EWRT 1C Class 13

The Short Story

AGENDA Author Introductions

James Joyce Anton Chekhov

Short Story Discussions: “Araby” “The Bet”

Historical Content Literary Style Questions QHQ

JAMES JOYCE (1882-

1941)

James Joyce was born into a middle-class, Catholic family in a suburb of Dublin, on February 2, 1882.

Joyce's father, John Joyce even though he was a good-natured man, was a drinker who wasted the family's resources. The family’s prosperity dwindled, forcing them to move from their comfortable home to the unfashionable and impoverished area of North Dublin.

Nonetheless, Joyce attended a prestigious Jesuit school and went on to study philosophy and languages at University College, Dublin. He moved to Paris after graduation in 1902 to pursue medical school, but instead he turned his attention to writing.

James Joyce Age 6

In 1903 he returned to Dublin, where he met his future wife, Nora Barnacle, the following year.

From then on, Joyce made his home in other countries. From 1905 to 1915 he and Nora lived in Rome and Trieste, Italy, and from 1915 to 1919 they lived in Zurich, Switzerland. Between World War I and World War II, they lived in Paris. They returned to Zurich in 1940, where Joyce died in 1941

James Joyce Joyce regarded himself as a genius

and refused to make any compromises in his writing to achieve commercial success. His difficult personality alienated many people who came into contact with him, but he enjoyed the devotion of Nora, his brother Stanislaus, and a number of close friends and patrons who recognized and helped to nurture his exceptional talent. Since his death in Zurich in 1941, readers, critics, and scholars have continued to study his works. He is regarded today as one of the most important authors of the twentieth century and as a giant of literary modernism.

Major Works:

Dubliners 1914A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 1916Exiles and Poetry 1918Ulysses 1922Finnegan’s Wake 1938

Joyce talking with publishers Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier at Shakespeare & Co., Paris, 1920

“Araby” “Araby” is the third of the fifteen stories in Dubliners (1914).

These stories examine the hazards of the various stages in life, and “Araby” marks the end of childhood and the beginning of adolescence.

James Joyce based “Araby” on his own experiences as an adolescent resident of Dublin in 1894, when Ireland was chafing under British rule.

Like the fictional narrator of “Araby,” Joyce lived on North Richmond Street (No. 17) in the central part of the city. He was also undergoing a period of self-discovery.

The climactic scene takes place in South Dublin, across the River Liffey from central Dublin, at a bazaar in a large building. Such a bazaar—billed as Araby: a Grand Oriental Fête (or as “A Grand Oriental Fête: Araby in Dublin”) was actually held in Dublin between May 14 and May 19, 1894, to benefit a local hospital. 

Historical Context As he portrays it in his work, Joyce’s Dublin was

composed mostly of lower-to middle-class residents oppressed by financial hardships, foreign political dominance, quarrelsome rival Irish nationalist groups, and the overwhelming influence of the Irish Catholic Church.

In the late 1800s, Ireland was still reeling from the agricultural disasters of mid-century and the massive Irish immigration (mainly to the United States) that followed. Consistently throughout the stories, characters agonize over a crown or even a shilling; this underscores the prevailing financial difficulties among most citizens.

Politics Ireland was ruled by the British

monarchy, which, of course, many of the Irish resented. The British government had an open hostility to both the Irish (for their general lack of education and their superstitious ways) and the Catholic Church. That the British profited from its presence in Ireland only served to further inflame the Irish at the British presence.

Charles Stewart Parnell

Charles Stewart Parnell was a political leader in the 1880s. Because of his influence, political savvy and staunch support of home rule, the achievement of Ireland’s independence seemed more likely under Parnell’s leadership than ever before. However, a romantic scandal in 1889 damaged Parnell’s reputation, allowing his opponents and groups of zealous Catholics (Parnell was Protestant), to discredit him and undermine his power base. This broke Parnell, leading to his political defeat and—ultimately—his death in 1891.

CHARLES STEWART PARNELL (1846-1891). Irish nationalist leader, on an American advertising circular of the 1880s.

