/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.11353287]

Hey friends,

This spring, I finally made it through Ulysses - on my second attempt - and my mind was duly blown, my jaw dropped, my gob stopped, my soul ascended to a higher plane of spiritual evolution, etc. Thinking that I should proceed chronologically backwards through Joyce's oeuvre, if only so that I didn't have to read Finnegan's Wake next, I resolved to continue with A Portrait..., and have just done so. Starting the book, I thought that I was in for another stunning masterpiece of characterization, psychological exploration, formal cleverness, etc., and indeed, the first chapter provided just that. So, tremendous was my surprise when the remaining 4/5ths of the book turned out to be the deadliest bore in the known universe. Save perhaps Stephen's epiphany and the book's closing pages, the whole thing felt like an awful and dull slog. What's up with this? Why tf is this on The List? Did I miss something?

Thanks,

-anon

[Anonymous No.11353431]

You failed to mention the sermon on hell, the masterful centerpiece of the work. Leads me to believe you certainly missed something. This is most likely why you need to read Joyce chronologically

[Anonymous No.11353454]

>>11353431
Not OP but I enjoyed the diction and imagery of hell, but didn't find the sermon itself to be appealing as I don't believe that fear of hell should drive one to Christianity. There was little to no mention of Godly sorrow, that I can remember.

[Anonymous No.11353463]

>>11353454
The intention wasn't to drive you to Christianity. The intention was to capture the fear of young Stephen Daedelus as he heard the sermon, and he does that incredibly. It is an incredibly moment in his development, and the influence of it can be seen all through Ulysses. As Buck Mulligan said: Stephen will never be a poet, they put the fear of hell in him.

[Anonymous No.11353690]

What do I read before I read Joyce? Tried to read Joyce's A portrait of the artist as a young Man and had difficulty? What do I read to help understand his prose?

[Anonymous No.11353749]

the early parts r very good but there r a ton of good parts all along the way just think more when you read

[Anonymous No.11353756]

same here
i loved ulysses but never managed to finish this one

[Anonymous No.11353760]

>>11353287
>M-muh prose!

[Anonymous No.11354606]

>>11353690
Read dubliners and dissect the hell out of it. It really shows you Joyce’s perspective on life in several short stories

[Anonymous No.11354944]

>>11353287
>"no characterization"
>young Daedelus discovers the whorehouse
>feels kinda bad about it but keeps going
>weeklong school retreat to put the fear of God into those boys
>sweating like a sinner in church
>actually a sinner in church
>finally goes to confession to find absolution
>confesses
>finds... nothing
>"no characterization"

[Anonymous No.11355353]

>>11353690
everything

[Anonymous No.11355554]

if u skip exiles ur a FUCKING PLEB

[Anonymous No.11356027]

>>11353454
What is Godly sorrow? Sounds interesting. Reading recs?

[Anonymous No.11356259]

>>11353287
So the answer depends on the story/plot distinction. A story is just a sequence of events. A plot is the particular way you tell the story. A Portrait has a very dull story. Section 2 of Chapter one is just Stephen runs thither and hither on the field. The whistle blows. The boys go in. Stephen is at his desk solving math problems. Bell rings. Stephen is in the refectory. Etc. Very dull stuff. Compare Henry James and the stories are more interesting (marriage, affairs, etc.) But Joyce has a beautiful plot and a beautiful clever style. The dull story makes the book "realistic," to offset the inventiveness of the plot and style.

That said a little bit of dull story does give the book its "comfy" feeling. It should also put your fears aside about experience and artistic creation. Most artists lead lives that would make a pretty "dull" story. That's the irony here. Stephen never engages with Life, symbolized by the girl E.C.