| Term Paper Title | Nightwood |
| # of Words | 632 |
| # of Pages (250 words per page double spaced) | 2.53 |
Nightwood
Finding its origins in the 1920’s, Surrealism was a movement within the arts dedicated to the dreams and the imagination, defying conscious control of reason and all convention. A product of Modernism, Surrealists purposefully centered their works upon the rejection of tradition. They relied heavily on symbols and associations, and were also highly influenced by Freudian theories. Visual artists within Surrealism - for instance, Dalí, Magritte, or Ernst - depicted elaborate dreamscapes including visual symbols. Surrealist authors, in addition to instigating dreamlike and irrational images, were focused upon the connotations of words rather than upon the explicit meanings - a method which tends to bring attention to the language itself instead of the plot. Djuna Barnes was one such author, penning the Surrealist masterpiece, Nightwood. The setting of Nightwood is quite dreamlike in itself, situated in places that resound of darkness and despair. The narrator is, apparently, a rational individual, creating an illusion of an existence without the quality of logic. Because of its stream-of-consciousness orientation, rationale is of secondary importance. The occurrences and descriptions included in Nightwood are thus decidedly outlandish and extremely imaginative, stimulating images much like those of a dreamlike state. Not unlike the Surrealist visual arts, Nightwood promotes a distinct, although intensely personal and difficult set of symbols within it. The title itself represents the “wood” of the Christian cross, while “night” is intended to conjure up darkness and deviant sexuality, all of which are recurring images within the novel. The characters’ names are also highly symbolic: “Nora Flood”, for instance, is intended to prompt within the readers’ minds the biblical story of the flood of Noah. The symbols within Nightwood are obscure and not easily received by the reader. However, symbolism recurs in the Surrealist movement, especially within the Surrealist visual arts. When symbols are searched for in Nightwood, it is a fairly uncomplic...Read entire document
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