The Catholic Church An overwhelming force in the Ireland of Joyce’s

period was that of the Irish Catholic Church, since a vast majority of the Irish were Catholics. According to his biographer, Richard Ellmann, Joyce believed that the “real sovereign of Ireland [was] the Pope” (Ellmann, James Joyce, 256). Although Joyce left the Church, Ellmann adds, he “continued to denounce all his life the deviousness of Papal policy,” finding the Church and the papacy “deaf” to Irish cries for help (Ellmann, James Joyce, 257).

Literary Style

The first-person point of view in "Araby" means that readers see the story through the eyes of the narrator and know what he feels and thinks. When the narrator is confused or conflicted about his feelings, then readers must figure out how the narrator really feels and why he feels that way. For example, when the narrator first describes Mangan's sister, he says that "her figure [is] defined by the light from the half-opened door.'' In other words, she is lit from behind, giving her an unearthly "glow," like an angel or supernatural being such as the Virgin Mary. Readers are left to interpret the meaning behind the narrator's words, because the boy is not sophisticated enough to understand his own desires.

Joyce is famous for using a stream-of-consciousness technique for storytelling. Although stream of consciousness does not figure prominently in "Araby,'' a reader can see the beginnings of Joyce's use of this technique, which he used extensively in his subsequent novels, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. A major feature of stream-of-consciousness storytelling is that the narration takes place inside the mind of main characters and follows their thoughts as they occur to them, whether those thoughts are complete sentences or not. Although this story uses complete sentences for its storytelling, the narration takes place inside the boy's mind. Another feature of stream-of-consciousness narration is that the narrator's thoughts are not explained for the reader. This is true of "Araby" as well, especially during and after the boy's epiphany.

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In Teams:Questions for Thought

1. Identify and discuss one or more of the numerous religious symbols in the story.

2. The narrator of "Araby" moves from innocence to experience through his epiphany. What has he learned by the end of the story?

3. Write a short psychological profile of the narrator based on a passage from the story.

4. Tensions, Ambiguity, Paradox, and Irony?

Identify and discuss one or more of the numerous religious symbols

in the story. The short story opens with the description of a priest’s death, whose room was “littered with useless papers” pointing at “The Abbot, by Walter Scott, The Devout Communicant, and The Memoirs of Vidocq,” which are all books that positively reinforce the devoutness of Christian faith.

The first symbol is the lust that the main character has for his friend’s sister. Clearly his infatuation for her is absolute because he can’t go to school, work or think about anything without the idea of her invading his mind. Even if this was a romantic conquest where he knew her, had many experiences with her and was in love with her, his ubiquitous obsession would seem outlandish. But he claims he “had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words”. So clearly, lust, one of the seven deadly sins is a pervasive symbol in this story.

Write a short psychological profile of the narrator based on a passage

from the story. What roles do the ID, EGO, and SUPEREGO act out

through the speaker in “Araby”? “The wild garden behind the house contained a

central apple-tree and a few straggling bushes, under one of which I found the late tenant's rusty bicycle-pump. He had been a very charitable priest; in his will he had left all his money to institutions and the furniture of his house to his sister.” (par 2)

“My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and at times a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself out into my bosom. I thought little of the future. I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not or, if I spoke to her, how I could tell her of my confused adoration. But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires.

One evening I went into the back drawing-room in which the priest had died. It was a dark rainy evening and there was no sound in the house. Through one of the broken panes I heard the rain impinge upon the earth, the fine incessant needles of water playing in the sodden beds. Some distant lamp or lighted window gleamed below me. I was thankful that I could see so little. All my senses seemed to desire to veil themselves and, feeling that I was about to slip from them, I pressed the palms of my hands together until they trembled, murmuring: 'O love! O love!' many times.” (pars 5-6)

The narrator of "Araby" moves from innocence to experience through his

epiphany. What has he learned by the end of the story?

“I lingered before her stall, though I knew my stay was useless, to make my interest in her wares seem the more real. Then I turned away slowly and walked down the middle of the bazaar. I allowed the two pennies to fall against the sixpence in my pocket. I heard a voice call from one end of the gallery that the light was out. The upper part of the hall was now completely dark.

Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.”

