Discuss Your Reading: What Motivates the Narrator?
Discussion Topic
Understanding what motivates a narrator is key to interpreting a work of fiction. Post a message 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?
- What effect is produced by the difference between narrator as character and narrator as storyteller?
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?
Scoring
This discussion is worth a maximum of 15 points. You'll get 10 points for your first posting. Your instructor will give you another 5 points if you post a follow-up comment or question that furthers the discussion.
Original:
ReplyDeleteThe feelings of the narrator were clearly present when he described how the light clearly outlined the girl from the "white curve of her neck" to the light on her "hand on the railing". This sentence is able to express the narrator's feelings very clearly, because no guy would pay that much attention to how the light falls and outlines the figure of a girl.
Original:
ReplyDeleteThe narrators attitude toward his home is apparent through his description. He describes his street as "the blind end". His diction like "dark" and "silent" also displays how trapped he feels in his home. Its obvious that his financial situation also gives him a similar feeling of entrapment especially since the narrator cannot afford to purchase a gift worthy of the girl because it was too expensive. His negative attitude towards his home inclines him to percieve the Araby Bazaar as an escape. An escape from his home and Ireland to a place full of exotic objects. However, he learns that although he dislikes his "home" he cannot escape it. Depsite the pleasant dreams he has of the bazaar, he realizes that maneuvering in Araby is harder than he thought.
The narrator describes his home and his street as "blind" and dark. He depicts the sky as violet and the lanterns as feeble. This probably alludes to his unhappinness with his family at home and the economic turmoil that his country experienced at the time. This contrasts with the light, or girl, in his life. This girl is symbolic of light. This dark and light contrast mirrors hell and heaven. Hell is dark; before God created Earth, the void space was dark. However, "God said let there be light" and he created the Earth. This demonstrates that the boy needs light, or something positive, in his life. This positive thing does not have to be religion. Moreover, religion and light symbolize warmth from love and affection.
ReplyDeleteTo Ellysa: I concur with your idea that the boy is trapped in his house. His dark diction creates a somber tone, which shows that he is discontent with his life and wants to find an escape from it all. I think, though, that besides the Araby bazaar, the girl is like a psychological escape for him. This is because she is more interesting than his dull, inanimate house.
ReplyDeleteOriginal:
ReplyDeleteDarkness is used throughout the story as the prevailing theme. James Joyce's story begins at dusk and continues through the evening during the winter.This gloomy setting is a metaphor of the home of the narrator, who leads a dull and boring life. Joyce uses darkness to make the boy's reality more believable through more vivid, precise descriptions. Being that he first represented the house in this gloomy tone, every time the narrator mentions darkness, one thinks back to his house.
To Ellysa & Sherifa:
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of your comments. I also believe that the boy feels trapped, thus enhancing my point of him living a dull and boring life.
To Jasbir:
Describing this girl and the way the light hits her also enhances her portrayal as a goddess and something beyond him. She's his escape; his only way out of a boring house, a boring neighborhood, and a boring life.
To Christian:
ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea that darness is a prevailing theme throughout the story: however this is not the only theme evident in the story. One other theme is the young boy's inability to view reality as it is, which leads leads to his inevitable disppointment when he realizes that his crush never viewed him in any romantic light; instead she was planning to meet with her crush at the bazaar herself.
Through out the passage the narrator put emphasis on certain shadows and the settings that he is in. For instance, when the light is on her neck he describes every little bit of it. He seems to be going through hormonal changes. In the beginning he thinks he's really good looking and amazing in a sense, but towards the end when he goes to the araby bazaar he realizes that he's just a boy.
ReplyDeleteTo Christian: I do agree with to some extent, but don't you think that the passage has something more than just the obvious it being gloomy and darkness?
