Focalization in Life of the Iron-Mills
Autor: goude2017 • October 30, 2018 • 499 Words (2 Pages) • 526 Views
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This is why the same things can be seen and interpreted differently by different people, and why focalization is important. Jahn finishes the article by describing the different forms of focalization in Patrick White’s The Solid Mandala.
Overall, Jahn does a good job at explaining the general concept of focalization. Although the article is clearly written for experts in the field as Jahn references some advanced concepts and uses examples from specific texts, the reader will understand focalization after reading this text and be able to apply it to future narratives.
The focalization in Life in the Iron-Mills, or Korl Woman causes the reader to reflect more on the story than if it were narrated without focalization. The narrator says, “I want you to hide your disgust, take no heed to your clean clothes, and come right down here with me” (SSP 257). Without this focalization, the reader’s privilege (privilege brought on by wealth being a common theme in the story) in relation to the iron workers would not be as easily acknowledged. The narrator is revealed to own the korl woman by the end of the story. Again, a note at privilege. Although the narrator is wealthy like the upper-class people in the story, they also appreciate and produce art, like the iron worker. Having the story focalized through a narrator who connects not only the two worlds in the story but also the reader’s world causes more reflection from the reader than if the story had been told through a different focalizer or without
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