"Araby" by James Joyce

9/5/2012

Understanding what motivates a narrator is key to interpreting a work of fiction. Post a message (by 6:00pm on Wednesday Sept. 5) that responds to one or more of the following questions about the narrator in James Joyce's short story "Araby":

What striking images help you understand the narrator's feelings?
What reveals the narrator's attitude toward his home?
What do you know about the physical appearance of the narrator? What do you know about how he thinks?

As a follow-up posting, respond to a classmate's thoughts about the narrator in the story. Do you agree or disagree with their interpretations? Why?

33 Comments

Kelti Lorence

9/5/2012 04:30:12 am

#2. The narrator not only right away begins portraying his home as a dark and dreary place, but continues to show its downfalls in just about every sentence throughout the entire script. In the first paragraph he says his street is "blind, quiet" and the houses "gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces." Throughout the story he says the weather is dark and rainy, the houses are silent, his room is high cold empty gloomy, and musty air filtered through every room.

Celeste Yahr

9/5/2012 04:52:01 am

I definitely agree! You brought up amazing point. The quote you chose really shows how he feels. When he describes the houses as brown, it shows that they are plain or boring. If he had chosen a bright color it would give a different feeling.

Mackenzie Cyr

9/5/2012 01:18:22 pm

I definitely agree Kelti! The narrator doesn't stop describing how sad his home is. This shows how much it must impact his life and who he is becoming.

Celeste Yahr

9/5/2012 04:43:04 am

#2 In the first two paragraphs the narrator really lets you know how he feels about his house and street. In the first two sentences alone he uses the word blind twice and talks about how detached some of the houses are to the rest of the neighborhood. He also wastes no time in telling you about the former owner of his house. "...a priest, had died in the back drawing room." He then continues to talk about how his house is musty and full of useless papers. The narrator makes the scene very dark and dreary. He portrays his feelings about his home very well.

Kelti Lorence

9/5/2012 04:45:42 am

I would agree! The repetitive, somber words show that he is not fond of where he lives. Those are good points to notice, the priest bit of info really has nothing to do with anything, but definitely add emotion to the story for us as readers.

Hannah H.

9/5/2012 05:02:08 am

I would agree with Celeste. He describes his home, and street where he lives as dark and dreary, and I think the fact that he mentions the dead priest is important because it adds to the overall message that the place is dead, with no excitement or life.

Carley Crow

9/5/2012 05:12:14 am

I agree with you Celeste! I had never thought much about how the priest dying there was really important to the house details, but I agree with Hannah, who says it adds to the overall message that the place, like the priest is dead. Very good ideas!

Megan Wall

9/5/2012 11:46:49 am

I agree- the narrator doesn't hold back when describing his house, which ultimately reveals how he feels about it. I think these descriptions are important because it shows his outlook on life in general.

Samantha Farmer

9/6/2012 03:40:05 pm

Celeste I love the examples you chose. They fit well with the question you answered. The narrator makes it easy to figure out the tone. He starts off with depressing diction and maintains it throughout the short story. Well done my friend!

Hannah H.

9/5/2012 04:56:41 am

#2 Right off the bat, the narrator uses striking images to portray the narrators attitute towards his home. He uses descriptive words to set his tone; In the first paragraph he describes his home as "blind", "quite", and "uninhabited". Throughout the rest of the story, the narrator continues this tone as he talks about the houses growing "somber", the place being "hostile to romance" and the multiple times he references darkness. His descriptive words reveal an attitude that his home is boring, dreary, and lacking life and excitement.

Emily

9/5/2012 11:28:01 am

I agree with you in that he does not like his home or anyplace he lives. None of those words imply that he even like the whole neighborhood.

Carley Crow

9/5/2012 05:08:24 am

Number 2. The narrator's strong word choice reveals his feelings toward his home. For instance, he first off describes how boring his street is by saying "... was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers' School set the boys free." Obviously if that's the most exciting thing that happens all day, then it must be a boring street to live on. He also describes the people as having "brown, imperturbable faces", which means they are not easily excited. The second paragraph, describing his home, also goes to show he isn't too ecstatic to be living there. He uses words with negative connotations like musty, useless, and straggling to describe the house and what's in it, giving you the impression that the house isn't exactly a place you'd particularly want to live in.

Mary Sine

9/5/2012 05:14:08 am

I agree with you. You bring up a good point by talking about the negative connotation he used when describing the house and the street he lives on.

