{"id":75,"date":"2016-09-06T03:34:48","date_gmt":"2016-09-06T03:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/?p=75"},"modified":"2016-09-06T03:34:48","modified_gmt":"2016-09-06T03:34:48","slug":"narration-and-storytelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/uncategorized\/narration-and-storytelling\/","title":{"rendered":"Narration and Storytelling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Over the course of the three episodes we read for today, the narrative structure becomes increasingly more difficult to follow with each new section of text. By the time we reach Proteus, the relatively straightforward narrative structure established in the first two episodes (I say straightforward <em>only<\/em> in relation to the third episode) breaks down and we begin to learn about Stephen\u2019s past through a fluid narrative that jumps between third-person \u201creal-time\u201d narration and a more introspective \u201cstream of consciousness\u201d narrative as Stephen walks along the beach and lets his mind wander to his past.<\/p>\n<p>Each time Stephen\u2019s conscience seems to almost entirely consume the narration, we are brought back to reality by a harsh transition to \u201creal-time\u201d with a more classic, third-person narration such as, \u201che had come nearer the edge of the sea and wet sand slapped his boots\u201d (37), \u201cthe dog\u2019s bark ran towards him, stopped, ran back\u201d (38), or \u201che lay back at full stretch over the sharp rocks\u201d (41). The sensory details of these third-person passages (sandy feet, a dog\u2019s bark, sharp rocks) remind us as readers of the physical realities Stephen is experiencing separately from what he is experiencing in his mind.<\/p>\n<p>These sort of jarring descriptions that take us as readers back to reality make it easier to follow the smaller chunks of Stephen\u2019s \u201cstream of consciousness\u201d narration that come in-between. For example, a third-person \u201creal-time\u201d narration informs us that Stephen\u2019s \u201cfeet marched in sudden proud rhythm over the sand furrows\u201d (35), only to be followed by a much less straightforward, internal narration of Stephen\u2019s own past in \u201cParis rawly waking\u201d (35). The fluid movements between third-person \u201creal-time\u201d narration into more internal, personal narration from Stephen create a sort of interplay between memory and present day in which Stephen\u2019s past informs the present and vice versa. It is because we have the physical image of Stephen walking solitarily along the shore that we as readers understand the poignancy of his introspective reflection that, \u201cyou were going to do wonders\u201d (35) \u2013 the loss of potential he has experienced in his past is embodied in his present-day solitude.<\/p>\n<p>Even these transitions between \u201creal-time\u201d and \u201cstream of consciousness\u201d are not entirely straightforward, however, as there are moments where Stephen begins to question his own reality and confuses us as readers in the process. He asks, \u201cAm I going to aunt Sara\u2019s or not?\u201d (32), and then tells us a story where he \u201cpulls the wheezy bell of their shuttered cottage\u201d and engaging in dialogue with his aunt and uncle. It is only after Stephen says, \u201cI have passed the way to aunt Sara\u2019s. Am I not going there? Seems not\u201d (34) that we become certain that Stephen\u2019s narration of his visit with his relatives has taken place in his mind instead of \u201creal-time.\u201d The narrative patterns of <em>Ulysses <\/em>are predictable yet also unpredictable, and it almost feels like it\u2019s impossible to be certain that any one interpretation can be considered correct.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the course of the three episodes we read for today, the narrative structure becomes increasingly more difficult to follow with each new section of text. By the time we reach Proteus, the relatively straightforward narrative structure established in the first two episodes (I say straightforward only in relation to the third episode) breaks down [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76,"href":"https:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75\/revisions\/76"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eriksimpson.sites.grinnell.edu\/Ulysses16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}