The Bildungsroman Undermined Great Expectations and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Literature Essay Samples

In his 1987 study The Way of the World, literary scholar Franco Moretti states that the Bildungsroman â€Å"stands out as the most obvious of the (few) reference points available in that irregular expanse we call the â€Å"novel†Ã¢â‚¬ . Indeed, while the reader may be unfamiliar with the term itself, which was coined by the German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey, the genre’s common motifs of education, growth, and formation are widely recognised as staples of the Western novelistic tradition. The late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century in particular saw a keen interest in life stories, including Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations (1861) and James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), two novels that chronicle a process of self-discovery by which the protagonist comes to a deeper understanding of life through epiphanies and a gradual transition from childhood to maturity. However, while it is generally accepted that these texts fall u nder the Bildungsroman tradition, it is necessary to consider the contradictions and inconsistencies within both novels, including the seemingly incongruous manner in which the protagonists’ moral and intellectual development is paralleled by a curious loss of freedom and financial autonomy. Furthermore, the semi-autobiographical nature of these texts raise problematic questions relating to novelistic closure, with both protagonists’ moral journeys ending ambiguously. Throughout the course of both narratives, therefore, the reader’s expectations are continually confounded, casting doubt upon the assumption that Dickens and Joyce have produced clear-cut narratives of advancement and progress. With a deft and strikingly progressive focus on the sensibility of the child, the opening chapters of Dickens’ Great Expectations firmly establish the young Philip Pirrip’s identity and outline the social and emotional constraints placed upon the protagonist a s a consequence of his struggle through childhood adversity, a principal characteristic of the Bildungsroman form. Orphaned at a young age and brought up â€Å"by hand† by his overbearing sister, Pip harbours a considerable degree of resentment, yet is haplessly unable to better himself due to his disadvantaged start in life. Indeed, after being taunted for his coarse clothing and manners by the beautiful Estella at Satis House, Pip reflects that, â€Å"Within myself, I had sustained, from my babyhood, a perpetual conflict with injustice. I had known, from the time when I could speak, that my sister, in her capricious and violent coercion, was unjust to me† [63]. Dickens augments this inward struggle by imbuing his text with a distinctly Gothic quality throughout, and Pip’s surroundings are continually shrouded in darkness â€Å"Once more, the mists were rising as I walked away† [285] – thus reflecting the protagonist’s confusion and vulne rability in the face of an uncertain future. When Pip is driven to London by worldly expectations, therefore, it appears that the foundations have been laid for a gradual quest for self-fulfilment and social ascension, and the reader subsequently anticipates a â€Å"rags-to-riches† tale of personal development in line with the conventions of the nineteenth-century Bildungsroman. Written over fifty years after the publication of Dickens’ text, James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man develops the Bildungsroman tradition by utilising an innovative stream-of-consciousness narration, yet the protagonist emerges from similarly impoverished beginnings in a provincial Irish town. The intellectual and emotional challenges faced by Dickens’ Pip are echoed in the opening chapters by the young Stephen’s sense of bewilderment at the world, with Joyce depicting a similar conflict between generations perpetuated by a father who is an embarrassing f igure of slackness and ineptitude – as the source of the child’s resentment: â€Å"He was angry with himself for being young and the prey of restless foolish impulses, angry also with the change of fortune which was reshaping the world about him into a vision of squalor and insincerity† [50]. Indeed, Stephen’s struggle with isolation reaches a peak while accompanying his luckless father to Cork, where he feels the need to reassure himself by repeating, â€Å"I am Stephen Dedalus† [70], thus highlighting his continuous search for a concrete identity. The protagonist’s alienation from his father parallels his lack of faith in the values of his home, and Stephen must accordingly search for an alternative vocation and creed. From the opening chapters, therefore, Joyce seems to be preparing his readers for a formative novelistic journey of