James Joyce: Araby
Hello everyone! Here is a link to the story “Araby”, by James Joyce.
This story comes from the book “The Dubliners”, published in 1914.
This story is one of the common works of fiction used as a writing prompt for the Literary Analysis essay on the English Composition exam and is covered in the literary section of the Humanities exam.
Read the story carefully, paying attention to the recurring themes of poverty, coming of age and a loss of innocence as the main character grows up, and the warning that holding an ideal image of something in our minds may not always be wise.
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October 10th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
James Joyce “Araby” uses auditory sounds and images to set the mood and setting. Joyce refers to unpleasant sounds and darkness many times through out the story. These details help to enhance the meaning of this piece.
The boy in the story refers to darkness and isolation. He tells of his house being “detached from its neighbors” as if he is detached from those around him. His portrayal of play takes place in “dark muddy lanes behind houses” and running into “dark dripping gardens”. These images seem to reflect loneliness. He watches Mangans sister “from the shadows” and finally “emerges resignedly from the shadows” as if he does not want to be seen or judged by her. There are also auditory sounds that seem unpleasant.
The sounds depicted are dark and desolate as the images given in this piece. He hears the “curses of laborers” the “shrill litany of boys” and “nasal chantings of street singers.” All of these sounds seem intruding upon his thoughts. It as if he doesn’t want to be there. He would rather be far away somewhere uninhabited. In one scene there was “no sound in the house” but outside the boy heard the rain “impinge upon the earth” with “fine incessant needles of water.” The choice of words here makes the rain seem hostile or angry.
As you can see, The author uses many fine points to support and describe the setting and mood. Many references are used toward darkness and gloom. These details are what makes the stories point of view very clear. A very expressive piece.
October 14th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Use of Written Language: 5 – Very few grammar mistakes, good spelling, and good use of punctuation. Just watch out for “charting language” with those sentence fragments! Example: “A very expressive piece.” Which piece? By who? Is it expressive? Why?
Use of Argument and Support: 5.5 – This is an excellent analysis of language used to evoke emotion! The use of quotes to support the dark feelings brought out by the descriptions of sights and sounds is excellent. This may have gotten a 6 if you had a slightly clearer thesis and fleshed-out first paragraph.
Understanding Concepts: 5 – You developed the key concepts and clearly understood the prompt. The only suggestion is that it’s a little short in some places. The introduction and conclusion should be fleshed out just a bit, and an additional paragraph in the middle wouldn’t hurt. You could make one paragraph discuss the sights, the second the sounds, and the third how these images contribute to the dark feel of the peice.