PAPER TWO. In what ways have two of the works you have studied explored the role of the
individual in society, and what conclusions is it possible to draw from these explorations?
In the novel “Portrait of a young artist” by James Joyce and “Songs of Innocence” by William
Blake, the authors explore the role of an individual in society by putting emphasis on the
language and word choice, on style and tone, on recurring themes and on the atmosphere.
First, Joyce’s novel is full of turmoil as the young Stephen grows and keeps changing
identities. Initially, he is a good mannered, religious boy, educated at a Catholic Church. He then
sins through prostitution and undergoes a period of self-punishment. There comes then a
moment when he is about to accept the role of a priest, but given the epiphany scene of the girl,
understands his place in society is to be fully free and not comply to any stereotypes. The
reader can observe such changes also through the word choice and language that gradually
changes and from being very childish and basic, “moocow” and “tuckoo”, becomes very intricate
and formal. He talks in fact of “aesthetics” and formulates his opinions in such a way that the
reader finds it hard to follow his trail of thought. “To distinguish between moral beauty and
material beauty. And to inquire what kind of beauty is proper to each of the various acts” is the
beginning of one of the complex but interesting passages that deal with abstract concepts about
arts and artists. There is such a drastic language change also in “Songs of Innocence” as the
writes passes from a very positive and cheerful type of language in the initial part “Songs of
Innocence” with verses as “sweet is the shepherd’s sweet lot”. Words as “sweet”, “happy” and
“beauty” recur in many initial poems, then become substituted by a more dramatic word choice
in “Songs of Experience” as “and me to mortal life betray” where the language tends to focus
more on pessimistic thoughts as “death” and “betrayal”. Blake highlights how he initially, young
and innocent, thought the individual has their place in society, and can decide their own path in
life. Towards the end, instead, the reader comprehends this is all an illusion, it is not the
individual who personally is part of the society, but it is the society that decides for the individual
and through control and oppression, dictates the rules of everyone’s life. Such a concept brings
us on towards the second point.
The style and tone also have an important role in communicating to the reader how the
authors’ views change throughout the works. Joyce uses initially a simplistic style and innocent
tone to describe the main character’s surroundings. The priests of the Church use violent tactics
as lashing children in order to educate them, but Stephen accepts it. When his father criticises
the society and Church, Stephen assists to the anger of the other family members “Blasphemer!
Devil! Screamed Dante, starting to her feet and almost spitting to his face”. He does not
understand why exactly his father receives all such insults, but as he grows older, he starts to
comprehend and sympathize. When he gets lashed without a fair reason, for not writing, he
does not agree with the higher ranks of society, being his teachers and goes on to complain to
the headmaster. This is probably the first moment when Stephen starts to understand how many
injustices exist in society. Towards the end, in fact, he claims he would follow a road “To
discover the mode of life or of art whereby your spirit could express itself in unfettered freedom”.
With this thought, the author highlights the importance of an individual being free from society’s
rulings, in order to be himself. Blake in his first part of the collection of poems has one entitled
“The Little Black Boy”. This work speaks about how “God gives his heart away” to all sort of
creatures on Earth, men included. This optimistic tone and simple straightforward style brings up
the concept of all men, white or balck, whatever nationality, being equal and how all should be
treated the same. However, in the second part of the collection, in one of his poems Blake
wonders “How can a bird that is born for joy sit in a cage and sing?” making the reader wonder
whether or not this might be a metaphor for the individual in the society. The Chruch and
government being the cage, and the bird the people, who, deprived from many liberties,
nevertheless illude themselves to be happy with their lives and “sing”. So, the style and tone are
a crucial aspect for understanding the authors’ thoughts and opinions presented in their works.
Thirdly, the recurring themes should also be anlaysed in order to comprehend the
authors’ point of view on individuality and society coexisting. In “Songs of Innocence”, Blake
mainly speaks about nature, describing its beauty and his fascination for it. By using in many
occasions personification as “The sun does arise, and make happy the skies” he gives
importance to all natural details. By attributing to nature human characteristics, Blake places it
at the same level of humans, highlighting how both animals and plants are creations of God, just
as people, and so should be equally respected. In Joyce’s novel, the initial part is dedicated to
education and getting to know the society and what is expected out of the individuals. Stephen
passes the majority of time in school, learning about literature so the recurring theme is that of
“gaining experience” and “learning”, both about the Church and the Irish government and
society. In the second part of Blake’s collection, his poems start developing more about themes
as that of “then Cruelty knits its nare” and rose’s “thorns being my only delight”. Readers can
observe how his point of view on life becomes much more pessimistic and at the same time
realistic. There is not just light, peace and hope in his society, but also “cruelty” and “pain”. A
similar revelation is present also in Joyce’s novel as the main character starts disagreeing with
how Ireland is being run by the government, noting it is inefficient and has many flaws, and
notices the sinners present even between religious people. So, overall the recurring themes are
an important hint to how the authors explore the role of the individual in the society.
Lastly, also the atmosphere created by the authors, influences the readers perception of
the two works. Joyce highlights how the person’s well being highly depends on the individual.
Stephen is content with life whenever he decided to be so. When he sinns, he tries out new
experiences and gets in contact with women. This brings him a sort of excitement and in the
atmosphere the author perceives a form of intriguing rebellion. However, when he decided to
get back on track and no longer sinn, his past becomes a great burden for him, so he decided to
self punish himself. Deprived himself from everyday simple actions as the way of comfortably
walking or sitting, he is satisfied because psychologically he thinks he is doing the right thing.
However, he is also content towards the end, when he abandons religion and patriotism and
decided to be free from all these restrictions. This is all proof that it is up to the individual with
what to be happy. One can go against society and be happy being a rebel, just as one could
follow all the rules, and still be satisfied by life, even if living in strict control and repression. Also
William Blake plays around this concept of self imposed happiness even if the reader perceives
he does not fully support it. When he asks himself how is it that a bird in a cage still sings, he
creates an atmosphere of disbelief and pity. For him, people, no matter how hard it must be,
should aim for their individuality and should fight against any form of oppression. So, overall, the
atmosphere contributes in communicating the messages the authors want the readers to
perceive from their works.
In conclusion, the authors James Joyce and William Blake explore the role of the
individual in society, in their works, by drawing readers’ attention to their variating language and
word choice, tone and style of the texts, recurring themes in different parts of the works and the
atmosphere. Both authors would agree society imposes a limit on individuals that does not allow
them to live freely and that this barrier is mainly created by the government and Church.