| This thesis considers seven representative short stories in James Joyce's Dubliners mainly through point of view and discourse that are commingled in the course of textual analysis that demonstrates Joyce's exquisite craftsmanship and elucidate the artistic value of his short stories. This thesis presents a new perspective to interpret Dubliners, and it also sheds new light on the theme of redemption and life.Noted for writing novels "in a style of scrupulous meanness," Joyce is a vehement advocate and relentless precursor of the experimental use of the English language. His bold experiments with free direct and indirect discourse, as later defined, can be easily found even in the early short stories collected in Dubliners. This thesis also demonstrates that Joyce is a creative user of many types of literary devices, including epiphany to intensify the ending of a story and interior monologue utilized to record faithfully the intermittent flow of the consciousness of a character and to expose to some extent his inner world. The thesis thereby probes deeply into the method Joyce adopted to achieve extraordinarily brilliant characterization.More than that, Joyce unconsciously dedicated himself to literary innovation in the context of the traditional point of view from which a story is narrated. He put these viewpoints into practice first and foremost in the writing of Dubliners. By its systematic analysis, this thesis presents a variety of points of view distinct yet sometimes blended in a single story. It also treats the various effects that different points of view produce in the text and among readers. Subsequently, the thesis uncovers a motif that has laid buried and ignored by most critics, a motif of seeking salvation and life.To be frank, it may not be the best way to approach Dubliners through point of view and discourse, but that approach is the most effective way, yet found to treat and understand Joyce and to interpret his marvelous work in Dubliners. |
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