According to Frederick R. Karl, the stream of consciousness “is the epitome of Modernism” (239).

James Joyce, the Irish novelist and writer, published one of the most influential and I would suggest,
difficult novels of modern times, Ulysses, in 1922. He used a new narrative technique known as
stream of consciousness, going inside the mind of characters, revealing innermost thoughts, feelings
and sensations.

But Joyce acknowledged that the idea for his controversial writings came from a French novelist,
Edouard Dujardin, in particular from a short novel he'd written that appeared in serial form in a Paris
magazine, Revue wagnerienne in 1887. These had been collected into a book published in 1888 and
which, rumour has it, Joyce bought from a French railway bookstall one day.

Dujardin's book - Les Lauriers sont coupes (The laurels have been cut) - provided the spark for
James Joyce. It tells the story of a young Frenchman, Daniel Prince, strolling through Paris

In A Portrait of an Artist as a young Man , Joyce followed Stephen's life from childhood through adolescence to
first flash of manhood using one of the most artistic and remarkable techniques ever used in English Novel . As
Stephen matures through various family conflicts and periods of study at Jesuit schools, he begins to rebel
against his family, his religion, and his nation. Finally, in order to establish himself as an individual and to find
his identity as an artist, he seeks self-imposed exile in Paris What particularly sets Portrait apart form other "
coming of age " books is Joyce's manipulation of the narrative itself- the language and syntax used at each
point in the book reflect the age and intellectual development of Stephen. To link the sections of his novel and
the phases of Stephen's life; Joyce used elaborate patterns of symbols which echo and re-echo through the
text, the use of stream of consciousness .

Ulysses by James Joyce written in 1922 is a masterpiece which outstands many major works of
modern literature in style, structure, theme and nearly all elements.

James Joyce

Joyce’s Ulysses has been famous for his stylistic experimentation and innovation that is a stream of
consciousness technique. He has used multiple narratives extensively along with the shifts in each
new episode of the novel.

The characters in Ulysses have their own problems and they have an unbroken flow of perceptions,
feelings and thoughts in waking mind. The mental process of character is vividly shown through
stream of consciousness technique. The characters talk to themselves in mind and they can’t control
the continuous flow of ideas and thoughts. Through this technique, a character’s personality, his past,
his relations, problems and present status and condition are easily exposed to the readers.

In ‘Proteus’ episode Joyce leads us to the inner mental thought of Stephen where he vividly defines
the sight, sound, taste, smell and touch in relation to the outer world. In this way Joyce uses the
stream of consciousness technique as a narrative technique so as to explore the mental and inner
truth of all the characters.
By voicing her internal feelings, the Ms. Woolf gives freedom to the
characters to travel back and forth in time. Mrs. Dalloway went out to buy
flower for herself, and on the way her thoughts move through the past and
present, giving us an insight into the complex nature of her character.

With the use of the literary device ‘stream of consciousness,’ Woolf enters
into the minds of the characters, so the reader has an access to experience
the characters’ thoughts from within. She pictures the mind at work and
how it brings out relations in things.

By practicing this narrative method, Woolf not only creates continuity

between different time zones and places, but also between the minds of
her characters. She illustrates the relationship between reality and un-
reality; between the exterior world and an inner world.

In her narration, Woolf constructs a dualistic existence by affirming both

spiritual reality and physical reality. To experience the value of life Woolf
weaves a tight connection between the dualistic impulses through which
her protagonists can understand true existence.