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W Gerrit Bos Thesis Page 2 of 366. ‘The Night-shift Ending: a novel’ accompanied by an exegesis. Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. W. Gerrit Bos. Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Life and Social Sciences. April 2014. Page 3 of 366. A NOVEL ACCOMPANIED BY AN EXEGESIS. Page 4 of 366. ABSTRACT. This combined, non-traditional PhD project, “‘The Night-shift Ending: a novel’ accompanied by an exegesis”, seeks both to investigate and deconstruct many common assumptions about the writing process, the writing industry and the problems which come with success in the publishing and associated industries. A postmodern take on the myth of Hercules, my artefact ‘The Night-shift Ending’ is a novel about two aspiring artists, Stephen Murray and Sylvia Thomas. An atypical ‘Artist as hero’ piece (Beebe, 1964: v), it follows their early careers as one, a struggling writer, and the other, a struggling painter, both attempt to establish themselves as self-sufficient and successful artists in the Melbourne area. By surveying and examining the contemporary Australian art world as well as its culture industry, it provides insights into the goings on of that world, particularly offering one who is not familiar with it a rewarding glimpse into that world. And it is that glimpse into the art world which I anticipated and saw as the purpose of undertaking this PhD project and which is part of my contribution to knowledge. For the purposes of this degree, my artefact is accompanied by an exegesis, ‘A Reflection on Praxis: One Writer’s Journey from Practice to Praxis’. As such, it provides a scholarly commentary and a reflection upon the writing method and the praxis both discovered as well as utilised in the production of that novel. In the practice-led research model, an exegesis can address a research question; it can also elucidate a concept. The purpose of my exegesis was to present a ‘critical explanation or interpretation’ (Delbridge & Bernard, 1994: 327) of ‘The Night-shift Ending’. In so doing, I interrogate my own writing method in order to discover how that which was once just a process can in fact become one’s praxis. The result I found was that this can only be achieved through hard work, perseverance and by the relinquishing of the preconceived notions that one may have had about oneself qua author before one undertaking a project as large as a literary novel. All this, I discovered, must be carried out so that one can truly achieve or at least strive for excellence in one’s work, which is the obvious Page 5 of 366. goal of any author as opposed to one who aims merely to be simply another writer. Page 6 of 366. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & DECLARATION BY CANDIDATE. Acknowledgements: My primary and largest debt of gratitude and thanks goes to my parents and to my extended family for their support and for their patience throughout the duration of my candidature and to my principal co-ordinating PhD supervisor Associate Professor Dominique Hecq for all of her hard work and assistance – Bedankt! – not to mention my associate supervisor Associate Professor Stephen Theiler for his meticulous feedback and encouragement as well as the wider Swinburne research community for the help that they accorded me as a PhD candidate. Page 7 of 366. Declaration by Candidate: I certify that this thesis, entitled “’The Night-shift Ending: a novel’ accompanied by an exegesis” submitted for the degree of PhD contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma; to the best of my knowledge contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text; and is not based on joint research or publications. Full name: Gerrit Wouter Bos. Signed: _________________________ . Date: /04/2014. Page 8 of 366. TABLE OF CONTENTS:– PAGE NO.:– CONTENTS:– 9. 1. PREFACE TO PHD. 13. 2. PHD ARTEFACT – THE NIGHT-SHIFT ENDING – A NOVEL. 284. 3. EXEGESIS OF PHD ARTEFACT. 352. BIBLIOGRAPHY. * * * * Page 9 of 366. 1. PREFACE TO PHD. Page 10 of 366. ‘Hercules was wandering one day, lost in a day-dream … While he pondered over thoughts prompted by the conflict of good and evil within him, he saw suddenly a wondrous vision. Two women came toward him, both tall and uncommon in appearance … The latter ran quickly to Hercules and commenced to spread before his inexperienced judgement all the allurements which physical delights can offer, if only (he) would accept her invitation to accompany her she would, said she, guard him from every harsh and unlovely thing, and would assure him all that his heart could wish. "And by what name must I call thee, lady?" asked Hercules. "My friends call me 'Happiness' ", was the reply; "but those who hate