조이스의 모험소설 도전하며 다시쓰기: 「뜻밖의 만남」 (Challenging and Rewriting Adventure Fiction: Joyce’s “An Encounter”)

At the turn of the twentieth-century, adventure fiction was widely appropriated to encourage boys to be adventurous enough to participate in the expansion of the British Empire. In “An Encounter,” Joyce succinctly demonstrates how boys during this period read adventure stories and acted on those stories, exposing the political intention of the genre. In the story there were two boys—the narrator and Mahony—who read adventure stories, conducted mock battles, and went on an adventure for one day.
By demonstrating that their adventure was totally different from what they had expected, Joyce challenges adventure fiction and its underlying political intention. Far from winning some final prize, the two boys went through such a nightmarish encounter with a queer old josser that they might not dream of going on another adventure for quite a while. Homosocial bonding, which was often emphasized in adventure stories was not expected from the two boys after the adventure because they found out that they could not always trust each other in times of emergency. Furthermore, they were unable to prove their manliness, a kind of quality often expected from boys who went through thrilling adventures.
Joyce’s interest in adventure stories is probably not confined to “An Encounter.” Further systematic study is required for his other stories and novels. As Joyce wrote in the heyday of adventure fiction, he appropriated the genre to convey his subversive message.

At the turn of the twentieth-century, adventure fiction was widely appropriated to encourage boys to be adventurous enough to participate in the expansion of the British Empire. In “An Encounter,” Joyce succinctly demonstrates how boys during this period read adventure stories and acted on those stories, exposing the political intention of the genre. In the story there were two boys—the narrator and Mahony—who read adventure stories, conducted mock battles, and went on an adventure for one day.
By demonstrating that their adventure was totally different from what they had expected, Joyce challenges adventure fiction and its underlying political intention. Far from winning some final prize, the two boys went through such a nightmarish encounter with a queer old josser that they might not dream of going on another adventure for quite a while. Homosocial bonding, which was often emphasized in adventure stories was not expected from the two boys after the adventure because they found out that they could not always trust each other in times of emergency. Furthermore, they were unable to prove their manliness, a kind of quality often expected from boys who went through thrilling adventures.
Joyce’s interest in adventure stories is probably not confined to “An Encounter.” Further systematic study is required for his other stories and novels. As Joyce wrote in the heyday of adventure fiction, he appropriated the genre to convey his subversive message.