Roland Barthes Mythologies

Mahmut Deniz

16  January 2011

Roland Barthes Mythologies

           Roland Barthes's Mythologies consist of two sections. The first one is about the collection of essays on some modern myths and the second section is about the analysis of the concept of the book Mythologies which is called "Myth Today".  What Barthes means with the term "myth" is actually the way how culture signifies and gives meaning to the world around it, besides it is, as Barthes points out "a type of speech" (Barthes 107) and "a system of communication, that's a message" (Barthes 107). According to Barthes, "everything can be a myth provided it is conveyed by a discourse"(Barthes 107). That is, the myths are not restricted to text for Barthes, so anything visual or musical can be myth as well. Furthermore, "myth is a form of signification, a type of speech in which meaning is communicated."(Kincheloe 108).

            Barthes follows de-Saussure’s discussion regarding the nature of the linguistic sign and he characterizes myth as a second class of signification. For Saussure, "who worked on a particular but methodologically exemplary semiological system - the language or langue - the signified is the concept, the signifier is the acoustic image (which is mental) and the relation between concept and image is the sign (the word, for instance), which is a concrete entity." (Barthes 112). While, Barthes brings another dimension to the language of signs and extends its function to a second level, his method has "a signifier, but this signifier is itself formed by a sum of signs, it is in itself a first semiological system" (Barthes 114) However, his second level of signification, which is conveyed by the "myth", does not simply copies Saussure's method as " The signifier of myth presents itself in an ambiguous way: it is at the same time meaning and form " (Barthes 115) To visualize the phase of signification Barthes gives us a pattern that explains how his myth is formed:

So, actually the first level of signification becomes just another "signifier" which creates the "myth".  "In other words, myth operates by taking previously established sign (which is full of signification) and 'draining' it until it becomes 'empty' signifier." (Hawkes 132)

            Barthes gives an example of a magazine cover which portrays an African black boy in uniform saluting the French flag. Saussure's system of sign which is the "first-order meaning" or first level of signification, interprets the picture as just "the child saluting the flag." as the first thing that comes mind,  while besides thinking that "a child saluting the flag" Barthes thinks it signifies that " that France is a great Empire, that all her sons, without any colour discrimination, faithfully serve under her flag" (Barthes 115). Barthes thinks beyond the first level of signification and interprets the event to the second level of signification which means, actually it is not simply what we see but how we see it.

                       In conclusion, Barthes brings another dimension to the system of signs and builds another layer on the top of Saussure's system of signs. Text or language is not the only system of communication, but a picture itself can have a meaning and be used as means of communication. Everything can be a "myth" because, as he points out: "Every object in the world can pass from a closed, silent existence to an oral state, open to appropriation by society, for there is no law, whether natural or not, which forbids talking about things." (Barthes 107). Furthermore, the "myth" is not what we see and simply what comes to our mind first, which is the first level of signification, but it is mostly about how we see it.

Works Cited

Barthes, Roland. Mythologies. New York: Noonday, 1972. Print.

Hawkes, Terence. Structuralism & Semiotics. Berkeley (Calif.) [etc.: University of California, 1977. Print.

Kincheloe, Joe L. Multiple Intelligences Reconsidered. New York, NY: P. Lang, 2004. Print.

Differences Between Modernist Novel and Realist Novel

Mahmut Deniz

01. June.2007

Differences Between Modernist Novel and Realist Novel

Modernism is a term typically associated with the twentieth-century reaction against realism and romanticism within the arts. More generally, it is often used to refer to a twentieth-century belief in the virtues of science, technology and the planned management of social change. Realism is commonly defined as a concern for fact or reality and rejection of the impractical and visionary. However, the term realism is used, with varying meanings, in several of the liberal arts; particularly painting, literature, and philosophy. It is also used in international relations. In this essay, I will mention about the differences between realist novel and modernist novel in aspect of their structure, language, style and patterns by giving examples of “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen and “A passage to India” by E.M Forster.

While reading the novel “A Passage to India”, we come across some events which we cannot guess what is happening at that moment. The character Aziz, who is a young Muslim Doctor, takes Adela and Mrs. Moore to the Marabar Cave but, after an unknown event, Aziz is unexpectedly arrested. He is charged with attempting to rape Adela Quested. Here we understand that the event is unknown or it is an event that reader should guess, because we do not know what exactly happened in the cave to Adela. So in modernism, such unknown events make the plot unclear and create question marks in readers’ mind, and refuse a final or clear interpretation about the subject. However, in realist novels the plot is clear and understandable, so readers do not have to interpret about it, because realism itself reflects all realities one by one, and everything is clearly explained to the reader.

The language of modernists is impure and difficult to understand. When mentioning about an event, they try to create an aesthetic language, so that the language looks more poetic. In the novel “A Passage to India”, as a modernist novel, there are many examples of these. “Pretty dear, ‘said Mrs. Moore to the wasp. He did not wake, but her voice floated out, to swell the night’s uneasiness.”(pp.31) In the quotation, instead of “her voice floated out”, one can use her voice decreased or some more clear words. But “float out” gives the text an aesthetic and poetic appearance, that’s why modernists use it. And also, there is a personification in the quotation “night’s uneasiness”. The word “uneasiness”, which means tense, is generally used to describe a person’s condition, but in the quotation this term is used for an abstract object. However, in “Pride and Prejudice”, Jane Austen uses language perfectly, but not in flowery or flashy ways. Instead, she wrote her novel with great clarity and the novel itself is the best example for this.

As a modernist, E.M Forster uses the “Stream of Consciousness” writing technique. This technique is like an interior monologue, it gives the opportunity for characters’ own thought to be seen in the text. And this writing style is strongly associated with the modernist movement. As an example in the novel “A passage to India”, “…She found that the tip of the peg was occupied by a small wasp. ‘She had known this wasp or his relatives by day; they were not as English wasps…” Here we see that character includes her own thought in the text. With the help of this technique, reader can easily understand characters’ psychology, but it can make the text difficult to follow. Because, while reading, readers are focused on the original text, and this technique creates confusion in prose.

The “Stream of Consciousness” style of writing is common in modernists, because modernists use a multiple point of view, so that every character can speak or show his or her feelings in the novel. However, when we look at Jane Austen novel, text is structured completely logical. And, as she wrote the novel in third point of view, which means she knows everything, only she can reveal characters’ thoughts and feelings to the readers. Furthermore, as it has a logical order of sentences, there is no confusion as in the modernists’ style. For example, in her novel “Pride and Prejudice”, she shows the world as Elizabeth sees it.

Finally, in modernist novel the order of plot is complex, that’s to say, chapters do not follow an order. While one chapter focuses on a character or a subject, the other chapter suddenly begins mentioning about another character or subject. For example, in “A Passage to India” in chapter IV “Old Mr. Graysford” and “Mr. Sorley” discusses if all living creature go to heaven or not, but then in chapter V the subject suddenly changes. It starts mentioning about the “Bridge Party”, and the chapter is disconnected from the previous one. However, in “Pride and Prejudice” for instance, in chapter 35, the chapter ends with the Darcy’s letter, which he left for Elizabeth, and the chapter 36 goes on as if there was no cut between this chapter and previous chapter, which is about Darcy’s letter.

To conclude, there are many differences between modernist novel and realist novel. And there are many effects of them on novels. With the examples from novels “A Passage to India” as a modernist novel and “Pride and Prejudice” as a realist novel and, which are written in different period and different literary current, we can understand easily how these differences reflect on these two novels and how it affect them seriously in the aspect of their language, structure, style and patterns.