- 14 Mar, 2021
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English Literature- 2. “I have written it for the most part in a style of scrupulous meanness.” How well does Joyce achieve this in “Dubliners”, refer to specific examples from three stories” (focus on realism VS reality)
Task 2- “I have written it for the most part in a style of scrupulous meanness.” How well does Joyce achieve this in “Dubliners”, refer to specific examples from three stories. AC2.1 and AC3.1 (500 words max)
‘Scrupulous meanness’ refers to a most complex and heavily allusive style that determines the reading of “Dubliners’’-. The term ‘meanness’ connotes stinginess or the lack of generosity. Joyce uses it to describe the economy of language applying to his stories. However, the interpretation demands a more complicated understanding of the term. ‘Scrupulousness’ is a crucial element both in Joyce’s use of language, and in the structure and form of the stories. ‘Scrupulous meanness’ refers to a most complex and heavily allusive style that determines the reading of Dubliners. From the minimum of words Joyce succeeds to extract the maximum effect so that the very economy of his style gives Dubliners such concentration and resonance that it “passes through realism into symbolism” (Dubliners,1991, p. xix). Joyce puts this style forward as a means to express his moral intent. Please refer to attached files/photos and carry research further into the 3 James Joyce Stories; “Two Gallants”, (Two con men, Lenehan and Corley, find a maid who is willing to steal from her employer), “The Boarding House” ( Mrs Mooney successfully manoeuvres her daughter Polly into an upwardly mobile marriage with her lodger Mr Doran) and “Counterparts” (Farrington, a lumbering alcoholic scrivener, takes out his frustration in pubs and on his son Tom)- elaborate on how well morality and the link through realism verses reality is presented throughout Dubliners and these three short stories.