me call me 'Vice'." Meantime the second maiden had approached and it was now her turn to speak. She spoke in low and sweet tones as one who was not a stranger … She was confident, she said, that he was destined to achieve greatness, but she warned him that the path (was) not an easy one, and that no great prize is to be won without effort and self-denial. The first maiden now broke in scoffingly: "See," she cried, "how uninviting is the road which she would have you tread…1’ Using the above excerpt as its point of departure, ‘The Night-shift Ending’ is a novel about two aspiring artists, Stephen Murray and Sylvia Thomas. It is accompanied by an exegesis, whose title is ‘A Reflection on Praxis: One Writer’s Journey from Practice to Praxis’, and which provides a scholarly commentary and, as the title would suggest, a reflection upon the writing method and the praxis both discovered as well as utilised in the production of that novel. An atypical ‘Artist as hero’ piece (Beebe, 1964: v), ‘The Night-shift Ending’ follows the early careers of two characters, Stephen Murray, a struggling writer, and Sylvia Thomas, a struggling painter, as they attempt to establish themselves as self-sufficient and successful artists in the city. Set in and around Melbourne in 1Bulfinch, T., 1993. The Golden Age of Myth & Legend. Ware: Wordsworth Editions, Ltd.: 184 – 185 [Adapted]. Page 11 of 366. the year 2007, in the story that unfolds, Stephen Murray, is presented with the paths of both ‘Virtue’ and ‘Vice’: craving the success he feels due to him, however, he chooses ‘Vice’. Realising too late the charms of Sylvia Thomas, who also acts as ‘Virtue’ in that piece and who goes on to become a success of sorts, he is thwarted and is forced to pick up the disparate threads and to struggle with the demons of his old life alone. On the other hand, despite her early success, Sylvia Thomas is forced to deal with her past mistakes and to resolve some issues that she initially thought were too great for her. True to the challenging nature of modern-day life, however, there is no resolution in the ending of ‘The Night-shift Ending’, rather there is dissolution for both characters. Yet there is the hope that their lots may improve in time from their hard learnt, life taught lessons. By surveying and examining the contemporary Australian art world as well as its culture industry, it was intended that some interesting insights would be provided, particularly offering one who is not familiar with it a rewarding glimpse into the goings-on of that world. And it is that glimpse, which this writer anticipated and saw as the purpose of undertaking that project and is so part of the contribution to knowledge and to culture that I intended to make with this combined PhD project. In ‘The Night-shift Ending’, the two main characters must reckon with the high price they have had to pay to achieve their individual goals with their respective journeys ending in dissolution as opposed to resolution. For at the end of my artefact, we see a broken hearted and wretched Stephen Murray working again at a déclassé second hand bookstore – ‘Samuels’ Bargain Books’ – after having tasted success as a writer and having had his first novel, The DaySleepers, published and won a prestigious Harvey award for it. In contrast, we see Sylvia Thomas returning to her parents’ house in Lara in country Victoria – after going to great lengths to be independent – and nearly realising her dream of becoming a self-sufficient and successful artist: in her case as a painter. However, that story ends with the hope of redemption for both characters – that they themselves can initiate the requisite change in their own respective circumstances. Page 12 of 366. ‘The Night-shift Ending’ began its existence as an investigation into the evolution of the cycle of the tragic hero in mythology as it is made manifest in the Jungian compilation Man and His Symbols by Dr. Joseph L. Henderson in his contribution, ‘Ancient Myths and Modern Man’ (Henderson, 1978). This was done by creating a detailed plan charting that cycle and, in turn, applying that plan to the story at hand. Then began the writing. By placing the myth of Hercules and the cycle of the tragic hero in modern times and placing it in the contemporary Australian art world, that narrative sought to see how, in the present Author’s opinion, it would be played out and unfold in what I perceived to be the aforesaid art world today. That, in turn, was reflected in the theoretical writing in the exegesis of ‘The Night-shift Ending’ in which I explored how I endeavoured to embrace the praxis and methodology both discovered through and utilised in the creation of that novel.
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