Symbolism In James Joyce

& A ; Kafka & # 8217 ; s Supporters Essay, Research Paper

So frequently characters in fiction can be traced back to a symbolic original, be it Biblical, fabulous or psychological. In Kafka & # 8217 ; s The Metamorphosis and James Joyce & # 8217 ; s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, this is besides true. In this essay I will research the symbolic facets of the protagonsits in both fictions, and how this symbolism adds to the subjects explored in both plants.

In The Metamorphosis, the linguistic communication used to depict Gregor & # 8217 ; s newfound status is really symbolic and has much resonance beyond its actual usage in the narrative. Gregor Samsa wakes up one forenoon and discovers that he has become a & # 8216 ; monstrous varmint, & # 8217 ; translated from the German words ungeheueres Ungeziefer. The word ungeheuer & # 8211 ; the adjectival signifier of ungeheures & # 8211 ; originally intend about the equivalent of & # 8216 ; without a portion in a household & # 8217 ; . The word Ungeziefer means & # 8216 ; bug & # 8217 ; or & # 8216 ; vermin & # 8217 ; but besides has sinister, supernatural undertones, and is associated with all that is forbidden. This is peculiarly revealing, since Gregor will be & # 8216 ; without a portion in the household & # 8217 ; and does interrupt many tabus in the narrative, such as non demoing up to work after five old ages of perfect attending and. Although the intensions of ungeheures Ungeziefer are non conveyed satisfactorily in an English interlingual rendition, in German they are a valuable tool to bode what will follow.

The name Gregor Samsa itself is besides a key to understanding the text. Samsa is believed by many to be a cryptograph of Kafka, and phonetically it is similar to the Czech words surface-to-air missile ( which means & # 8216 ; entirely & # 8217 ; ) and jsem ( which means & # 8216 ; I am & # 8217 ; ) , therefore & # 8216 ; I am entirely, & # 8217 ; an accurate description of Gregor & # 8217 ; s mental and physical province throughout Metamorphosis.

In James Joyce & # 8217 ; s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, the name of the supporter, Stephen Dedalus, is a mention to the myth of Daedalus, Dedalus being it & # 8217 ; s established signifier. In Grecian mythol

ogy, Daedalus was a craftsman and discoverer who killed his learner Talos, because he envied him. He so left Greece and fled to Crete, where he built the Minotaur’s maze. Minos refused to let Dedalus to go forth Crete, so Daedalus made wings of wax and plumes for both him and his boy, Icarus. Using these wings, they flew off, but Icarus went excessively close to the Sun, and his wax wings melted, doing him to fall to his decease. Stephen Dedalus is most likely meant to stand for Icarus, and if that is the instance, it would intend he is destined to fall, although in Portrait there is no tragic stoping. If Stepehen is Icarus, so the inquiry remains: who is Daedelus? Stephen’s male parent surely does non demo himself to suit that image in the novel. Simon Dedalus is more like Minos, and since Simon is an anagram of Minos, that might good be who he is supposed to stand for. My belief is that James Joyce himself is Daedalus, a cagey remark on his function as writer of A Portriat.

In maintaining with the Daedalus myth and its image of birds in flight, A Portrait has many mentions that reinforce this subject. Stephen is portrayed symbolically as a bird that is seeking to go forth the Earth and H2O buttocks and take flight. In the first chapter there is Dante & # 8217 ; s chant:

& # 8211 ; & # 8221 ; O, if non, the bird of Joves will come and draw out his

eyes & # 8211 ;

Pull out his eyes,

Apologise,

Apologise,

Pull out his eyes.

This transition could be taken as the bird of Jove, male monarch of all birds, comprehending the menace of Stephen & # 8211 ; the Wren & # 8211 ; and counter-threatening him with drawing out his eyes and blinding him.

He besides has friends that have bird-like last names: Heron ( a Hero ) and Cranly ( a Crane ) . Females are described as bat-like. Most significantly there is the miss Stephen sees standing in the H2O when he has his major epiphany, normally know among critics as & # 8216 ; the bird-girl & # 8217 ;