Explain the meaning of stream of consciousness and provide an example?

A stream of consciousness is a narrative technique that gives the impression of a mind at work, jumping from one observation, sensation, or reflection to the next. These varied elements are usually expressed in a flow of words without conventional transitions.

Example;

"She remembered once throwing a shilling into the Serpentine. But every one remembered; what she loved was this, here, now, in front of her; the fat lady in the cab. Did it matter then, she asked herself, walking towards Bond Street, did it matter that she must inevitably cease completely; all this must go on without her; did she resent it; or did it not become consoling to believe that death ended absolutely? but that somehow in the streets of London, on the ebb and flow of things, here, there, she survived, Peter survived, lived in each other, she being part, she was positive, of the trees at home; of the house there, ugly, rambling all to bits and pieces as it was; part of people she had never met; being laid out like a mist between the people she knew best, who lifted her on their branches as she had seen the trees lift the mist, but it spread ever so far, her life, herself."

Stream of consciousness technique is a narrative device used in the modern style of writing. It works through the natural chaos that occurs in a person's mind. It proceeds through the mimicking of parallel thoughts in a character's mind. The term 'stream of consciousness' was coined by William James in The Principles of Psychology(1890).However, the term was used in the literary context by May Sinclair while speaking about Dorothy Richardson's poetry. This method takes the reader along the character's thoughts, depicts the consciousness as a screen. It lacks associative leaps and therefore may fail to make direct links in the reader's mind. It is a rapid and spontaneous tour through actions along predetermined paths. The technique is based on intentionality. The early precursors to this style goes back to Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy. However, stream of consciousness technique became popular in the beginning of twentieth century. Many authors in world literature used this technique. The French author Marcel Proust, Salman Rushdie, the Italian author Italo Cleve, the contemporary American author David EGGS and many others used this technique in their writing. James Joyce's Ulysses, William Faulkner's The Sound and Fury, Virginia Woolf's Mrs. DAlloway are all examples of novels which utilized this technique. T. S. Eliot's poem 'The Love story of Alfred. J. Puffrocks' also uses this technique.

I don't know sorry.

If you don't know the answer, Rhyson, then why did you answer the question? 😬