ReplyDeleteTo Jasbir:
ReplyDeleteI concur that there is more than one theme in this story. I also think that frustration is a theme. The narrator is frustrated with living in Dublin, Ireland and even his street. He is frustrated with the fact that he doesn’t have enough money to purchase a gift for the girl. Even when he reaches Araby he is frustrated because what he thought was an escape from the life he lives proves to be a disappointing in comparison to his own dreams.
the striking images that help me understand the narrators feelings was the imagery he used to display his feelings for his friends sister, he almost painted her in an angelic and mysterious light; something he was obsessed with being near. the narrators attitude toward his home seem almost dark and plain jane like, the way he describes his neighborhood seems to be nothing out the ordinary. the physical appearance of the narrator seems to be a boy in his pre-teens the way his actions are done throughout the short story. i really didnt see a difference between the narrator as a character or storyteller.
ReplyDeleteto Marium:
ReplyDeletei agree with what you stated, towards the beginning he seems like a magnificent boy, but towards the end he sees he's just a boy and he may not be enough for this woman throughout the story. great analysis, i did not catch that in the reading. but i agree with your statement.
Original:
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the story, the narrator describes how North Richmond Street is, "blind", "quiet" and one can get the impression that his neighborhood is dark. Due to the time period, the narrator is oppressed and gloomy, which explain his tone in the beginning of the story. However, when he speaks about the girl who he adore, the tone changes more to positive and more light enters the story. He wants to go to the bazaar to purchase something for the girl, however his family is not very wealthy. Fortunately, he received money. But not shortly after, he was back to where he started when he lost the money :(
To Jasbir:
ReplyDeleteI agree with your response. Since its not an everyday thing that he sees an attractive girl, when he does, he pays close attention to every detail on her which relates to the boy in A&P and his experience with seeing a girl dressed in a vulgar way for the first time. However, this girl in Araby was not wearing a bathing suit!
The narrator is in this depressing state that is engulfed by murkiness. He is constantly describing the surroundings as dark and he characterizes the girl as light because of his attraction towards her. The narrator feels alienated and because of this he tends to over romanticize his encounter with the girl. He feels that she understands him. This misconception ultimately leads to his anger and resentment at the end of the story.
ReplyDeleteTo: Naomi
ReplyDeleteI agree with your perception of the narrator. He is a young boy with a crush and his actions definitely correspond with his persona.
Original:
ReplyDeleteStriking images such as Joyce’s description of the neighborhood and of the woman helps the reader to understand the narrator’s feelings. Describing the neighborhood as a “blind end”, “uninhabited”, and “detached” create a dark and dreary picture in the reader’s mind. This dark picture allows the reader to conclude that the narrator is stuck at a dead end and is at a stage of difficulty. Also description of the woman revealed that the narrator is young and inexperienced. In describing the woman by saying “[the lamp] caught the white curve of her neck,” and “her dress swung as she moved her body”, the narrator illustrates that he has not yet transformed into adulthood. The narrator as a storyteller is different than the narrator as a character. As a storyteller, the narrator cannot fully describe the emotion behind his words, and the story is more like a descriptive account. The narrator as a character displays the full force behind his words and it’s more like the reader is a witness to the account rather than a listener to the account.
To Christian:
ReplyDeleteI didn’t realize that the whole account is from dusk to the middle of the night. It’s interesting that the author does not even share a glimpse of the light, even at the end when the narrator does realize how silly he has been. I would think that Joyce would at least make the setting for dusk to dawn in order to portray the narrator’s growth but he doesn’t. I think he does not set the scene till dawn because the narrator realizes that adulthood is a tough and daunting task, like there is no light at a tunnel you just beginning.
Original:
ReplyDeleteThe use of auditory imagery in Araby truly enhances the meaning of the story. The first is the description of the sound in the streets when the young man is walking by thinking of the girl he loves. He hears the "curses of laborers," the "shrill litanies of shop boys," and "nasal chantings of street singers." All of these images, besides just making the street seem busy, also make it seem like an unpleasant and intruding scene, almost like you would want to cover your ears and hurry through as fast as possible. This perfectly compliments the boy's imagination that he is "carrying his chalice safely through a throng of foes." In the scene where the boy is in the priest's house late at night, the auditory imagery helps contribute to the sense of drama. "There was no sound in the house," but outside boy heard the rain "impinge upon the earth" with "fine incessant needles of water." The choice of words here makes the rain seem almost as if it is hostile. You can hear the force and fury of the storm, and this makes the emotions the boy is feeling seem even more intense.