emancipation, consequently putting the developmental structure of the Bildungsroman into motion. On the sur face, the journey from provinciality to the metropolis, undertaken by both Pip and Stephen, signals a route to success and autonomy. However, these notions of social and professional advancement are problematised by the palpable decline in freedom experienced by the characters as a direct consequence of their moral development. For example, Great Expectations depicts Pip’s descent into an attitude of carelessness and snobbery that ultimately results in a religious paradox: in order to be cleansed, he must be defiled, and subsequently lose all he has. Accordingly, Pip’s fortune is taken away from him, and the protagonist is forced to return to a state of childlike helplessness. Invoking the biblical parable of the Prodigal Son, Dickens strips Pip of his riches and wellbeing, ensuring that he must once again be nurtured by the kindly blacksmith, Joe. This calamitous turn of events exposes the contradiction at the heart of the novel: although Pip has gained emotional mat urity, he has lost crucial elements of his adult identity, with his financial destitution symbolising his loss of freedom and independence. Similar incongruities can be found in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, where Stephen continually battles with feelings of isolation and entrapment even at pivotal moments in his personal growth. As a schoolboy at Clongowes, for example, he stands up to injustice and reports on the prefect of studies after he is treated unfairly. For the first time, Stephen is the subject of high esteem and is treated as a hero by his peers, yet he is uncomfortable with the situation and evidently feels â€Å"caged† by the adulation of his classmates: â€Å"They made a cradle of their locked hands and hoisted him up among them and carried him along till he struggled to break free† [44]. Even at this early stage of the novel, Stephen’s developing mind associates heroism and success with constraint, foreshadowing the continual feelings of confinement that he encounters as he reaches adulthood. This theme persists throughout the narrative, and despite experiencing developments in his artistic consciousness, Stephen remains alienated from others, as illustrated by his unease whilst among his peers in the classroom: â€Å"Stephen’s heart began slowly to fold and fade with fear like a withering flower† [82]. Evidently, the protagonist’s developing intellect is not analogous with a process of self-contentment, and Stephen, in spite of his growing consciousness as an artist, remains unfulfilled. Moreover, several critics have noted the problematic issue of novelistic closure in the Bildungsroman, highlighting the various difficulties of concluding a semi-autobiographical life-story with conviction. The ending of Great Expectations, in particular, is a point of contention for many readers, and could be said to subvert the notion of life stories as congruous narratives of development and progres s. After initially ending his protagonist’s story in a decidedly unromantic manner, Dickens was urged to write an alternate conclusion, which sees the adult Pip reunited with his first-love, Estella: â€Å"I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so, the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw the shadow of no parting from her.† [482]This somewhat anticlimactic conclusion undermines the moral journey undertaken by Pip, and the re-emergence of Estella (and the cynical opulence that she represents) in the protagonist’s life could be said to make a mockery of Pip’s process of redemption. As a semi-autobiographical account of Dickens’ own life, the uncertain ending to Great Expectations therefore exemplifies the difficulties associated with fusing fiction with autobiography, as the tensions betwee n the novelistic elements and the intrusions of real-life experience are difficult to reconcile. Dickens is unable to end the text definitively, and, consequently, Pip cannot fully escape the shackles of his troubled childhood. Therefore, rather than being a tale of formation and development, Great Expectations could instead be regarded as a narrative about novelistic expectations, where readers’ anticipations are raised and subsequently defied. A similarly ambiguous conclusion is found in Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and despite Stephen’s formative decision to leave Ireland, the author does not attempt to disguise the incomplete nature of the artist’s development. Indeed, Stephen’s personal deficiencies are made clear even in the concluding chapter, which sees the protagonist often speaking erratically, â€Å"like a fellow throwing a handful of peas into the air† [195]. Like Dickens, Joyce is constrained by the semi-aut obiographical nature of the text, and the novel’s