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The Stage in Evidence: Foyer’s Journal Study (1891)
Luciana Nascimento,
Joao Carlos de Souza Ribeiro,
Renata de Freitas Santos
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, January 2021
Pages:
1-8
Received:
11 December 2020
Accepted:
28 December 2020
Published:
15 January 2021
Abstract: The present work aims to rescue, in the course of history, the importance of Foyer’s journal and its influence on the emerging cultural panel in Brazil. Despite its ephemeral passage on the national scene, since Rio de Janeiro was practically the stage for major political, economic, cultural and, above all, literary transformations, the aforementioned periodical played a relevant role in a society in formation, by the scenes of a city which intended to become a cultural pole in the tropics. This is a survey conducted in the collection of periodicals of the National Library Foundation/Brazil, together with a bibliographic research. We conducted a study of the chronicles published in the newspaper Foyer, highlighting the importance of theater in the new sociability that was formed in Rio de Janeiro in the 19th century. This work was part of the project “Urban cartographies: centers and margins”, financed through the CNPq Research Productivity Scholarship - National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. Rio de Janeiro, under the strong influence of French culture, still breathed the air of a transition in which literature, theater and the growing interest in reading set the tone and decided the cultural direction of an emerging nation. In addition, serials, periodicals, newspapers, in general, and, in this case, Foyer, recorded, with singularity, the scenes of a population, of plural habits, that seemed to stage in life what happened on stages, mixing therefore, the daily life with theatrical art.
Abstract: The present work aims to rescue, in the course of history, the importance of Foyer’s journal and its influence on the emerging cultural panel in Brazil. Despite its ephemeral passage on the national scene, since Rio de Janeiro was practically the stage for major political, economic, cultural and, above all, literary transformations, the aforementio...
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The Misapplication of Democracy and the Plight of the Individual in the Drama of Henrik Ibsen
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, January 2021
Pages:
9-14
Received:
23 December 2020
Accepted:
14 January 2021
Published:
22 January 2021
Abstract: Let me begin by stating the obvious. It is now common knowledge in Henrik Ibsen’s scholarship that the Norwegian playwright had a very uneasy relationship with politicians. The dramatist took delight in satirizing the pomposity and hypocritical practices of politicians and other public officials through the use of a flowery rhetorical style characteristic of platform politicians. A close reading of critical writings on Ibsen’s major plays that have a political agenda reveals that most of the reputed commentators conclude that the author directs his criticism against the democratic form of government. Some of the critics are even of the opinion that Ibsen in his works is in favour of aristocracy as an alternative to democracy. What is however intriguing about the claims of these critics is that they do not actually take up time to define what democracy as a form of government is all about before illustrating how the dramatist writes against it in his plays. The central concern of this paper therefore, is to demonstrate from a new historicist standpoint that Ibsen in his drama does not completely condemns democracy as a form of government except when it comes to the application of some democratic principles which are hostile to the welfare of the individual.
Abstract: Let me begin by stating the obvious. It is now common knowledge in Henrik Ibsen’s scholarship that the Norwegian playwright had a very uneasy relationship with politicians. The dramatist took delight in satirizing the pomposity and hypocritical practices of politicians and other public officials through the use of a flowery rhetorical style charact...
