Oliver Twist: A Tale of Resilience and Redemption
A young woman in labor makes her way to a parish workhouse and dies giving birth to a boy, who is systematically named Oliver Twist (John Howard Davies) by the workhouse authorities. As the years go by, Oliver and the rest of the child inmates suffer from the callous indifference of the officials in charge: Beadle Mr. Bumble (Francis L. Sullivan) and Matron Mrs. Corney (Mary Clare). At the age of nine, the hungry children draw straws; Oliver loses and has to ask for a second helping of gruel, uttering
Read MorePost-War Spanish Novel: Narrative Techniques & Analysis
Narrative Techniques in the Post-War Spanish Novel
Miguel Delibes and Five Hours with Mario
Current Narrative Techniques:
- Social Novel: Focus on social inequalities and political issues.
- Subjective Novel: Emphasis on character psychology, with other elements secondary.
Traditional vs. Current Storytelling
Limited vs. Omniscient Narrator
First-person narrator. Free indirect style: the omniscient third-person narrator conveys the thoughts of characters in the third person.
Interior Monologue: Stream of
Read MoreClarín and Galdós: A Deep Dive into 19th-Century Spanish Literature
Clarín’s Narrative Work
Clarín cultivated criticism, essays, novels, and stories. His production was intended to be aesthetically and morally instructive to the reader. An educated man and a great connoisseur of European literature and philosophy, he analyzed and considered the contemporary novel, as well as theater and poetry. His narrative is a combination of different influences:
- Certain elements of naturalism.
- The religiosity of the spiritual currents of the late 19th century.
Clarín’s Fairy
Read MoreJames Joyce, Virginia Woolf, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and William Faulkner: Narrative Techniques and Themes
Joyce’s “The Sisters” and “Eveline”:
James Joyce was a brilliant young man who studied in Jesuit Catholic schools. His family was middle-class, but they endured different economic problems due to his father’s irresponsible behavior. He went to University College of Dublin, where he studied languages and graduated in 1902. In 1902, he left Ireland to study medicine in Paris, but a few months later he returned to Ireland because his mother was dying from cancer. He met Nora Barnacle, a young
Read MoreKey Figures in English and Irish Literature
James Joyce
James Joyce was born in Dublin. He attended Jesuit schools and university. He married Nora Barnacle, and they had two children. Joyce faced censorship problems and was persecuted by law, printers, and publishers. His style breaks away from traditional concepts of time and space, and he departs from the traditional novel structure. He delves into the inner lives of his characters, portraying their evolving personalities. Joyce is credited as the first novelist to introduce the stream of
Read MoreVerb Complements, Sentence Structure, and Literary Movements
Verb Complements
- Direct Complement: Replaced by ‘la’, ‘los’, ‘las’. Does not agree with the word, but with the subject.
- Indirect Complement: Replaced by ‘le’ and ‘se’.
- Prepositional Complement: Example: ‘Speech of it’.
- Circumstantial Complement: (CCmodo, CCT, CCL) Easily suppressed.
- Agent Complement: ‘By fire’. Appears only in the passive voice.
- Predicate Complement: Example: ‘The mayor appointed, glad she, will hero’. Agrees in gender and number. Can be replaced by ‘or that’.
Compound Sentences
- Simple