Clay
James Joyce
·
James is the modern writer
·
He developed the stream of consciousness
·
Way in to the mind of character is called stream of
consciousness
·
Theme: study of the spinster psychology-meaning,
elements, language
·
Interpretation: study of the nature of human mind
·
Symbolic story:
1.
wedding cake
2.
blindfolding game
3.
play book
4.
water &
5.
clay
Critical commentary of the story
The story
'Clay" by James Joyce is related to the theme of the study of spinster (a'=s) psychology. By using the spinster character Maria as the
typical character. James Joyce has related the reality that spinsters are
haunted by the psychological problem of marital dream and they have always the
single desire of fulfilling the marital life. The write has clearly reflected that
spinsterhood also causes problem in the thinking label of Maria for the
fulfillment of the marital desire. This spinsterhood also causes the problem of
oblivion (habit of forget) to the marital desire. This reality is reflected in
the story through the characterization of the Maria because almost all the time
she is lost in the dream world her mirage. Her attraction to the colonel like
man in the Tram (small train) and her sensitiveness to the ring and wedding
cake justified that she is much tempted to her marital dream. Forgetting the
plum cake and repeating and repeating the first verse of during the prayer by
Maris also justify that spinsterhood cause oblivion to the ladies.
'Clay has
been interpreted even in the other ways. This story also studies the nature of
human mind and the flow of thinking in different ways. Sometime our mind goes
to the back and some other times it is in the dream of future while it is also
aware of the present time. This stage of mind is also reflected in Maria and is
called 'epiphany' by James Joyce. In the same way this story is also reminds us
the value and is importance of the golden children stage of or life. Maria and
her brothers Joe & Alpha are very nostalgia and we become emotional when we
recall our happy and innocent childhood. The story is exceptionally realistic.
Moreover the problem of oblivion in mind, the nostalgic recalling of the
childhood as the other incidents described in the stories us highly realistic.
The plot in
this story is different from the traditional plot style because James Joey has
used stream of consciousness technique in the story. By using such plot the
writer has focused on the stream of consciousness in the mind of the story. As
an Irish writer, Joyce has used the spatial setting of Ireland which temporal
setting is the charismas eve. Maria is the central character and her
characterization is a protagonist but there is also some (rustle) identity
because she speaks a little through her nose and when she smiles the tip of her
log chin. The other characters are the minor character and the focus over the
story is always related to Maria as the central character. The use of 3rd
person narration in the story it gives omniscient point of view to the reader.
The story has the use of complex symbolic
language such as ring, wedding cake, blind folding game; prayer book, water and
clay are the strong symbols in the story. Ring and wedding cake are symbolizes
the long desire of Maris which is her marital life. Blindfolding game is the
symbol of human life with the blindness of future. Prayer book symbolizes the
spiritual side of Maria's life and water symbolizes see journey or voyage and
it is the allegory of human life because life is also a journey that begins
after our birth. Clay is the most important symbols and it symbolizes the final
destination of the journey of human life because at last after death we are
converted in to clay. Even the 'Bible' says that the first man (Adam) was
created from clay and even man changes in to clay after death. So the title of
the story also symbolically tells us that clay is the final reality of all
life.
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