The Dialogic And Carnivalized Art In Ulysses

Ulysses is the masterpiece of the well-known Irish writer, James Joyce. It is anexperimental and innovative work. The dialogic and carnivalized features are theunique artistic features of the novel. The study of this novel in China in this aspectbegan quite late and has produced few works. The present dissertation, in theframework of Bakhtin’s dialogism, expounds the artistic features of the intertextualdialogues and the dialogic narrative voices that establish the polyphonic quality of thenovel, and in the framework of Bakhtin’s carnivalization, discusses the artisticfeatures of the carnivalization of language, characters and images in the novel. Thisdissertation discusses the artistic features of the intertextual dialogues, the dialogicnarrative voices, and the carnivalization of language, characters and images of thenovel on the basis of Bakhtin’s dialogism and carnivalization, and analyzes theirartistic effects, which are a new perspective to study the novel.The present dissertation includes Introduction, four chapters and Conclusion.Introduction first gives a brief introduction of James Joyce’s achievements inliterature and the significance of Ulysses in the world’s literature. Part One ofIntroduction presents the argument of the dissertation. It argues that the dialogic andcarnivalized features of Ulysses are the important artistic features of the novel, whichoverturn the writing style of the traditional novels. Part Two gives a review ofUlysses’ criticism in the West and in China, including Ulysses’ criticism in the Westand in China from the perspective of Bakhtin’s dialogism and carnivalization. TheWestern studies of Ulysses from the perspective have made some achievements, whileChina’s studies of Ulysses from the perspective have only produced a few articles. Nomonograph on the novel from the perspective has been published. Part Threeintroduces the definition and theoretical framework of Bakhtin’s dialogism andcarnivalization. Part Four gives a brief introduction of the purpose and organization ofthe dissertation. This dissertation is aimed at exploring the dialogic and carnivalizedartistic features of Ulysses and their unique artistic effects to compensate for theinadequate study in China in this respect. The body of the dissertation falls into four chapters.Chapter One expounds the artistic features and artistic effects of the intertextualdialogues in Ulysses. In light of Bakhtin’s dialogism about intertextuality in texts andJulia Kristeva’s intertextuality theory, this chapter expounds Ulysses’ intertextuallydialogic relationships with many other literary works. This chapter points out thatthere is intertextually dialogic relationship between Ulysses and Homer’s Odyssey.Ulysses’ structural dialogue with the epic has strong aesthetic effect. The novel’sstructurally intertextual dialogue with The Odyssey achieves the aesthetic effect ofrepresenting the “integritas”(integrity) and “consonantia”(harmony) of St. ThomasAquinas’ theory of three elements of beauty. Ulysses’ structurally intertextual dialoguewith The Odyssey also reflects the three key ideas of Jean Piaget’s notion of structure:“wholeness”,“transformation” and “self-regulation”. Its structure exhibits the beautyof integrity and balance. In addition, this chapter also discusses Ulysses’ intertextuallydialogic relationships with the works by William Shakespeare, such as Hamlet,Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, etc., with Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen, with Venus inFurs by Sacher-Masoch, with The Histories of Gargantua and Pantagruel by Fran oisRabelais and with the Holy Bible. This chapter also discusses the intertextualrelationship between Ulysses and Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.This chapter points out that Ulysses continues where the story in A Portrait stops. Theartistic idea, impersonality, advocated by Stephen in A Portrait and thestream-of-consciousness techniques used in A Portrait are further practiced in Ulysses.The heavy use of quotations, adaptations of quotations, allusions, etc. in the novelachieves an important artistic effect—heterogeneity, which exhibits Joyce’s artisticingenuity.Chapter Two dwells on the artistic features and artistic effects of the dialogicnarrative voices that establish the polyphonic quality of Ulysses. According toBakhtin’s polyphony, which is an important concept of Bakhtin’s dialogism, thischapter expounds the polyphonic quality of the novel as a result of Joyce’s sparing useof the points of view, zero focalization and external focalization, but his extensive useof the point of view, internal focalization. The internal focalized narration allows the characters to freely present their mental activities without any interference from anyother narrative voices. Their independent voices are equal to any other voices, whichestablishes the polyphonic quality of the novel. Besides, the narrative perspectivesfrequently shift in Ulysses. The narrator’s voice and the different characters’ voicesare blended in some paragraphs. These