Adam Capriola
English 1021 - 173
Mrs. Flocco
3/19/07
Dubliners
Araby
1. The narrator expects to find a nice present for the girl at Araby. He thinks he will find
something really neat because the girl says she really wants to go, and the narrator thinks
highly of the girl, so Araby is bound to be full of extravagant trinkets.
2. That narrator’s feelings for Mangan’s sister are based just on her looks. He sees her
everyday and is basically teased by her beauty. He is afraid to talk to her, but is in love with
her. Therefore, the narrator doesn’t know about her personality at all and only likes her
appearance.
3. Joyce may have chosen not to mention the object of the narrator’s affections until the middle
of the third paragraph because this allows his to create the setting, which is somewhat bleak
and mundane. The girl comes in and then brightens up this depressing world. Delaying of
introducing the girl could make the reader more interested in finding out the point of the
story. Concealing the motive of the story builds anticipation, and thus makes the girl sound
even more important. The girl is in a way part of North Richmond Street because she is a
constant part of the moving world. Every day the narrator passes her and can always count
on her to be in the same places every day.
4. The uncle’s responsibility is to take the narrator to the train station so he can go to Araby.
The uncle values experiencing life, as he says, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
This means he wants the narrator to get out every once in a while. This attitude is preferable
to the narrator because the uncle is in support of him.
5. The Holy Grail is the plate used by Jesus during the last supper. It is said that whoever finds
it will obtain power and wealth. This compares to the story of Araby because the narrator
thinks if he finds the girl a gift, she will like and they will fall in love. The Holy Grail has
never been found, similar to the narrator not finding a gift, which is another way in which the
stories compare.
6. This story compares to Joyce’s modernist view of the world and Ireland. One of the points of
modernism is that man is nothing but what he makes of himself. In this story, the narrator
does nothing to court the girl except try to buy her a present. The narrator should have tried
to talk to the girl even though he was nervous. He did not make enough of an effort. The
story also fits into Joyce’s view of Ireland as being narrow and provincial. The narrator
obviously had not been out very much, which may be one of the reasons he thinks Araby will
be an extravagant place. If he had been more cultured, he would have better known what to
expect at the bazaar.
The Sisters
1. The tone of the story is very solemn and serious. Words of imagery like corpse, heavy
grey face, dead-room portray stillness, darkness, and death. I also sense the feeling of
waiting throughout the story. This story fits into Joyce’s belief in modernism, which
talks about lonely individuals fighting to find peace and comfort in a world that has no
absolute value. The narrator doesn’t feel like he fits in because he doesn’t feel sad that
Fr. Flynn is dead. He feels like he is alone because every else is sorrowful and he is not.
2. The use of first-person shows directly how the child felt during their experience. This
allows the reader to get into the mind of the child and see what they were going through.
This lets the reader relate to the story better because they see the feelings the narrator was
dealing with.
3. The title makes sense in that the narrator sees his mother and aunt very sad, while he is
not. They are the ones that make him feel guilty about his emotions. The title is also
confusing because the story is not really about the sisters at all; it is almost solely about
the narrator and what he feels.
4. The sense of sight is what convinces the boy that Fr. Flynn is actually dead. When the
narrator reads the card that confirms the death, he says, “The reading of the card
persuaded me that he was dead…” This official notice of death is what reassures the boy,
not his uncle telling him. Other senses the boy experiences are smell (of the flowers
during the viewing), sight (of the dead body), taste (of his sherry), sound (of everyone
saying he must be sad), and touch (the trembling hands of Fr. Flynn).
5. The boy feels indifferent to the death of Fr. Flynn. He knows he should be sad because
he spent a lot of time with him, but he isn’t sad. His death was inevitable. He feels
guilty about not being upset because everyone else at the funeral is in sorrow while he is
not. Everyone even keeps mentioning how he must be sad, which makes him feel even
guiltier.
6. The theme of paralysis could be represented by the boy not being able to express his
emotions. He knows he should be sad, but he is unable to express sadness. The theme of
repression could also relate in the same way, in that the boy represses his emotions.
Lastly, the theme of insanity could be represented by Fr. Flynn shortly before he dies. He
goes crazy after the chalice breaks. He wanders around aimlessly and talks to himself.
Once he went senile, he was essentially dead from that point on.