Anton ChekhovAnton Chekhov was one of the most influential literary artists to usher in the era of modernism, particularly in short fiction. When his stories were first made widely available in English, they were termed mere sketches, lacking in all the elements that constituted the short-story form. Critics soon began to realize, however, that Chekhov’s freedom from the prevailing conventions of social realism and formalized plot indicated the beginnings of a modern kind of narrative, which combined the specific detail of realism with the poetic lyricism of Romanticism.

1860-1904

Chekhov’s most significant contributions to the short-story form

include the following:1. The presentation of character as a

psychological mood rather than as a realistic personality

2. The conception of a story as a lyrical sketch rather than as a highly plotted tale

3. The assumption of reality as basically impressionistic and as a function of narrative perspective or point of view. The final result of these innovations has

been the modernist and postmodernist view of reality as a fictional construct.

ContextJust prior to the birth of Chekhov, Russia underwent a widespread uprising to bring about the end of the autocracy of the tsar and the feudal system. In 1861, Alexander II issued an emancipation that freed the serfs and set in motion the first civil rights in Russia. The gentry, without their serfs, were unable to maintain their position in society. The law was codified during this time, a process that led to the creation of the legal profession, to which one of the protagonists in “The Bet” belonged.

During these years, the issues of literacy and education came to the forefront. The gentry formed into a group called Populists, putting forth the idea of a united population that included the peasants. Industrialization brought more workers to major cities, and educated men like those in “The Bet” gathered together to discuss sociopolitical ideals.

Literature had been highly censored prior to the emancipation, and now writers began to find ways to criticize the current regime and its politics. However, they had to approach it cleverly, because reform was not so complete that open opposition was tolerated. Chekhov managed by simply depicting the inequities of the system without commenting on their moral implications.

StyleThe banker and the lawyer serve as voices of two different viewpoints. Except for the letter written at the end of the fifteen-year period, Chekhov does not reveal the thoughts of the captive. On the other hand, the story begins with the banker’s memories and observations, proceeds to his worries about money and his resolution to kill the prisoner rather than pay the bet, and concludes with the banker’s self-contempt and with his self-protective gesture. It might be that Chekhov is more interested in the psychological and ironic possibilities of the Banker’s account than in a didactic point about the value of freedom or life.

Point of View“The Bet” is told from the point of view of an objective narrator. The narrator's identity is unknown, and he relates little commentary on the actions of the characters, except that which is entirely visible to one watching the plot unfold; there are no prejudices toward the characters and no moral for the ending.. The narrator gives himself the license to add an exclamation mark when describing how the bet finally was agreed upon, to show the ridiculous nature of it, but he denotes no hero, no winner, and no lesson to be learned from the debacle.

Usually Chekhov’s imagery, too, reflects his psychological interest. Certainly in “The Bet” it is appropriate that the story begins on a dark rainy night and that the banker’s temptation to murder occurs on a dark, cold, rainy night, that he passes a bare bed and a cold stove on the way to the sealed room, and that the prisoner’s room is dark, with a dimming candle. All these images of death are consistent with the banker’s resolution, as well as with the lawyer’s death-in-life. Because they are seen through the banker’s eyes, however, they are particularly important as reflecting his own psychological condition, a despair that is itself a death-in-life, and that may finally be Chekhov’s particular interest in “The Bet.”

Imagery and Psychology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clGcNmXLssg&list=PLSINeHCnyzJxNlUXKX8SbkhJOBvQFTtvy

In Groups: Discuss “The Bet” Write a short psychological

profile of either the lawyer or the banker in “The Bet” based on a passage or two from the story.

Has the lawyer been traumatized or enlightened? Why do you think so?

QHQ “The Bet” Tensions, Ambiguity,

Paradox, and Irony?

Tensions, Ambiguity, Paradox, and Irony?

Irony1. The arrogant banker is reduced to humility through the loss

of his fortune. 2. Once considered an upstanding man of the community, the

banker is reduced to a man who intends to murder his adversary.

3. The lawyer's imprisonment changes him from a man assured of the sanctity of preserving life in any way possible to one who cares nothing for life or freedom.