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World Renowned Ancient Hindu Vedas – A Brief Appraisal of the Scriptures for Common Man Across the Globe
Adhikarla Suryanarayana Rao
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, January 2021
Pages:
15-21
Received:
9 January 2021
Accepted:
20 January 2021
Published:
25 January 2021
Abstract: Manuscript write up and appraisal is based exclusively on the monumental 22 volumes compilation of four Vedas –ancient, globally acknowledged Hindu scriptures. As per the references quoted, the four Vedas Viz; Rigveda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda has in all 10,589, 1975, 1 875 and 5977 verses respectively cumulatively making 20,416 verses. This compilation does not include Upanishads which focus more on philosophy and spirituality. What is meant for scholars is not attempted for appraisal but only those points which can be easily understood by common men who constitute the vast majority of the society. Such subject matter does constitute a significant portion of the four Vedas. Manuscript emphasizes drastic pruning of repetitions of verses which convey the same meaning and thought to get a much shorter version of the compilation which can be easily read by more number of people and can also be easily translated into other languages. An important message of this manuscript is a significant portion Vedas proper deals with material world and material needs, desires and comforts of man --- food, shelter, health, wealth, wisdom, vigor, vitality, progeny, long life of hundred years, happiness, peace etc. For this God and many Deities and others are repeatedly invoked through rituals /sacrifices, prayers, praising the glories and attributes and chanting hymns. They are also prayed for spiritual development and attaining divine bliss and enlightenment. Though Vedas believe in one supreme, deification and polytheism is a characteristic feature of Vedic religion. Manuscript mentions specifically many deities invoked and their attributes and addresses, concept of twin divines, cardinal importance of fire and strong conviction and desire of people for punitive justice. Atharva Veda is unique and of modern relevance too as it prescribes many medicinal plants and other treatments for curing many ailments. Many parameters of day to day life and environment are mentioned in the Vedas.
Abstract: Manuscript write up and appraisal is based exclusively on the monumental 22 volumes compilation of four Vedas –ancient, globally acknowledged Hindu scriptures. As per the references quoted, the four Vedas Viz; Rigveda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda has in all 10,589, 1975, 1 875 and 5977 verses respectively cumulatively making 20,416 verse...
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Representations of Colonial Racism in Monnè, Outrages and Challenges of Ahmadou Kourouma
Ibrahim Boumazzou,
Khouloud El Masrar
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, January 2021
Pages:
22-24
Received:
24 August 2020
Accepted:
27 November 2020
Published:
9 February 2021
Abstract: This work explores in a precise way Monnè, outrages and challenges by Ahmadou Kourouma (1990). In it, the novelist reconstructs the colonial history of a region of black Africa (the Mandingo) and makes it an essential base for his poetics. Kourouma traces there in a relatively systematic way the various stages of the installation of the Whites in Soba, from the conquest to the disappointments of independence. He also paints a scenographic picture of the life of Djigui, the king of Soba, from his accession to the throne until his death. He therefore intends to reread this story in order to reflect on the repressive methods adopted by the colonizer at this time. He focuses mainly on the forms of racism of which the novelist speaks in his fiction, notably the question of the "rite of allegiance" and "the ceremony of consumption of the submissive", to cite only these two examples. It shows that the black African community, at the time of colonization, had no value. The latter suffered from various atrocities (repression, violence, marginalization, racism, etc.) [1]. So he is targeting the negative image that Karma’s novel talks about. This tends to become a denouncer insofar as the reader is put in a position to take the side of the representatives of this crushed community. By this assigned place, this same reader sees himself led to deem unbearable the fate reserved for the black man who is nevertheless the living and active force of the African continent.
Abstract: This work explores in a precise way Monnè, outrages and challenges by Ahmadou Kourouma (1990). In it, the novelist reconstructs the colonial history of a region of black Africa (the Mandingo) and makes it an essential base for his poetics. Kourouma traces there in a relatively systematic way the various stages of the installation of the Whites in S...
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Modified Omniscient Narrative and Temporal Structure in Seize the Day
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, January 2021
Pages:
25-33
Received:
31 December 2020
Accepted:
19 January 2021
Published:
27 February 2021
Abstract: Impressing people with the profundity of its content and scope, Saul Bellow’s fiction is often the embodiment of alienation, meaning of life, men’s quest for spiritual discernment, and the possibilities of human awakening. Though the content and form have both shown their distinguishing excellence in his novella Seize the Day, it is always Bellow’s theme that is under vast investigation, while the other charming feature of this story – its way of narration is not often discussed. This paper aims to analyze the narrative of Seize the Day from the perspective of narratology, figuring out how omniscient narrative and temporal structure are disposed to convey remarkable characteristics to Seize the Day. In general, this story is narrated by an omniscient third-person narrator, but the narrative voice is not an exclusive one all the time. Besides, the focalization of the omniscient narrator shifts whenever necessary, which devotes to exposing the instabilities of characters and events in the story. As to the temporal structure, variations existing in order, duration and frequency generate rhetorical effects in the story and make the structure of Seize the Day coordinate smoothly the interlaced temporal references, leading further instabilities and tensions to the movement of the narrative. In Seize the Day, Saul Bellow has showed a mastery of narrative voice, focalization and temporal structure, and demonstrated how incredible the narrative techniques can be in transferring a modified omniscient narrative and the temporal manipulation of acceleration and deceleration into a dynamic narrative progression, which offers readers the option to consider the possibilities of development, motivation and resolution in the entire narrative of the story.