inconclusive ending exposes Stephen’s deep shortcomings. Indeed, several critics have highlighted the undesirable elements of Stephen’s character, such as his lack of humour, with Hugh Kenner claiming that the reader’s first impulse on being confronted with the final edition of Stephen is to laugh: â€Å"we are not to accept the mode of Stephen’s â€Å"freedom† as the â€Å"message† of the book†. The tension between the protagonist’s intellectual development and the absence of a full, harmonious personality therefore undermines the notion that Stephen’s life story is one of true development and self-improvement.Furthermore, throughout the course of both novels, the division between good and evil, reality and falsehood, becomes increasingly blurred, leading to what Moretti refers to as â€Å"an out and out paralysis of judgement†. While Pip initially percei ves the world in fairly binary terms, his experiences in London, coupled with his subsequent encounter with his unlikely benefactor, Magwich, brings about the realisation that he has behaved more reprehensively than a convicted criminal: â€Å"I only saw in him a much better man than I had been to Joe† [446]. In a similar vein, Stephen Dedalus repeatedly confuses fiction with reality, escaping from by imagining himself as the hero in various literary works, including The Count of Monte Cristo. In a confusing and chaotic world of industrialisation and middle class progress, therefore, the gentlemanly â€Å"ideal† becomes increasingly difficult to define, and, thus, almost impossible to attain. Consequently, â€Å"happy endings† and linear narratives of progress are no longer feasible in novelistic form, as they are rarely found in real life. Nevertheless, a preoccupation with the ambiguities of the Bildungsroman form runs the risk of completely neglecting the in stances when true progress does occur, and it is important to note that the protagonists of both novels are each informed by striking moments of insight. For the adult Pip, this formative moment occurs upon his return to Satis House, where he recognises the futility of his life of privilege and his subsequent need for spiritual renewal: â€Å"O Miss Havisham my life has been a blind and thankless one; and I want forgiveness and direction far too much, to be bitter with you† [398]. However, the intense euphoria caused by an epiphany is most poignantly relayed in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, where Stephen’s perception of a bird-like young girl wading in the sea prompts a revelation that is akin to a spiritual experience:â€Å"Heavenly God! cried Stephen’s soul, in an outburst of profane joy. He turned away from her suddenly and set off across the strand. His cheeks were aflame; his body was aglow; his limbs were trembling. On and on and on and on he s trode, far out over the sands, singing wildly to the sea, crying to greet the advent of the life that had cried to him† [132].The term â€Å"advent†, with its clear religious connotations, augments the gravity of this moment of epiphany, and his initiation into a new mode of creative thought is reflected in the form of the diary entry that comprises the final section of Joyce’s novel (â€Å"Mother indulgent. Said I have a queer mind and have read too much†. Not true.†). This shift from the third-person narration to a first-person voice mirrors Stephen’s transition from passivity to assertiveness, suggesting that, despite his shortcomings in other aspects of his life, he is gradually discovering his true vocation as an artist. Through his skilful experimentation with different narrative forms to detail his pioneering artistic vision, Joyce therefore transforms, even as he follows, the Bildungsroman genre. In conclusion, it is clear that these two novels form an essential part of the Bildungsroman tradition. While Dickens’ Great Expectations chronicles the moral growth of the protagonist within a rapidly changing industrialised world, Joyce focuses almost exclusively on the subjective consciousness of Stephen Dedalus in The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, thereby presenting the reader with an alternative, more innovative, picture of personal formation and development. However, these novels do not present a completely linear narrative of progress, and neither Pip nor Stephen can be adequately defined as â€Å"heroic† by the end of their stories. Their respective moral and intellectual growth results in a paradoxical loss of freedom, thereby raising pertinent questions about the true nature of their development. Nonetheless, both writers’ compelling accounts of the difficult transition from childhood to adulthood ensures that the reader undergoes a similar formative process, and the complexities of the Bildungsroman genre that these texts expose essentially epitomise the organic and multifaceted nature of the western novel.

