Kim Jae Min Reading Journal Blog

Although James Joyce and Anton Chekhov seems to share the same purpose of delivering a message through their stories, I felt that they greatly differ in how they represent it. The biggest difference I felt was that Chekhov is much more direct with what he wants the readers to feel. He often borrows the words of the characters, or else just uses blunt narrations to show us the ideas and feeling of the characters in his story. In the case of <Gooseberries>, the main character actually just explains the whole theme behind the story. Joyce does also use narration to deliver the thoughts and feeling of the characters, but I felt that he was much more cautious than Chekhov when doing so. I felt that Joyce wanted us readers to keep thinking, just like the characters in his stories, and find out what lesson he wanted us to learn with our own brainpower. I personally prefer stories with happy endings and positive lessons. Thus, the cynical and apathetic atmosphere of Joyce’s stories m...

 Eveline, By James Joyce (1914) 6/10   Although I did not understand the meaning of the term ‘Derevaun seraun’, I supposed it was an important clue to understand the story. When I looked up this term, I learned it is an Irish Gaelic sentence that means ‘Pleasure ends in pain’. I think this is the main theme of this story, and also the reason why Eveline gave up on her new life with Frank. After pondering, she must have concluded that the happiness Frank will provide to her would someday end into another painful life, just like how her years as a child ended into the sad life she has to face now. Maybe Eveline was afraid that her life would end up just like her mother’s, considering that the repeated screaming of the mother might have been a warning for her daughter, Still, whatever the reasons, I couldn’t agree less with the choice Eveline made. How can one be so afraid of negative changes that she gives up the positive changes? It lacks normal sense. The author did a ...

  In the stage four of the hero's journey, the hero of the story meets a mentor who provides the hero with wise advises and various forms of guidance. In this particular story of Araby, it is hard to specify a certain character as a mentor. The lesson is learned at the end of the story, and the hero stumbles into it without any guidance or help from other characters.   Still, the absence of a mentor is not a negative element. Instead, it maximizes the whole point of the story. The lamentable parts of life can be learnt only by experience. No mentor could teach it to us before we face it ourselves.

Araby, By James Joyce (1914) Rate: 7/10 I mostly enjoyed the part when the boy was disappointed. What he felt is the feeling every person faces at least once in their life, in that cruel moment when you realize life might actually not be as beautiful as we expected it to be. However, I believe the theme of this story is growing up, not disappointment. What he experienced was not just a tragic moment, but a lesson. He has entered the real world, which was what he so desperately curious about during his younger days. He will soon learn to accept it and be a part of it.  I think Joyce did a great job describing such experiences, about how the simple plans going wrong leads to the whole situation tuning sour. It was also very realistic how the incident is not really a big deal in a macro, grown up point of view, but had a big affect on the young boy. Still, I'm a bit sad that Joyce presented growing up as a disappointing thing. I think the story might have been better if there was a hi...

The Sisters, By James Joyce (1914) 8/10 Although I'm still not completely sure what the author wants to tell us through this story, I was deeply impressed about how Joyce presented the matter of death.  The death of father Flynn is the main content that penetrates the whole story. However, we are given very limited details about it. Because this story is written in a first-person narrative, we are unable to know what really happened in any timeline. While the story is full of clues and evidences that might mean important things, we are unable to come to any clear conclusions from it. While we readers are confused about the story, the narrator has his own questions. Questions that will never quite be answered, and be forever stranded in the depths of his mind, slowly eroding into oblivion. This feeling of uncertainty is the whole point of this story. I believe this is the authors way of telling us that once death occurs, those who are left have nothing but mysteries to deal with. It...

 Gooseberries, By Anton Chekhov (1898) 9/10  Until now, most of the stories I read said that spending a lifetime to achieve one’s goal is a beautiful thing. Therefore I was stunned when the author described Nicolay’s achievement of a lifetime to be so wrong. Overall, I think this story is a tragedy. Nikolay’s simple dream ended up as a sorry distortion of itself. Ivan learned the meanings of life, but as he so dreadfully repeats, he is an old man now, and is unable to chase them. He to have wanted to spread his thoughts to Alyohin and Burkin, but they found the story uninteresting and sleepy. Therefore, no one in this short story is actually fulfilled, or will ever be. I think that by showing the characters either ignore the lesson or find themselves to late, Chekhov wanted us readers to be determined about how to live our lives and make sure we do not follow the paths of Nikolay. While striving to fulfill something is respectable, it may all be a waste if we chase the...