Mary Sine

9/5/2012 05:10:49 am

Number 1: The author is very descriptive throughout the story, but especially when he is describing the narrator's dream in the market place. The dream is vivid imagery, showing the reader exactly how much the narrator is infatuated with the girl. The quote "But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires." describes the infatuation, or crush, perfectly. It shows how he almost has no control over his feelings for her. At the end of the story we also see vivid imagery describing how the narrator feels. The quote, "Gazing up into the darkness I say myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger." This quote reveals to the reader, the anger and feeling of loss that the narrator is experiencing because of his expectations, for both the bazaar and the infatuation, being shattered.

Ariana

9/5/2012 10:44:25 am

I agree. I like how you connected the harp and how it represents that he almost has no control over his feelings for her. You had really good ideas!

Hannah C. link

9/5/2012 11:53:11 am

Excellent way to put it. I liked your reference to the final line and your explanation on what it means. I'd like to add just a general observation. The narrator's contrast between light and dark seem to convey how he feels towards most subjects. For instance, the first "light" adjective he uses is to describe that he and his friends "glowed" after a day of playing. This playing is one of the few things he seems to truly enjoy about his life.

Brady

9/5/2012 02:37:20 pm

I like your connections between the bazaar and his infatuation. They are both the representing the same symbol but are two different things. When he has his epiphany about one, the other is also shattered.

Ariana

9/5/2012 10:37:48 am

Number 2: The narrator's strong and vivid word choice reveals his attitude toward his home and street. First he describes the street with words like “uninhabited”, “dark” and “quiet”. These words create a lonely and dark first impression of his home. “ Our shouts echoed in the silent street”, suggest that the street was empty and desolate. Then he describes that the houses “ gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces.” He continues to state that “ The former tenant of our house, a priest, had died in the back drawing room”, this quote adds to the already dark and dreary setting.

Tristan

9/5/2012 11:18:09 am

In my opinion you're right on the money. Those are all the same things that I noticed set his mood towards the part of Dublin where he lived.

Mika

9/5/2012 12:01:47 pm

I agree with you about how his home is dark and dreary, but I think it's not as dreary as he puts it out to be because his love might cloud him impression of his home.

Emily

9/5/2012 11:31:53 am

#3 We know nothing about the speaker's appearance, or even how old he is, even though we can guess. We do know that he thinks mostly about the girl, putting all of his focus on her because she is the happiest thing in his life. However, he just thinks negatively about where he lives, using dark adjectives.

Hannah C. link

9/5/2012 11:37:45 am

Number 3: It's almost surprising how little we know about the narrator's physical appearance. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is a boy both because his romantic interest is a girl and because his uncle refers to him as "boy" on one occasion. We know that he looks with his eyes, holds with his hands, and plays in the streets with other boys. Beyond this, however, we can only begin assuming. The narrator never tells us whether he is tall or short, fat or thin, or the color of his eyes and hair. This lack of physical description was, of course, purposeful, and serves to enhance the symbolism of the story.
Although we as the readers are unable to picture the narrator very clearly, we are allowed access to his thoughts. We learn much more about how he thinks than about what he looks like. For instance, we know that he views adults skeptically or with outright disgust because of his suggestion that the school is a prison, which would make his schoolmasters the imprisoners. Another way that this is exemplified is in his description of Mrs. Mercer an "old garrulous woman, a pawnbroker's wife, who collected used stamps for some pious purpose." We also know, in regard to his thoughts, that he views the general setting of his life as grey and brown and either full of tedious studies or idiotic adults who are always getting in the way. Only a few things, like his crush and Araby, crack the trend of life and shoot their light rays in. One can see this when he begins describing things in detail. For example, the first time that the girl he loves speaks to him, he uses light to describe her: "The light from the lamp...caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand upon the railing. It fell over one side of her dress and caught the white boarder of a petticoat, just visible as she stood at ease." In contrast, he uses dull or cold words to describe his environment, revealing his opinion toward his less than vibrant area of Dublin. Altogether, his thoughts are very revealing about his character and opinions, and they are essential to the story. After all, it is his way of thinking that causes him to be "a creature driven and derided by vanity."

Megan Wall

9/5/2012 11:38:16 am

#2: Within the first two paragraphs of Araby it is clear how the narrorator feels about his home. Through the description given in paragraph one, "A quiet street..." reveals that nothing exciting happens, which naturally results in boredom. A second description that shows the narrorator's attitude toward his house is found in paragraph two, "Air, musty from having been long enclosed, hung in all the rooms...littered with useless papers." The adjectives, "musty...hung...littered...useless," reveal how much distaste the narrorator had for the home. In summary, the narrorator did not enjoy being at his home because he saw it as boring, uncomfortable, and where the death of his dreams sprang from.