To Jalin:
ReplyDeleteIt is true that the story takes a turn for the worst as narrator loses his money again. The author's transition from bad to good back to bad allows for the short story to become more interesting as the plot twists. Because it is a short story I believe that it was wise for the author to do so, so that he could grasp the readers attention and keep it.
When reading Araby by James Joyce, I felt rather confused. The diction of the story was unusual given that the story takes place in Ireland. Throughout the entire story, darkness is a prevailing theme. This one idea is also seen by my classmates. The tone of the author is one of illusion, and I personally feel a sense of disappointment or a foreshadowing of disappointment when I continued to read the short story. When the girl declines the invite to the bazaar, it shows that she had little or no interest in the narrator. The narrator fails to see this becuase he is blinded by love. He has rose colored glasses on in which he cannot she anything negative about the girl, until he eavesdrops on a conversation. I also believe that this story is one with a central theme of gaining a level of maturity or a coming of age, previously stated by my peers.
ReplyDeleteTo all of my peers,
ReplyDeleteI believe we all can come to a consenous by saying that the narrator was objectifying and idolizizng the girl in the story. The themes of darkness and disappointment is clear while I believe there are levels of foreshadowing which are subtle. It deifnitely is a coming of age story, similar to that of A & P by John Updike.
I agree with Jasbir the narrator's description of the "white curve of her neck" is relevant to emphasize his obsessive like relationship with her. I feel that throughout the story the narrator becomes so caught up in his infatuation that he loses his grasp on reality. It isn't until the end of the story when he has an epiphany changing his perspective.
ReplyDeleteTo Shinece:
ReplyDeleteI had the same thoughts exactly! While reading the short story I couldn't help but compare it to John Updike's A&P. This comparison helped me find related themes between the stoies.
Original:
ReplyDeleteThe diction used to describe the town reveals the narrator's attitude toward his home. Phrases such as "blind end," "imperturbable," "sombre," and "feeble" show us that the narrator believes his home to be dark, boring, and uninteresting. This notion is amplified when the description of the town is compared to the description of the girl, who is described in intricate detail to be the one source of "light" in this town.
To Shinece:
ReplyDeleteI do believe that both A&P and Araby are coming-of-age stories, but I believe that they are different types of coming-of-age stories. A&P was more of a boy rejecting authority and standing up for his ideals, while Araby focused more on a boy becoming disillusioned to the world and to the ways of romance. This is not to say, however, that they are not similar and can't be compared. They do share some common themes, such as having to deal with awkward situations involving attraction to the opposite sex.
Original:
ReplyDeleteThe feelings of the narrator are clearly expressed in the story. The narrator describes every movement that she makes like hes obsessed with her. He says, "While she spoke she turned a silver bracelet round and round her wrist...She held one of the spikes, bowing her head towards me...The light from the lamp opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair rested there and, falling, lit up the hand upon the railing." It is clear that the narrator has a huge crush. I wouldn't say he is in love because he doesn't even know the young lady.
To Naomi:
ReplyDeleteI used imagery as well. I also felt that the narrator didn't only have feelings for the girl but he was very much obsessed with her appearance.
Original:
ReplyDeleteThe narrator's attitude towards his home is reflected through his dark, gloomy diction. It is made clear through this that he finds his home to be a place of confinement. For example, he describes his street as being blind, this expresses that it is a lonely, secluded,dead end street. When someone is blind they can not see therefore, in a sense they are confined. He also says that the houses stare at one another with imperturbable faces. This means that they are emotionless, bland, boring, and frankly very typical. He also said that the houses "had grown sombre" expressing a melancholy feeling. One can get the feeling that the main character feels that he is trapped by his home, which transcends in his sad, gloomy diction used when referring to it.
James Joyce uses various symbols, both direct and indirect, to describe the place of residence to be a dark, dead end, gloomy sort of place. In turn he creates the girl in the image of light, almost an angle or savior of some kind. Together the two continuously evident symbols work to create two ends of a spectrum. Throughout the story the symbols play on each other and create a conflicting opposition within the main character.