Abstract: Impressing people with the profundity of its content and scope, Saul Bellow’s fiction is often the embodiment of alienation, meaning of life, men’s quest for spiritual discernment, and the possibilities of human awakening. Though the content and form have both shown their distinguishing excellence in his novella Seize the Day, it is always Bellow’s...
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An Issue of “Who Sees” the Fictional World: Teaching the Conceptual Evolution of Focalization
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, January 2021
Pages:
34-39
Received:
6 February 2021
Accepted:
18 February 2021
Published:
27 February 2021
Abstract: Narratology constitutes a vital component of literary criticism and theory. A prime goal of narratology teaching is to build a systematic conceptual framework of key narrative concepts for students. A good command of the core concepts of narrative theory ensures profound narratological textual criticism. Taking focalization as a case study for Chinese college students, this paper analyzes the evolution and current state of focalization theory with the aim of helping them to acquire a systematic conceptual framework of focalization theory. This paper adopts both synchronic and diachronic approaches to examine the conceptual evolution of focalization, focusing on the early exploration of focalization, the focalization study in classical and postclassical narratology, and the analysis of nonhuman focalization. Focalization is an issue of “who sees” which is often conflated with the issue of “who speaks” in the early stage of its conceptual evolution. Genette has made a distinction between them, and scholars of classical narratology developed variegated focalization theories. Postclassical narratology made major improvements, emphasizing readers’ reception and the context of focalization. Nonhuman focalization, a distinctive dimension of focalization theory, also counts as an important interpretative perspective concerning focalization for students. An elaborate discussion of the conceptual evolution of focalization seeks to reveal to students a multi-dimensional conception of focalization as a way to enhance their ability to perform a narratological reading of literary texts.
Abstract: Narratology constitutes a vital component of literary criticism and theory. A prime goal of narratology teaching is to build a systematic conceptual framework of key narrative concepts for students. A good command of the core concepts of narrative theory ensures profound narratological textual criticism. Taking focalization as a case study for Chin...
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An Ecofeministic Analysis of the Causes of Mary’s Tragedy in The Grass Is Singing
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, January 2021
Pages:
40-45
Received:
28 January 2021
Published:
9 March 2021
Abstract: The Grass Is Singing is the first published book of Doris Lessing, a famous British female writer, whose novels are largely concerned with people involved in the social upheavals of the 20th century. This story is about a white farmer Dick and his wife Mary and their black servant Moses in Africa. In this novel, Doris Lessing presents readers with the tragedy of Mary, who has suffered a lot from the patriarchal ideology and racial discrimination in that society. This paper first analyzes the embodiment of Mary’s tragedy from such aspects as her unhappy childhood, her unsuccessful marriage and her miserable ending, and then aims to probe into the causes leading to Mary’s tragedy from the perspective of ecofeminism: as a colonist, she cannot harmoniously coexist with nature; as a woman, she cannot equally get along with men. In conclusion, her alienation from nature has caused nature to take revenge on her; the pressure from her incompetent father has distorted her view of men; the physical and mental oppression from her husband has ruined his illusion about marriage; the cruel revenge from her lover has directly resulted in her tragic ending.
Abstract: The Grass Is Singing is the first published book of Doris Lessing, a famous British female writer, whose novels are largely concerned with people involved in the social upheavals of the 20th century. This story is about a white farmer Dick and his wife Mary and their black servant Moses in Africa. In this novel, Doris Lessing presents readers with ...
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