Gothic Epistemology - 746 Words

Criticism on the Gothic novel has been plentiful, yet such work tends to view the Gothic novel within the constraints of genre rather than investigating its wider influence in the nineteenth century. â€Å"Gothic Archives† will track this influence, arguing that the Gothic novel indicates changing attitudes toward reading, and especially toward reading history, in the nineteenth century. Gothic novels such as Melmoth the Wanderer (1820), and the meta-Gothic of The Antiquary (1816) presume that authentic historical experience is difficult, if not impossible, to represent accurately, emphasizing in their plots the misunderstandings that result from attempts to read and write historical experience. It follows that the Gothic novel typically stages†¦show more content†¦Far from being limited to the Gothic novel, however, â€Å"Gothic Archives† contends that this approach to—and suspicion of—representing history is distinguishable in other nineteenth c entury texts not generally thought of as Gothic. Texts such as Carlyle’s The French Revolution (1837) and Ruskin’s The Stones of Venice (1851-53) demonstrate the same anxiety described above, attempting to reconstruct authentic historical experience by interpreting relics. Significantly, these histories, like the Gothic novel, attempt to surmount the problem of historical distance (and the representational slippage which, for the Gothic, distance makes inevitable) through the invocation of extreme emotional states. In its attempt to reconstruct the whole from its parts, the Gothic novel’s popularity in the nineteenth century can also be usefully paralleled to a contemporary intellectual development: the nascent discipline of literary studies. This project will argue that the current enterprise of literary criticism is historically indebted to Gothic ways of thinking, and seeks to trace that influence across the nineteenth century. In so doing, â€Å"Gothic Archives† advances a link between the Gothic histories of Carlyle and Ruskin and the work that modern literary critics do. That is to say: by comprehending the mutual influence of fiction upon criticism andShow MoreRelatedThe Conscious Good Of Unconscious Evil Essay1296 Words   |  6 Pagestruth of humanities frigid evil. This evil he alluded to justified his bad actions with questioning his reality that filled him with self awareness. 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The two timelines talk about sex, literature, love, epistemology, landscaping, the Second Law of Thermodynamics and the romance. Stoppard’s intellect looms large over the plot of the play and is efficiently presented in the form of this play. It is a two-act play containing seven scenes. The characters belongingRead MoreIwc1 Literature, Arts and Humanities Essay10028 Words   |  41 PagesArchitecture A term describing an individual with broad knowledge and versatile talents spanning many intellectual and artistic disciplines. Renaissance man The branch of formal philosophy concerned with the nature and limits of human knowledge. Epistemology The combination of thesis and antithesis in the Hegelian dialectical process whereby a new higher level of truth is produced. Synthesis The Hero is an example of a mythic: Archetype The interplay of ____ and ___ determines weather an architectural

The And The Bible - 1299 Words

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Could it be that God is the alpha and the omega (the beginning and the end) but not the intermediate because he lacks the power, knowledge and love to regulate this world which has been spiralling out of control since the Fall of Man in Genesis 3? Another reason as to why it is significant is that it will reveal to us whether we are accountable for our actions or whether God’s sovereignty takes precedence over our culpability. The examination can be fragmented into two opposing perspectives, Calvinism and Arminianism, which both try to explain the predicament of predestination in regards to seven key areas: sovereignty, man’s depravity, election, Christ’s atonement, grace, man’s will andShow MoreRelatedThe Bible Vs. Bible874 Words   |  4 Pagesthis book of the Bible before? I never fully read the Bible, because â€Å"they† picked out what â€Å"they† wanted to be taught. 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The Election Of The Electoral College Essay - 1380 Words

In this country, we hold elections every four years to select the president. The founding fathers of our country established the electoral college to give the original thirteen states a fair voice in the election process. This country electoral called the electoral college into question on more the one occasion. In the most recent election, President-elect Donald Trump won the electoral vote over Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. This election has sent the country into an uproar and citizens of the United States are now challenging the legitimacy of the electoral college process. This paper will examine whether this process is reliable and valid when choosing the leadership of this country. The History of the Electoral College The electoral college, per Wikipedia, is a mechanism set up to select the president and vice president of the United States. (The Electoral college, 2016) It was during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that the founders established Article 2. Article 2 Section 1 details the innerworkings of the executive branch of government. The constitution states, â€Å"Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress†. (The Constitution of the United States, n.d.) The framers of the Constitution had many different ideas about how the selection of our president should go but ultimatelyShow MoreRelatedThe Election Of The Electoral College Essay1728 Words   |  7 Pagespresidential elections are based on the Electoral College. The Electoral College is combined of the house of senators, House of Representatives in every state, and the U.S. Congress which is the head. 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Profiling By Sherman Alexie s Flight Patterns - 1458 Words

