Anton Chekhov and James Joyce

Anton Chekhov and James Joyce

Yuna Song

It is undeniable that Anton Chekhov and James Joyce are both virtuoso of writing, and I came to admit this more strongly by reading their works in class. However, the overall mood of their work was clearly different, and the way they communicated the theme of their story and the writing style seemed to have the main difference. 

The first difference I felt between the two was the relationship between universality and specificity. The works of Anton Chekhov and James Joyce both reveal universality and specificity through their stories. However, Anton Chekhov seemed to convey special and specific messages such as religion, private life and public life, and happiness by describing very general and sufficiently realistic events based on realism-based descriptions. On the contrary, James Joyce describes the characters' stories in a relatively dense style in a special context of Ireland, but in conclusion, he conveys implications that can be applied regardless of time or different groups of people. The reason why I was always confused about what James Joyce was really trying to say through his story after reading his writings was maybe also because he wanted to convey a very broad and universal theme to the readers, allowing them to interpret and apply the message in their own perspectives.

On top of that, just as mentioned above, Anton Chekhov's writing seemed to be more straightforward compared to James Joyce's writing. The range of interpretations possible was much broader in Joyce's stories. However, from the perspective of writing style, I liked James Joyce better since Joyce seemed to be better than Chekhov in terms of precision, detail, and expressiveness in developing the story. 

In conclusion, these are the differences between Anton Chekhov and James Joyce I thought of. However, in that they used 'symbols' excellently and included numerous symbolic elements in the story, both writers also share big parts in common. Furthermore, the fact that it made me feel the joy of literature in the process of interpreting the symbols they hid may also be a commonality between them. (340 words)

Araby, By James Joyce (1914)

 Araby, By James Joyce (1914)

Yuna Song

Rating: 7/10

In Araby, the main character, the boy and the sister who he is in love with do not have their names. This allowed the story to gain the universality of the theme inside the particularity of the plot and also made me wonder when was I had lost my innocence and childhood. 

➤'Araby'

Through the story, the boy experiences the transition from childhood to teenagehood.

In our lives, when experiencing the loss of innocence, we tend to undergo both growth and decadence of ourselves. And I thought that the 'epiphany' boy gained through his hero's journey was also double-sided: obtaining both growth and irreversible escape from pure childishness.

Before reading this story, I had a kind of stereotype that elixir or epiphany characters get through the hero's journey is always the positive ones. However, Araby made me realize that epiphany can be also bad, and mostly be a double-edged sword.

Overall, I loved the various motifs hidden in the story and some details seeming to represent the criticizable Irish culture. However, the message Araby gave to me did not touch my heart very much, and was somewhat common, so that's why I rated 7 out of 10. (196 words)

The Sisters, By James Joyce (1914)

The Sisters, By James Joyce (1914)

Yuna Song

Rating: 6.5/10

"The sisters" gives off an ambiguous and abstract image throughout the story.

Even if I couldn't understand exactly what the author meant to say, I felt like the death of Father Flynn and the reaction of the characters towards it has well-implied the Irish culture and problem of the Irish period of time. 

Mysterious description about Father Flynn's death, paralysis of not only father Flynn but also actions after his death in church, kind of foolishness of sisters understanding Father Flynn's madness as God's punishment for him having broken the chalice, and a whole bunch of dot dot dots, representing indirect communication could all have shown the characteristic of Ireland that James Joyce wanted to reveal. And perhaps it was more meaningful in this story by setting a young boy as a narrator, allowing vague but still pure and instinctive description. 

What was disappointing about this story was that the range of the interpretations possible was too broad that the theme author wanted to convey could be blurred in the process of interpretation. However, maybe the heavy, gloomy, and mysterious mood of the entire story itself may have been the message that James Joyce has concealed. (196 words)

Gooseberries, By Anton Chekhov (1898)

 Gooseberries, By Anton Chekhov (1898)

Yuna Song

Rating: 8/10

Gooseberries, by Anton Chekhov, made me think about 'what' is happiness, and 'how' I should achieve happiness. 

I also have a similar view of happiness to Ivan. I have a goal of sharing my happiness with others and helping people in need. However, since happiness is such an abstract concept, I thought that the 'what' and 'how' of happiness that each people should have shouldn't be forced on others. 

➤ 'Gooseberries'

Ivan also seemed to be a contradictory and irresponsible character throughout the story. Firstly, Ivan emphasizes people to always keep their happiness in check, however, Ivan himself swimming in a pond in the rain actually seemed not to be suspicious about happiness at all. Moreover, Ivan laments his old age and asks Aliokin for efforts from young and capable people. However, no matter how old people are, I believe that there should be at least some part that each person can try to help for the happiness of others.

Overall, this book gave me a similar impression to "The Student." The details and symbols that I couldn't get on my first try were found after reading this about four times, and those made me feel satisfied with this book. (198 words)