Been a while since I've blogged so its redemption time. I'm treating this blog post as a revision aid for the test on Thursday; basically just typing my notes into the form of legible sentences.
The first question we looked at in the elaborate 'symposium' was in reference to modernisn, James Joyce's Ulysses, and how they have no single point of view...It's pretty clear to me that the literary work of Joyce conveys the complexion of the modernist movement that he himself pioneered. In life, and in the mind of the individual there is no single point of view, but many versions and diverse ways of looking at things. Joyce uses the narrative technique of a 'stream of consciousness' to convey this idea. It creates a de-centred narrative with no single point of view. Through the use of this form of narrative Joyce has broken free from traditional forms of literature, where the structure of beginning - middle - end rule the book. Life is not like this, it contains a vast amount of beginnings, middles, and endings, with many ways of looking at each. There is a clear Freud influence in Joyce's work, just look at the sexual content of Molly Bloom's soliloquy!
The second question was to summarize the work of Freud and his cultural impact...The first point I think of when looking at Freud's works is his obsession with sex. Freud detailed that all of our actions were revolved around sex, with motivations defined through sexual desires. He noted that many of his patients had sexual hang ups and he stated that this caused mental issues. He viewed that civilisation causes people to suppress their natural urges, which damages the individual. For example, a young child wishes to defecate freely, but society creates rules that this is unacceptable. Also, there is a masturbation taboo, when it is a natural human desire.
Freud's analysis method was to interpret peoples dreams. He said that 'dreams are the royal highway to the sub-conscious'. He stated that in each human mind there was a constant conflict between the conscious and sub-conscious which caused mental distress.
The cultural impact Freud's work has had is huge. His work has been viewed as sexist (he stated that women are hysterical because they have 'penis envy') and thus he has had a great impact of the debate of gender politics. Also the impact of Freud in advertising is highly significant. Companies have used Freud's work as a guide of how to appeal to consumers desires.
The third question we looked at was how the control of language can control behaviour and thought with reference to George Orwell's 1984...
In '1984' Orwell suggests that the control of language by an authoritarian government is such a powerful notion to the extent that if they were to remove a word, they remove the idea. For example, without the word 'rebellion' there can be no action of rebellion. Through the control of language, the government in the novel are able to control the thoughts and actions of the people. The new edition of the Newspeak dictionary in the novel is described as 'going to be tiny', clearly showing the eradication of words, and thus the ability to think about the meanings behind the words. The government also changed meanings of words to control the thoughts of people, for example, 'love is hate' and 'peace is war'. This Orwellian idea can be seen in modern terms. For example, the British Army used to be ruled by the Ministry of War, but now the exact same ministry is known as the Ministry of Defence. The use of language changes the implication of meaning.
The fourth question was a look at Steinbeck's great novel The Grapes of Wrath and whether it was a work of journalism...
Steinbeck's novel was a very controversial book, with some people criticizing Steinbeck accusing him of exaggerating the conditions of the migrants in the book. The book itself was born from a photojournalism project for Life magazine. Steinbeck wrote the book as a journalistic campaign to highlight the experience he had seen through his research into the plight of the migrating people. It is a very political book, a propaganda book even. A campaign for massive state aid in the wake of the Great Depression which resulted in worldwide economic meltdown and mass unemployment.
It is a journalistic book, written in a very journalistic style. In fact it has been used as a guide for journalists to write in the correct style. It is clear to see the journalistic style research Steinbeck conducted before writing the book in his dialogue, with quotes conveying a journalistic form. The novel gives a voice to the voiceless, which is what all good journalism should do.
The fact that the book won the Nobel Prize conveys it in a literary light, not a work of journalism.
The fifth and final question was an extremely long winded question about Emile Zola's Germinal, social inequality, violence and realism...
Zola's novel is an example of the movement of realism. The vivid descriptions within the book are like none I have ever read, with many moments of genuine breathlessness. The best example is when the miners are escaping from the flooded mine, with the only means of escape through a rusty metal ladder which sliced through them like razors. The book is an incredibly crude metaphor of people with different political outlooks dropped under ground like seeds that germinate. It is a sensational and phenomenally violent book describing the politics of anarchism and the embracing of violence - a very Nietzsche idea, with violence being good.
Woman are described in the novel much more realistically than had previously been seen in much of literary works. They are described as pillars of strength, keeping society going in the most inhumane conditions.
Now I just have to remember all this for Thursday...