Profiling people can cause a brick wall to be built between one another; a wall that cannot easily be knocked down. The person that is doing the profiling has to take the bricks down one-by-one as if each brick reveals information, beyond physical appearance. Once the wall is down a transparent window forms with a beautiful view. There is more to a person than their exterior and class, just like there is more to room then walls. When profiling someone, people do not look past the brick wall; they build it higher and higher. When someone takes the time to get to know someone else the wall comes downs; at that time, people get a clear view of who people are, which could be beautiful. Profiling causes people to become engulfed by other people s perceptions of who they are and becomes a conflict between racial heritage and human nature. Through the characters, setting, and tone of â€Å"Flight Patterns,† Sherman Alexie shows that profiling can lead to the misinterpretation of who someone is. Alexie shows a vivid picture of William, who is the main character of the story, he is a loving father, husband, and businessman who cares about his appearance; which means he cares about what people think of him, and he knows people profile him. His wife is a loving, carefree women; which is entirely opposite of William. She does not care what people think of her. In addition, William is Native Indian; he has dark skin and his long hair that he keeps in a lovely braid, which is a symbol of hisShow MoreRelatedProfiling Of Flight Patterns, By Sherman Alexie1518 Words   |  7 PagesThe Profiling of â€Å"Flight Patterns† Profiling people can cause a brick wall to be built between one another, a wall that cannot be easily knocked down. The bricks come down as the person doing the profiling sees beyond physical appearance. When the wall comes down a transparent window forms with a beautiful view. There is more to a person than their exterior, just like there is more to a room than walls. When profiling someone, people do not see past the brick wall; they build it higher and higherRead MoreFlight Patterns By Sherman Alexie1527 Words   |  7 PagesIn the short story Flight Patterns, Sherman Alexie describes how the protagonist, William, a Spokane Indian, struggles every day to escape the all too common stereotypes society places him under. This story takes place in Washington D.C. during the year after 9/11, which most likely justifies why racial profiling and stereotyping was extremely commonplace in the story around this time. It can be seen that Americans were brought closer together by this tragedy because they were banded by a common

Motivation Psychological Drive

Question: Discuss about theMotivation for Psychological Drive. Answer: Introduction: Motivation can be regarded as a psychological drive that drives a human being to act in a desired manner, rather motivation is considered as the temporal as well as dynamic state of ones mind that directly induces a human being. It is also considered as the encouragement that thrives an individual to act accordingly. This essay will comprise of discussions related with basic motivation model and its related aspects in a critical manner. Motivation is the theoretical construction that helps in understanding and explaining the behaviour of an individual. Snodgrass et al., (2013) stated that it is the nature of every human being to have some motivational factors and fulfilling the basic needs of food, clothes, and shelter are the three most important motivational aspects for an individual. Prior to these aspects, recognition and self-esteem rises as the factors that every individuals demands to possess. The example of Marriott Corporation has been considered as example for highlighting the motivational theories and its overall implementation among the employees. As per the basic motivational model is concerned, the model highlights on the aspects of need and expectation that helps to determine what an individual has been demanding. Then it highlights the driving forces or the behaviours that the individual shows in order to achieve the desired goals or expectation. Then the desired goals are reflected in the hierarchy of the process that shows what the actual goals have been for the individual over the years that reflected specific actions (Mischel, 2013). The last aspect of this model is fulfilment that clearly demonstrates that these actions help in fulfilling the desired goals or the needs that was cherished by the individual from the beginning. All these four aspects of the model are linked with each other and duly connects the actions of a human being and the desires that the individual possessed. Schunk et al., (2012) stated that the demand of an individual is non-ending, hence, the motivation level of an human being never tends to end at a point and repeats. It can be stated that the basic model of motivation is related with the three motivational theories, i.e. Maslows motivation hierarchy or pyramid that demonstrates the motivational factors based on their impact and importance for a human being. This is also related with the basic model and begins with basic needs that included food, clothes, and shelter. Once an individual attains these demands of safety rises where the person wants to be safe in terms of societal norms. Then the demand of belonging rises that drives the individual to attain the position where a feeling of being associated with society is developed (Reeve, 2014). Hawthorne effect highlights the chang es in human behaviour when they feel that their behaviour is being observed. Here, in terms of organizational observation, an employee might provide additional effort in expectation of being noticed by the management. Similarly, expectancy theory suggests that behaviour is aligned with results from conscious choices and its purpose is to increase pleasure and diminish pains. These three theories are aligned with needs (Maslows theory), cognition (Expectancy Theory), and Reward (Hawthorne Effect) (Schunk et al., 2012). The advantage of these theories is: It helps an individual to identify the needs in a sequential manner, i.e. from growth needs to social needs; rather an individual learns to implement the growth needs initially. The limitation of these theories is: These theories are unable to highlight the exact demand of an individual. For instance, an individual might work hard, which might denote that he/she is struggling for existence or might want to be recognized. This study helped to develop the idea about the increase in the level of motivation and helped in identifying the motivational factors that determines psychological satisfaction of individuals. Reference List Mischel, T. ed., (2013). Cognitive development and epistemology. Academic Press. Reeve, J., (2014). Understanding motivation and emotion. John Wiley Sons. Schunk, D.H., Meece, J.R. and Pintrich, P.R., (2012). Motivation in education: Theory, research, and applications. Pearson Higher Ed. Snodgrass, J.G., Dengah, H.F., Lacy, M.G. and Fagan, J., (2013). A formal anthropological view of motivation models of problematic MMO play: Achievement, social, and immersion factors in the context of culture. Transcultural psychiatry, p.1363461513487666.

