Policy Claim:
Though Ulysses is generally regarded as a masterpiece, it should not be regarded as highly as other classics because inherent in its experimental nature is a vagueness which makes sloppy writing excusable.
Definition Claim:
Although James Joyce's Ulysses is generally regarded as prose literature, much of it must be regarded as poetry in order to be fully appreciated because he implements such dense of imagery akin to modernist free verse.
Comparison Claim:
Although T.S. Eliot and James Joyce's writings have vast thematic differences, their styles are quite similar.
Evaluative Claim:
There are numerous ways to assess James Joyce's Ulysses, but the best way is to use New Criticism because of the poetic nature of many passages in the novel.
Cause/Effect Claim:
The writings of James Joyce may appear to be confusing, but this is done with a purpose, in order to represent the disorienting experience of life itself.
Your cause/effect claim would be interesting. I read a review on Goodreads that you might find interesting about Joyce's "confusing" writings. The reviewer said it is "well worth the fact that it makes no *$#%! sense." You can read it here if interested: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/956957.James_Joyce.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas!!
I find your definition claim to be intriguing. I think a lot of people would be interested (me!) in how you read the book in a more poetic light in order have a better experience with the book.
ReplyDeleteI Loled at your policy claim--I feel that sometimes writers become so unreachable and criptic that they aren't even enjoyable at all. I think a work should be at least a little enjoyable in order to be a revered classic.
Good thesis statements, they accomplish the claims that were set for them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hilary that your definition claim is intriguing (and is really the only one that wouldn't run you into trouble, I believe). It also has the advantage of taking us into issues of genre within the period.
ReplyDeleteI like your definition claim best. Borges, acting as critic, agreed with you. In his article on Ulysses, he said, "Joyce's] prolific pen exercises all the rhetorical figures. Each episode exalts yet another poetic strategy, another private lexicon. One is written in syllogisms, another in questions and answers, another in narrative sequence. In two of them there is a silent soliloquy--a heretofore unpublished form through which his characters think at length." I have the essay in book form if you'd like to take a look. :-)
ReplyDeleteI find Joyce to be a bore, but I find this topic to be rich with possibilities. It's no secret he was a poet: reading Ulysse as poetry (using the tools we learned in Poetry Week) could shed new light on the work.
Thanks guys. I was definitely leaning towards the definition claim, but I read "The Wasteland" over the weekend and I was like wow there are a lot of similarities to Joyce here.
ReplyDelete*"The Waste Land" sorry
ReplyDeleteI think your policy claim is really interesting because all I hear about Ulysses is how amazing it is, I would be intrigued to read an opposing argument
ReplyDelete