voices don’t interfere in each other, so there isan equal dialogic relationship between each other. They greatly reinforce thepolyphonic quality of Ulysses. According to Bakhtin’s double-voiced discourse, animportant concept of his dialogism, this chapter also discusses the double-voiceddiscourses—hidden dialogues in the interior monologues of the characters. A hiddendialogue often takes place in the mind of a character, but the statements of the secondspeaker are omitted. The characters often talk to themselves, or respond to thequestions asked by some people invisible. The double-voiced discourses in theinterior monologues of the characters increase the polyphonic quality of the novel.This chapter points out that the withdrawal of the narrator’s voice from the internalfocalized narration achieves an important artistic effect—impersonality.Chapter Three elaborates on the artistic features of the carnivalization oflanguage in Ulysses on the basis of Bakhtin’s carnivalization. This chapter points outthat Ulysses’ language forms display the subversive forces of carnival that completelyoverturn the language style of the traditional novels, when the carnival spirits such asrebellion, overturning orders and “world turned inside out” enter the novel. Joyceadopts a different language style to reflect the subject matter of each chapter ofUlysses and employs the lexis and syntax to match the characteristics of the interiormonologues of the different characters, which breaks the monotony and consistencyof the language style in the traditional novels. In addition, this chapter also discussesthe linguistic deviation in Ulysses, such as lexical deviation, phonological deviation,graphological deviation, etc. and the rhetorical devices like alliteration, onomatopoeia,pun, etc. Joyce uses in the unique style. He also uses some unusual rhetorical devicessuch as palindrome, chiasmus and metathesis that are seldom used in novels, whichachieve the unique artistic effects. The above anti-conventional language formsoverturn the language norms of the traditional novels, which reveals a strong carnival spirit—rebellion and carnivalizes the language of the novel. These anti-conventionallinguistic features achieve an important artistic effect—defamiliarization.Chapter Four deals with the artistic features of the carnivalization of charactersand images in Ulysses in light of Bakhtin’s carnivalization. This chapter points outthat the characters and images in Ulysses present the carnivalized features when thecarnivalesque elements such as the comic and the grotesque,“the bodily lowerstratum”, profanation, crowning and decrowning, etc., enter the novel. There arecarnivalesque elements in Stephen’s rebellious act, crazy act and act related todischarge of bodily waste, Bloom’s queer food preference and acts related todischarge of bodily waste and “the bodily lower stratum”, and Molly’s obscenelanguage, etc., which make the description of the characters achieve the artistic effectof carnivalization. In addition, this chapter also discusses the carnivalization ofimages in Ulysses. The use of free association and montage devices upsets the timesequence and space order of presenting the scenes or events in the novel, whichcreates a carnivalized chronotope. In the chronotope, the numerous images appearbefore readers quickly one after another without time sequence or space order. Thecarnivalization of images emerges. Noticeably, the comic, grotesque and profaneimages appear in the character’s free association. This chapter also discusses thecarnivalized images such as the comic, farcical and grotesque images in thecarnivalesque restaurant and nighttown, and the image of carnivalesque crowning anddecrowning in the novel. There is carnivalesque element of crowning and decrowningin Bloom’s becoming a mayor and losing the title in his imagination, and in Molly’s“yes” to Bloom’s proposal in her interior monologue at the end of the novel.Conclusion briefly summarizes the whole dissertation. It indicates that thedialogic and carnivalized features of Ulysses are the important artistic features of thenovel. Bakhtin’s dialogism and carnivalization work well for Ulysses, which is a goodexample for a Bakhtinian analysis. It comes to a conclusion that the intertextualdialogues, the dialogic narrative voices, and the carnivalization of language,characters and images of the novel are the artistic features that can hardly be found inthe traditional novels. The unique dialogic and carnivalized artistic features of Ulysses completely overturn the writing style of the traditional novels. This part also pointsout the demerits of the dialogic and carnivalized artistic features of Ulysses. Despitethat, the dialogic and carnivalized features of this novel exhibit Joyce’s virtuosity andcreativity in fictional creation and are an innovation in fictional art. These dialogicand carnivalized artistic features make the novel an experimental and innovative work.It is the dialogic and carnivalized artistic features that make the novel a unique workin the treasure house of the world’s literature.