ReplyDeleteThe figurative language used in the story helps the reader see the idealization of the girl through the eyes of the narrator, as well as how strongly he felt about her. He is so captivated by this young lady that he can't speak of her as any old girl - he can't just say "I thought about her a lot." Instead he says things like: "I kept her brown figure always in my eye...", and "Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance." This shows how the idea of this girl has literally become a part of him.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that there is such figurative language, implies that for the boy, this girl is in fact surreal...almost too good to be true...so descripitons CAN'T just be literal...because it's so much more than that for him.
To Sherifa:
ReplyDeleteI absolutely picked up on the religious connections!! I think it really helped us see the whole concept of this idealization, and showed how he even glorified her, and made her the supreme being in his mind. He said, "Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praise which I myself did not understand."... praises, prayers...He's worshiping this girl in his mind.
To Christian:
ReplyDeleteI love that you took notice of when the story begins and that you connected that to the authors' feelings about his hometown. I did not connect the two at first, but now that you state it, the connection is extremely clear. The setting directly effects the tone of the passage. The fact that it takes place at dusk gives insight into the fact that the author finds his home to be a dark, gloomy place, which ultimately traps him.
The narrators feelings in the story are expressed through extreme detail.
ReplyDeleteThis, as well as a constant analogy to religion, proves his emotions towards Mangans sister. Rather than seeing the girl as most young men would, the narrator sees her in a more respectful light.-TJ
Original: The narrator's feeling towards home are apparent in the first paragragh through the diction and images used to describe it. The narrator characterized his street as "blind", meaning not only a lack of sight but a lack of presence. The diction and images create a sense of home feeling like a dead end for the narrator. In addition, the houses are personified through the use of symbolism where they are given "faces", which makes it seem as though the homes are separate from the people who live there. The narrator's definition of home is the exact opposite of the loving and comforting feeling that is felt from the ideal home setting.
ReplyDeleteTo Shanice: I definitely agree with you on how the feelings that the narrator had towards his crush were in a sense surreal. It seems as though the narrator could not separate reality from his imagination.
ReplyDeleteThe dark vocabulary and certain phrases constantly show that the narrator views his home almost like a prison, very somber, boring, and hard to live in. However, when he begins to describe the girl, he talks about her in an idealized way, as though nothing in the world could compare to her angelic presence, and he uses much more flattering and formal vocabulary when describing her, just furthering his percieved naivety. She's shown to his eyes as this shining figure in a sea of darkness.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator's feelings are clearly seen when he's is describing her after she turned him down. He describes the light catching the "white curve of her neck" and it lighting up her hair illustrating her in our minds to seem almost angelic. By describing her in such a way, we are able to understand that he truly has feelings for her and even in the moment of her rejecting his invitation to the bazaar, he still sees her as a beautiful angelic being.
ReplyDeleteWhat stands out most to me in this short story was the feelings the narrator had towards his home. The narrator obviously has a problem with his home, or a bad expierience from the past. Constantly describing his house with darkness, "the houses grew sombre", "there was no sound in the house", the street was "quiet" "dark". These words create a melancholy feel towards the house and eventually, towards the overall story.
ReplyDeleteTo Sherifa
ReplyDeleteI thought your reference to religion was spot on. I did not realize the religious references until reading your post. It seems like he is worshipping her, as if some god, or even the Virgin Mary. He says "her name sprang to my lips in strange prayers" as if he is saying prayers in honor of her, like Mary. I think the author was cleary trying to make a connection to religious figures...probably Mary.
It is more than evident that the narrator was consumed by his feelings for the girl by demonstrating how his heart "leapt" when he saw her and how his "body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon wires." His infatuation with her consumed his feelings throughout the beginning of the story and actually provided a sort of escape for him from a world that was bland and dull. The girl brought light into his life.
ReplyDeleteTo Yan
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more with your analysis of the story. The girl brings a sense of light and joy into an otherwise dull world. Without that I believe the narrator would be consumed by despair brought on by the darkness of his home.