alcoholic and retained unsustainable spending habits. This is reflected in some of James’ stories. “James Joyce was the eldest of ten children; he attended a Jesuit school in Ireland called, Clongowes School(Biography.com Editors).” Joyce earned good grades in prep school, and went on to further his education at Belvedere College,
A piece of work that defined modernism, even today. Joyce also wrote a volume of short stories known as Dubliners. These pieces of realism and life stories are awe inspiring. One in particular is called, Araby. This is a story that explores the themes of frustration and escape. In the story the narrator remains nameless, he is a young boy who lives with his aunt and Uncle on North Richmond Street. The boy has a friend named, Mangan, who he occasionally hangs out with. He begins to develop a crush on Mangan’s sister, and fantasizes about her. Eventually he speaks with her, and she asks him if he is going to the Araby, and Arabian themed flea market. She says she is not going, so he decides he will go and buy a gift for her. He receives permission from his uncle that he can g and fantasizes about the girl for the days leading up to it. The day of the bazaar his uncle is late coming home to give him money, so the boy takes a small sum of money and goes, Once he arrives its almost over, he scans the items for sale and realizes he can’t buy anything The boy is furious. He says “"Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.(Joyce).” This story shows a boy who admired the girl and overcame his fear by talking with her. Once he had the desire to please her he was enamored. Once he arrived at this dazzling place it suddenly became dark. He was angry
“A style that is characterized by a flow of thoughts and images, which may not always appear to have a coherent structure or cohesion.(Dictionary.com).” This means that there isn’t any structure of linear time flow. Their work, Ulysses, is where this style is shown. In the story, Joyce uses a flow of emotions, observations, and other things that represent self, but not in a typical manner. An example is a monologue from molly, “I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower (Joyce Ulysses).” This is a prime example that shows how the brain functions, and how we as humans truly think. This is the notion of realism, and how Joyce’s intricate style of defining how we think. He has layered these different concepts, such as emotion and feeling into his story. James Joyce is responsible for shifting modern literature as we know it, his unique style and prominent works have changed the way we