After listening to Professor Rick Davis’ lecture last night I appreciated the play more so than before. I like how talked about how some things in life need a longer time to understand. I think the people in my recitation were rude. I don’t how many of them are Joyce scholars or have experience directing plays, but I think they wouldn’t have directed any better. Professors respect their students and sometimes take their opinions as if they were equals but at the end of the day Professor Rick Davis does know more about Joyce than most of us I would say. Some egotistical students take advantage of this respect and display their ignorance about Joyce in the form of critcisim.
Wow! Some pretty venomous words.
Perhaps, and in defense of those who raised questions, you failed to understand what Professor Davis was trying to achieve in his adaptation. I believe he said himself that he wasn’t trying to portray Joyce’s short story but rather another, resembling The Dead; something dramatic that abandons the original literary work.
True, we are not his equals in the great collegiate social order, but remember we are english majors studying the Joyce text (a little more closely, I hope) while Prof. Davis is producing a musical drama.
Certainly you must see the disconnect between the play and the text. Try not to forget Prof. Sample’s comment about GMU’s own Joyce scholar and his revulsion to the musical production; wanting to remove his name from the program.
If the students missed anything from the recitation it was that this play was an adaptation; that ideas and themes are displaced in order to convey drama, not to decipher Joyce. Somehow, I got the impression that was not the case after hearing their inquiry into the play’s name change.
Being english students and thus more loyal to Joyce, I feel their criticisms were very appropriate. I’m sure Prof. Davis thought so as well.