Trevor

9/5/2012 05:26:37 pm

Very thoughtful response. I like how you brought boredom in. I think that is very important in the story.

Mika McCrary

9/5/2012 11:53:41 am

#1: In the beginning of the story, the narrator describes his home as a very dark and dreary place. This shows that the narrator feels negatively toward his home. But in his vivid description of his crush, in the quote, "But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires," the narrator shows how much he loves his crush. I think that the setting is not as dreary as he makes it out to be, but is actually only how he sees it compared to his crush. Both these images, when put together, tells what the narrator is actually feeling.

Lacayah

9/5/2012 11:58:34 am

#2- Everyone has their own perception of their home. James Joyce’s perception shows through the voice and word choice in his piece “Araby.” He describes it as a tedious and routine place to live when he says it “was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers’ School set the boys free.” and when he describes his uncle making small talk as he was being asked for money. Which shows that it wasn’t a very extraordinary place to live. Joyce also refers to it as a “musty” and “feeble” place, portraying a less fortunate area. As a young man viewing it, it was far from wondrous. And by adding these descriptions in, the author shows how major that small glit of hope was to the young man.

Tristan

9/5/2012 12:36:30 pm

#3 One is able to derive from the text a few clues as to the narrators physical appearance and the way he thinks. In the scene where he talks to the girl, he describes how she "[bowed] her head towards me". This implies that he is shorter than her. Also, due to the way he describes his play with his friends - hiding in shadows if his uncle is in sight, shouts, running through back alleys - we deduce that he is of a younger age, possibly 8-10 years old. We can also see that he must be of a lighter complexion thanks to the way he says "our bodies glowed" due to cold air. As for how he thinks - "I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes" - we can see that he has an imagination typical of young boys. He also tends to think a lot about "Mangan's sister", especially in situations that are not exactly mentally stimulating, such as school.

Mackenzie Cyr

9/5/2012 01:16:38 pm

#2 In the first few paragraphs of "Araby" the narrator describes the house as being "blind". If you look up "blind" it is described as "lacking light". I believe that this is a key word as to how the narrator views his home and the area that he lives in. His street is a sad place that is only lively when the young boys are out playing, bringing some sense of "light" to the area. I think that the priest dying in the old house also adds a sense of sadness to his home. No one thinks of a death in a home as a good, happy event.

Brady

9/5/2012 02:34:24 pm

The narrator portrays his home as a dark and dreary place. He says the cold air stung us and we played till our bodies glowed. This shows that is not good weather and the only bright spot in the gloom is them playing. He also says the houses have brown imperturbable faces. This brings a picture to me of never changing and stoic. They don't notice their surroundings and are trapped in their own little world.

Trevor

9/5/2012 05:24:00 pm

1) The author gives very little details about the main characters appearance. I think this is because he wants the reader to concentrate less on the appearance of the character and more on what he represents. The story explains how he spends a lot of time alone, looking out the window or laying on the floor in the front parlor. This gave me the impression that he is smaller and weaker than most kids his age, but he makes up for it in brain power. He is smart and enjoys a vivid imagination, although it seems like he over thinks things a little too much because he has to much time on his hands. Unfortunately, this girl is one of the things he has over thought and obsessed with.

Kendall

9/6/2012 04:04:53 pm

I completely agree and i just think by concetrating on the what he represents you can form a pretty good image of what he looks like. I also really like the example you used of how he lays on the floor in the palour and therefore created an image of him.

Samantha Farmer

9/6/2012 03:36:46 pm

The narrator uses dull and gloomy descriptions to convey the feelings he has toward his home and town. He uses the words uninhabited, imperturbable, musty, and sombre for example. Words such as these create a dreary image for readers. Throughout the short story, he continues to depict his environment in such a manner. The narrator said, "Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance." This was a subtle hint that allowed readers to realize how cheerless his town was. The tone of the story is established right away, and the diction maintains a dark feeling throughout the whole story.

Kendall

9/6/2012 03:58:12 pm

In "Araby" the author starts off the story by describing the setting of the protagonist. He first describes the houses on his street as "uninhabited" and "blind." This gives the reader a sense that the protagonist potrays his home as empty, dark and dreary. He goes on to describe more about the houses saying they, "gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces." This paints a picture of an unchanging and sober world. He then describes the death of the priest in his back room and how the "air, musty from having been long enclosed, hung in all the rooms" of the house This description reveals a morbid past and therefore a grim attitude about the protagonist's home.

"Araby" by James Joyce

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