Lessons on "Clay " by James Joyce

 

 Aim: What can we learn about Maria through the narration of “Clay” that is not explicitly said?

 

Motivational Activities:

 

Do now:  Journal          

Has anybody ever said anything to you that revealed something about them, about their character (arrogance, naivety, stupidity, generosity, etc.), that differs from the factual statement of what they said? If so, how did you know? Could you be sure? Does it matter if you have misunderstood them?

 

For instance, when Daisy says, “God, I’m so sophisticated,” are you convinced that she really is sophisticated or does the statement tell you something else about her?

 

Misreading our friends’ intentions can be harmful, but is there any danger of misreading Daisy? What does your reading of Daisy’s statement tell you about her? Would it matter if somebody read it differently? How precisely does your understanding of such statements shape your individual reading of the novel?

 

Procedures:

 

Activity #1: Read “Clay” by James Joyce. Mark any words or phrases that interest you or that you consider are revealing of Maria.

 

Activity #2: Discuss: What is Free Indirect Discourse?

            Free indirect discourse is a narrative technique in which a character’s voice is embedded, without credit, in the narration.

 

Direct:              Daisy said, “God, I’m so sophisticated.”

Indirect:            Daisy said that God, she’s so sophisticated.

Free Indirect:    God, she’s so sophisticated.

 

Can these statements be read the same way? Can you recognize Daisy’s ‘voice’ in the last statement? Which do you find to be the most effective?

 

Activity #3: Example

"The matron had given her leave to go out as soon as the women’s tea was over, and Maria looked forward to her evening out. The kitchen was spick and span, the cook said you could see yourself in the big copper boilers. The fire was nice and bright and on one of the side-tables were four very big barmbracks. These barmbracks seemed uncut; but if you went closer you would see that they had been cut into long thick even slices and were ready to be handed round at tea. Maria had cut them herself".

 

The bold words are, in my opinion, especially particular to Maria. However, you may have picked different words. No matter which words you would have picked, can you hear Maria’s voice coming through the third person narration? What does it tell you about her? About her feelings about the particular evening?

 

Now, look at this alternate version of the passage:

 

The matron had given Maria permission to leave as soon as the women’s tea was over, and Maria looked forward to her evening out. The kitchen was clean, the fire stoked, and the meal ready, thanks to Maria’s hard work.

 

What does the first passage tell you about Maria that the second does not?

 

Homework Exercise:

 

Analyze Maria’s character through the narration in one or two paragraphs (about half a page of text total).

·              Circle the words in the passage that cause you to hear Maria’s voice through the narration.

 

·              Re-write the passage, as I have done in the example, without those words so that the language is no longer characteristic of Maria.

 

·              Write a few sentences stating what you have learned about Maria that the text does not explicitly tell you. Use at least one example from your passage.

 

Note: There are no right answers for this exercise but there are unreasonable ones. Any honestly felt and well reasoned answers will be “correct”.