Difference Between Chekhov and Joyce's stories

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 made me rate them a bit lower than Chekhov’s comparatively positive stories, but I still felt that Joyce was a better user of literary tools. The lessons from Joyce’s stories were hard to find and understand, but when they were, they left a more lasting impression.

댓글

댓글 쓰기

이 블로그의 인기 게시물

"Araby" and stage 4 of the hero's journey

  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.
자세한 내용 보기

The Second Bakery Attack, By Haruki Murakami (1981)

 The Second Bakery Attack, By Haruki Murakami (1981) 9/10 Only after re-reading the story one more time to check whether there are any parts I might have missed, I realized that everything that happened in this story is unbelievably illogical. Waking up in the middle of the night in severe hunger is surely possible, but how in the world did that conclude into robbing a McDonalds and taking thirty bigmacs? It’s amazing how the author was able to make the situation seam logical and smooth. It was quite strange how what the couple did was a crime, but is still so humorous. Something about Haruki’s ways of explaining details such as the sleeping customers and paying for the drink makes even the most intense situations feel comical than serious. It gives the whole story a magical atmosphere. My favorite part of the story was how the narrator explains his feelings like floating on the ocean right above a volcano. It was very wholesome when the narrator decides to let the waves take h...
자세한 내용 보기

A Mother, By James Joyce (1914)

 A Mother, By James Joyce (1914) 7/10 It was interesting to see how Joyce tweaked what might have been a very cliché situation. In most situations where a mother protests about her daughter’s rightful. payment, she would seem brave and righteous. However, Mrs. Kearney seemed like the opposite of righteous. This may be because instead of protesting for her daughter, Mrs. Kearney is fighting for her pride. Unlike most good parents, Mrs. Kearney sees her children only as a tool to improve her social value and keep her pride. It was sad to see Kathleen not standing up to her mother, who might have just ruined her one chance of becoming a professional singer. Four guineas are not worth a lifelong job, let alone a dream coming true. This also reminded me about how big are the influence parents have on their children’s life. My favorite part of the story was how Mrs. Kearny blames Mr. Holohan and others. But the real reason she faced such humiliation was her own stubbornness. I rate...
자세한 내용 보기