4. Neither man wins, and neither man is considered morally good or bad.

5. The characters’ thoughtless last acts serve to free one another. Instead of killing the lawyer, the banker plants a kiss on his head.

6. The prisoner then escapes, freeing the banker from having to pay his debt.

Psychological Profile Anton Chekov’s “The Bet” represents the author’s own exploration

of literature for meaning in life. This story likely results from a conflict in his superego, as the main tension during the climax details an inner struggle with society and culture itself: “And I despise your books, I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a mirage”(5). While the lawyer’s new outlook holds some possible truth (that perhaps reference to “this world” refers to material possession, and people should find value beyond the physical), it is clear that years of imprisonment has effectively shut down his ability to cope with day to day life. He exhibits severe signs of dissociation and denial, as his lack of regular perception of time leads to an unawareness of the self. While this state of mind reflects in some ways that of enlightenment, in the lawyer’s case, it came about from a drawn out traumatic experience so therefore lacks fundamental connection with basic reality.

Has the lawyer been traumatized or enlightened? Why do you think so?

By the end of the fifteen year period he writes a letter to the banker explaining that he is renouncing the two million dollar reward. Ironically the lawyer who was imprisoned for fifteen years is now more free than the banker who did as he pleased for fifteen years. He has learned many different languages and studied the bible for over a year, and now has reached enlightenment. He realizes that living anyhow is not better than not living at all.

Through reading different forms of literature, [the lawyer] was able to pass the time and learned new languages and experiences. Through these books, the lawyer was also able to discover his own purpose. The day before the lawyer is free from confinement, he stated that he would be breaking their bet, despite being so lose to winning it. I felt like the lawyer had already proved to himself victorious (against the banker) by escaping from solitary confinement before he was liberated. Although he did not win the two million dollars, he gained more knowledge and experience than what he could have possibly bargained for. And through this knowledge that he gained, the lawyer is free, while the banker is still stuck in find and prove his purpose in life.

Has the lawyer been traumatized or enlightened? Why do you think so?

1. I think he is both traumatized and enlightened. He becomes a totally different person through this experience. It seems like he loses sort of humanity like general understanding and love for social system and people. In the middle of the letter, he admits that “Your books gave me wisdom. All that unwearying human thought created in the centuries is compressed to a little lump in my skull,” however, he switches to “”And I despise your books, despise all worldly blessings and wisdom. Everything is void, frail, visionary and delusive as a mirage.” His enlightenment is about the vacuity. Even though this enlightenment is bad for him, it is still an enlightenment. We can say he is traumatized by this enlightenment.

QHQ “The Bet”1. Q: Did the lawyer know that the banker would kill

him if he did not give up the two million dollars?

2. Q: In Anton Chekhov’s story “The Bet”, did the lawyer’s agreement to be confined from the outside world for 15 years prove that “it’s better to live somehow than to not live at all”?

3. Question: Do you believe the lawyer was unduly critical of society? Is the banker an example of all that the lawyer believes is wrong with society? Also why did the banker fire two shots???

QHQ: “The Bet” Tyson states in the section on death that “we

can see how death, emotional death if not biological death, is so attractive, at least on the unconscious level: if I don’t feel anything, then I can’t be hurt” (Tyson 23) We see this mindset the speaker of “The Bet” who states “I despise your books, despise all worldly blessings and wisdom. Everything is void, frail, visionary and delusive as a mirage. Though you be proud and wise and beautiful, yet will death wipe you from the face of the earth” Really what is the point of living if we will only die?

HOMEWORKRead “The Story of an Hour”Post #12: Choose one Discuss Mrs. Mallard as a

sympathetic character or as a cruel and selfish character. How might your own gender, age, class or ethnicity influence your response?

Do you think Chopin's critique of the institution of marriage, as expressed by Louise, is applicable today?

Discuss the story through one critical lens

Discuss Trauma: who suffers it and why?

QHQ

Read: “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”Post #13: Choose one Speculate on the identity of the

“old man.” How does the manner in which

Garcia Marquez treats the traditional idea of angels in "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" compare with the way angels are represented or interpreted elsewhere?

Discuss the story through one critical lens

Discuss Trauma: who suffers it and why?

QHQ