| James Joyce is one of the most outstanding British novelists in the early 20 th century,and his novels have been a landmark in the development of modern British literature.Presenting a detailed examination of James Joyce's major characters in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,Ulysses and Finnegans Wake,I believe that Joyce's writing is neurotic in structure and style,but not perverse,as is generally thought.Joyce demonstrates that neurotic characters in his novels are evidently struggling in a social,political and religious context.He illustrates the inner conflicts of his characters influenced by social challenges,and the way they struggle to flee from the hostile environment in life.Therefore,I would like to base my research upon Karen Horney's neopsychoanalytic social theory of neurosis.It is worth noting that neurotic people usually follow one of the anxiety based-trends of “Moving Away from People” called detached personality,“Moving Against People” called aggressive personality,and “Moving Toward People” called compliant personality,to attain the needs and desires that they lack.In order to reveal the psychological world described by Joyce,I am to study the life-thoughts and personalities of the main characters in the three novels to deal with the problems of the neurotic disorders and discloses the inherent relationship between psychic troubles and social problems.Chapter One focuses on the self-estrangement of Stephen in society in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,the social isolation of Bloom in Ulysses and the normlessness of ALP in familial and social interactions in Finnegans Wake.Joyce demonstrates these three characters neurotic because of their extreme need for perfection,self-sufficiency and narrow limits in life to deal with anxieties and hostilities in private and social life.The uncertainty of these needs makes them unfriendly with the society.As a result,to overcome the presupposed hostilities,they are forced to adopt a detached personality in their miserable life.Chapter Two argues about Simon's expansion of vanity in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,Molly's rebellious femininity in Ulysses and the twins' unscrupulous jealousy in Finnegans Wake.Joyce discloses that these characters are aggressive as a consequence of their neurotic need for power,admiration,prestige,exploration and achievement.The anxiety of being inferior to other people makes them restless and uneasy.Accordingly,in order to accomplish these needs,they move against other people in the society and the private life.Chapter Three deals with restlessness of submissive characters in the three novels.In order to achieve this purpose,maternal anxiety of Mary in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,precarious manhood of Bloom and Stephen in Ulysses and finally,emotional neglect of Issy in Finnegans Wake are to be studied.According to Joyce's exposition,it is evident that the serious need for affection,approval and powerful partner leave these characters submissive.The feelings of insecurity and loneliness in the society make these characters disturbed.Thus,they move toward other people neurotically to achieve their needs and desires in life.Therefore,in his three novels,Joyce noticeably reveals that the characters in his novels are neurotic,because they,unlike the usual people,push themselves to define the society as a hostile entity.This hostility drives them into anxiety.In order to get rid of the anxiety,they manage to establish themselves through their individual and incessant struggle.Joyce's characterization and style of writing neurotic are not perverse.The tragedies disclosed by Joyce in his novels give us a terrible presentation of conscious and unconscious psychological distortion of human nature.The seamy sides of human psyche explored by Joyce do not only reveal the individual problems of Irish people in the early 20 thcentury,but also bring us to a better comprehension of the interrelation between psychological crisis and social crisis in an unreasonable society. |
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