Short Stories
Introduction
Short stories give us insight into the character. The writers are often able to focus on dialogue and description and this is why they are indeed an excellent depiction of our lives. Eveline is one of the short stories written by James Joyce. Initially, the book was a huge flop that sold only 379 copies, 120 of which had been bought by Joyce herself.
Eveline, Araby and the sisters by James Joyce
It tells the story of an Irish woman who was trying to escape her abusive father. She wanted to seek a better life with her lover Frank. Evelyne’s life depicts a lot of what goes on in many families. She is in a situation where her mother died and is forced to assume the duties her mother was in charge of. Irresponsible parents tend to abandon their parental responsibilities and children are forced to take after them (Rinkarsi,2017). The drunkard father barely makes substantial contributions to family expenses. She is often verbally abused as well. In numerous ways, she depicts the lives of people living in Dublin who wanted a better life other than the poverty-stricken Dublin.
In an exciting turn of events, even when she is very certain that she will find a new life after eloping with Frank, she is unable to leave her old hometown. We are often trapped by our pasts and certain events in our past may make it hard for us to progress with our lives. Change in itself is uncomfortable and this perhaps paralyzed Evelyne into not progressing with the plan. She is unable to picture a life away from her family and clings onto the good memories she had as a child.
One would wonder why anyone could have a chance to escape and still not make good use of it. Evelyne seems to have absolutely no reason to stay, yet she chooses to stay behind and abandon her lover. She is seen as a captive who cannot escape her plight. The story is presented in the form of a dilemma where she has to make a decision between leaving her comfort zone and the place she is familiar with or find an escape from what has brought her mystery. Water is a symbol of the fear of the unknown that Evelyne holds (Farquhar,2018). Her deciding against the idea is because she is afraid that the newfound situation will overwhelm her and does not know how she will handle it. The story comes to an end on a gloomy note as she is barely able to change her life and continues to remain in her current state of despair. Not much goes on in the story other than Eveline’s thoughts, mental struggles, and memories. Joyce terms the situation as paralysis (Farquhar,2018). The author has written this story at a time where Dublin was falling apart and many citizens began focusing on themselves. In fact, all the stories in Dubliners seems to portray a similar theme of poverty and entrapment.
The details in The sisters story depict a neighbourhood that is heavily influenced by religion. Just like Evelyne, the story is set up in Dublin. The narrator is seen to talk of a priest who was the former tenant of the house the live in (Matos,2017). Traditionally, the priest is not expected to engage in extra activities outside of their religious duties. The description of the priest show she additionally had a bike when the narrator finds an old bicycle pump that looked hidden in the property. Two books are also mentioned that are non-religious which belonged to the priest. These descriptions paint a picture of the catholic faith and helps us see then priest as a regular person who had desire to indulge in other ‘normal’ activities as well (Beja,2016). The plot in the story is quite simple and involves a boy questioning his friendship with the priest after he hears murmurs of a ‘sin’ he had committed. The story is quite full of symbols and it is quite interesting to note that although the title of the story is ‘The sisters’, it does not pay attention to the sisters all through the story
Looking into Araby, the narrator often engages in a play that he soon outgrows. They play in the evening waiting for their uncle. The narrator talks of glowing in the dark perhaps out of the joy they derive from playing carefree in the dark. Fearing their uncle could mean that he is a strict man. The voice in the story is most likely that of a child especially in the manner in which he deals with his crush. He is attracted to one of his friend’s sisters but never makes any attempt to engage with her (Rokeya,2017). He is often watching her from a distance and walks behind her then speeds past her so as to make her notice him.
Mangan’s sister offers the narrator an escape from reality. He is always fantasizing about her to a point he feels he is worshiping her. His emotions towards her are very strong to an extent that he feels he is losing control of himself. One day when she mentions Araby, the narrator purposes to go to the place which Mangan’s sister cannot attend. He promises to bring her a gift when he comes back. This story gives us a glimpse into the life of this young boy which depicts the similarities with the first story we reviewed. A distant place is considered more desirable different from ordinary Dublin
The story takes a defeating end where the narrator seems to come into an epiphany. Whereas we may think of the grass being greener on the other side, disappointment may follow making us appreciate what we already have. The picture he had of the place is not what he gets to experience and ends up thinking that similarly the relationship he hoped to develop may as well be wishful thinking (Maniee,2017). Typically, one would expect that he comes back affirming his love to her in as much as he was not able to get her a gift but instead decides to give up altogether. He is convinced that his Dublin life is a more comfortable environment to experience life in.
Arrival by Prahbu Jha
This is a collection of short stories that majorly depict the need for belonging and identity in a different land. It puts together struggles and joys that immigrants face and depicts their life in depth. All the stories in this series depict individuals in between two worlds, the world they left and the new world that they have to adopt to (JHA, 2012)
The author who is originally Indian is an immigrant in America and provides the narrative from a first-hand perspective and from an observer perspective as well. He himself is pitted between two worlds right from him being an English scholar in a foreign land.
Throughout the story, the author lets us indulge into the Indian culture and shows us him paying attention to general mannerisms of American people and Indian people as well. He is able to judge the amount of time people have been in the US just by looking at their dressing. It shows that the longer his people stay in the US the less likely they are to strictly adhere to their culture. (Jha)The manner in which the characters wait for their loved ones at the airport could depict the need to see their own people. Mr Azam waits for his son every single day and seems to be in denial that his son passed on while in Karachi. Immigrants are few thus it is easy to notice people who resemble you and the narrator is able to single out individuals from his origin. The story highlights the search for a better life by the immigrants and the struggle to remain true to oneself. This story in a strange way reminds me of the numerous Africans who drown by the sea trying to get into Europe.
On arrival to any foreign country, immigrants are likely to have a hard time adjusting while still staying true to their roots and it is the phase of seeking to strike a balance that the story is set. Immigrants also seem to find themselves in similar situations. For instance, Rafique immediately assumed that he was there for a family member. (JHA, 2012)One aspect I loved about the narrator is that he is very observant of his environment and his thoughts dominate most of the story. He notices minute details and is easy to invite us into his world effortlessly. The story is beautifully written and it is a guarantee that your attention will be captured all through.
Conclusion
All these short stories offer insight into different characters and the struggles they face. James Joyce seems to portray a world of dilemma and the need to escape one’s world into a new one where as Prahbu Jha portrays the struggles an individual undergoes to adopt to a new world. All the stories depict real-life situations and would certainly recommend all the stories.
Work Cited
Beja, M. (2016). James Joyce: a literary life. Springer.
Farquhar, L. R. (2018). Our shouts echoed in the silent street”: Paralysis, Symbol, and Implication in James Joyce’s” Araby.
JHA, P. (2012, August 5). ARRIVAL. Retrieved from ephemeralinsights.wordpress.com: https://ephemeralinsights.wordpress.com/2012/08/05/arrival/
Jha, P. (n.d.). Arrival by Prabhu Jha. Retrieved from authorhouse.com: https://www.authorhouse.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/784874-Arrival
Maniee, P., & Mansouri, S. (2017). A Post-colonial Study of the Short Story “Araby”(1914) by James Joyce. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 8(2), 201-201.
Matos, N. A., & Oliveira, L. D. D. A. (2017). Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce: a brief analysis of the modernist traits in their short stories. Revista Letras Raras, 6(1), 198-208.
Rinkarsi, J., & Suhatmady, B. (2017). Themes In James Joyce’s Short Story “Dubliners”. Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, 1(1), 77-90.Bottom of Form
Rokeya, M., & Ahammed, A. K. (2017). A Shattering Epiphany in James Joyce’s” Araby”. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 8(5), 140-144.