Example Story Analysis –close, but needs more
Story Analysis--draft1
Araby by James Joyce
1. Plot:
I. Exposition Statement: The story begins in North Richmond Street in some day of a cold winter. The author
describes the houses in that street. He continues recalling a priest who already died, and who had renting a
house in that street. Also, there is a school that makes noisily that street in some hours of the day.
II. Rising Action: Mangan’s sister appears every late-night calling for her brother to come inside home. The
young boy gazes at her until she disappears in the house. Additionally, every morning the young boy crosses
with her, but he never had spoken with her.
III. Conflict: The young boy is in love with Mangan’s sister, but he is too young. Moreover, he wants to
please her going to the bazaar to buy something to her because she couldn’t go.
IV. Climax: The young boy arrived at the bazaar.
V. Falling action: The bazaar is almost empty, and the young lady almost didn’t notice him as a prospect
buyer.
VI. Resolution: The young boy heard a voice in the darkness of the gallery. He saw himself driven by vanity.
Then, he became anguish and anger.
2. Characters: The main actors are the young-boy, the priest, Mangan’s sister, the aunt, and the uncle. There are other
peoples in the story such as the schoolboys, the boys in the street, and the people in the market place: drunken men,
bargaining women, laborers, and the shop boys.
The young boy is experimenting the beginning of adolescent. He is falling in love of Mangan’s sisters. She is his
Platonic love. He became solitary, and he is desperately to please her, so he went to the bazaar in order to buy
something to her. The aunt, Mrs. Mercer, is an old, widow, and talkative woman whose make and support the house.
The uncle whose works until late night apparently. Both of them are the parents of the young boy, yet we do not know
were the “real” parents are. The priest who died before the story began is an important example in the life of the young
boy. Religion plays an important fact in the story. Actually, the Mangan’s sister didn’t go to the bazaar because she had
to go a retreat in her convent.
3. Point of View: The narrator of “Araby” is a young boy whose confused adoration for Mangan’s sister leads him to
discover that he is still to young to be an adolescent, but he is in transition to puberty.
4. Setting: Araby is one of fifteen short stories written by James Joyce entitled Dubliners. Joyce scenario was Dublin,
Ireland in the beginning of the last century —1914. Joyce himself stated that his propose in Dubliners was “to write a
chapter of the moral history of my country and I chose Dublin for the scene because the city seemed to me the center of
paralysis.”
5. Imagery: missing
6. Language: The title “Araby” reflect a romantic term of Middle East in that time. Nowadays, the author can use
“Diana” for the British or Marilyn Monroe for Americans as well. Also, Joyce used a first person style who use a
dialogue to provide the background of the priest, and who narrates the story.
7. Theme: A short story of a young-scholar-boy whose Platonic love was vanished after going to a bazaar where he
discovers that there is no place in the adult world for his dream-love yet.
What’s right about this analysis
--it breaks the story apart into the seven elements of short fiction
--it labels each part
--it is fairly descriptive
What is NOT right yet about this analysis
--in general this analysis does not go beyond mere description to connect how each separate
part relates to the overall theme
--not all the elements of the Freytag Pyramid are correct
--it does not go nearly in depth enough in setting, imagery, or language
--theme seems weak