Making myth: the image of 'Big Jim' Larkin in Plunkett's 'Strumpet city'

Wilde, L ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5948-9870, 2011. Making myth: the image of 'Big Jim' Larkin in Plunkett's 'Strumpet city'. Journal of European Studies, 41 (1), pp. 63-75. ISSN 0047-2441

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Abstract

James Larkin is a revered figure in Irish history, remarkably so in view of his associations with revolutionary syndicalism and communism. Among the contributions to the creation of the myth of ‘Big Jim’, James Plunkett’s novel Strumpet City takes pride of place. The book’s treatment of Larkin is examined here as an outstanding example of Gramsci’s call for the emergence of a popular culture that challenges the hegemony of the ruling classes. By getting into the desperate lives of the Dublin poor in the bitter industrial struggles prior to the First World War, Plunkett affirms the Gramscian idea of developing a new way of conceiving the world by presenting Larkin as the mythical embodiment of social justice and solidarity. Although the events are now in the distant past, images developed with the great affective power of this novel may jolt modern readers to a greater awareness of present-day global struggles.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journal of European Studies
Creators:	Wilde, L.
Publisher:	Sage Publications
Date:	2011
Volume:	41
Number:	1
ISSN:	0047-2441
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1177/0047244110391043 DOI 469635 Other
Rights:	© The Author(s) 2010.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	EPrints Services
Date Added:	09 Oct 2015 10:19
Last Modified:	09 May 2024 15:52
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/11085

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