Kalinina Alena

7171
"Clay" by James Joyce
Essay
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist, short story writer,
poet, teacher, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde
movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of
the 20th century. Joyce is best known for "Ulysses", a landmark work in which the
episodes of Homer's Odyssey are paralleled in a variety of literary styles, most
famously stream of consciousness. His other writings include three books of
poetry, a play, his published letters and occasional journalism.
The story "Сlay" is no exception. The main character is Maria, an elderly
woman who works in a laundry in a church. She was small and inconspicuous,
always reconciling guests and owners of the laundry and the house where she went
to visit. She did not have a family and children, but she raised two brothers - Joe
and Alfie, whom she sometimes visited and was like a mother to them.
The plot of the story is as follows: after a hard day's work on the eve of
Halloween, Maria comes to visit Joe. His children started a traditional game in
honor of the holiday, where a person with closed eyes must choose one of the
plates containing a ring, water, a prayer book and clay. The clay rolled to Mary,
which meant that she would soon die. However, it was a cruel joke, and so, after
repeating one more time, she pulled out the book, which meant that she would
become a nun and go to a monastery.
On the one hand, the plot is simple, because it tells about one day of an
ordinary middle-class woman who, although lonely, is happy among the people
who love her and whom she loves. In fact, the story makes you plunge into thought
and has a deep meaning. The main theme of "Clay" is loneliness, poverty and
death, and they are all intertwined in the story. Joyce describes a single woman
who devoted her whole life to everyone except herself: she did not start a family,
did not give birth to children, did nothing that she could remember and of which
she could be proud. She is practically dead, and yet she is not going to change
anything. Moreover, the harmless game was proof of that; fate itself confirmed that
Mary simply vegetates life and no longer shines for her, and even choosing a
prayer book, it became clear that if her fate is not death, then it is a monastery.
Joyce's skill is that he, using his "stream of consciousness" technique, made
the reader wonder if Maria is happy with such a life? He pays attention to her
feelings and emotions, plunges into her thoughts: "Maria had to laugh and say she
didn't want any ring or any man either; and when she laughed her greygreen eyes
sparkled with disappointment". And how upset she was when her surprise failed
when she left the cakes on the tram that she bought for the kids; and all because
she was embarrassed by an elderly gentleman with a mustache by a sweet talk
about All Saints' Eve ("How confused the gentleman with the greyish mustache
had made her, [she] colored with shame and vexation and disappointment"). This
shows that Maria is very modest and simple-minded, for her, communication with
men means something disgraceful and forbidden, she feels awkward when talking
with them, although she would secretly like to get married.
From the point of view of stylistic devices, there are quite a few of them in
the story, but they help the reader to understand the meaning of the work. Using
irony ("Maria used to have such a bad opinion of Protestants, but now she thought
they were very nice people, a little quiet and serious, but still very nice people to
live with"), Joyce illustrates Mary's naivety by implying the ignorance of Irish
society. She is kind to everyone, and everyone loves her for it; but Maria does not
even suspect that, wishing her all the best, including getting married, people are
simply being polite, and although they know very well that, this will not happen.
The title of the story contains a metaphor, meaning not just clay, but also a
symbol of death, referring of course to the protagonist. Symbolism is also present
in color: Mary was dressed in a brown coat, the gentleman wore a dark hat, and the
clay itself is of the same dark gray color. In describing Mary, the author uses an
antithesis ("Maria was a very, very small person indeed, but she had a very long
nose and a very long chin"), giving her a resemblance to a witch, but at the same
time noting that in her age she has a very pretty figure. There is also a contrast with
Mary's appearance and her soul. She is kind and tries to maintain peace in
everything, but at the same time, she is very blind and does not look at herself from
the side of criticism, completely not thinking about the bad.
In conclusion, I would like to say that James Joyce skillfully managed to
raise in this short story several acute issues of Irish society at once: loneliness,
hopelessness, weakness and deafness. Moreover, he does not think about these
problems himself, he pushes the reader to think through his phenomenal method
"stream of consciousness", inherent in many of his works, when the reader himself
argues and comes to any conclusions without the author's opinion. Joyce's attention
to the inner world of Mary, delving into the "secrets of the soul" led to an
extremely accurate, detailed (up to the smallest details) description of this world.
Joyce's prose in Clay is subtle, notable for its inner richness. He managed to
convey everyday life almost naturally and at the same time with great empathy,
objectively and at the same time emotionally.