Professional Environments Ethical Dilemma

Question: Discuss about the Professional Environments for Ethical Dilemma. Answer: An ethical dilemma is solved by complying with the following steps Step 1: Identifying theIssue Hardeep is at present in an ethical dilemma. He has the duty to ensure the best possible result to his company and he is being pressured by his friend to provide the contract to company B. In this case one of the company (A) who have responded to the invitation to offer made by the government has made a better offer than the other company (B). Hardeep has the knowledge that the price provided by company B is lower than the price of Company A. However, the offer, which Company A has provided is more beneficial for the company than that of, company B. Hardeep has asserted this as the government department may have to incur extra cost with respect to the system provided by Company B. In addition, he has the knowledge that Company B belongs to his friend who is pressuring him to give the contract to the company. Step 2: Identifying the Key Values and Principles IT managers working in the public sector are regarded as a professional, registered under the Australian Computer Society (ACS). As Hardeep is an IT professional, he is bound to comply with the code of ethics as provided by the ACS. According to the fourth principle of the code of ethics, Hardeep has the duty to ensure that he works with competence towards protecting the interest of the stakeholders of his company (Clarke 2016). The interest of the stakeholders can only be ensured in this case if the company providing the best price and services are given the contract. Hardeep must act competently and ensure that he provides the contract only to the company who is giving best value for money to the government departments stakeholders. Step 3: Identification of Parties Involved In the present scenario, government department and his friend (Company B) can be the affected parties by the decision of Hardeep. For the next step, Hardeep will identify the involved value. In this case, identified values are the personal value and value of the professional code. Hardeep then needs to compare the burden and benefits of his decision so that he can make an ethical decision. Hardeep in this case, has a clear duty to give primary importance to the public interest and to work with professionalism and competency for the betterment of the companys stakeholders. Step 4: Action Plan Thus, Hardeep must keep his personal values aside and choose company A in order to acquire the required system. According to the professional code of conduct provision 1 provided by the ACS Hardeep needs to give primary importance to his professional interest over that of his personal interest. He must also act with honesty according to provision 3 of ASC professional code of conduct and knowing the fact that Company A has provided a better offer than Company B he must chose them to provide the Enterprise resource planning system. References ACS Code of Professional Conduct Professional Standards Board Australian Computer Society. (2014). 1st ed. Australian Computer Society Professional Code of Ethics Clarke, R. (2016). Big data, big risks.Information Systems Journal,26(1), 77-90. Corporation Act 2001 Corporations Act 2001 Hartman, L.P., DesJardins, J.R., MacDonald, C. and Hartman, L.P., 2014.Business ethics: Decision making for personal integrity and social responsibility. New York: McGraw-Hill. Public Service Regulations 1999 Public Services Act 1999 The Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002