The Sisters, An Encounter, Araby: Themes, Symbolism, and Change
The short stories collected in Dubliners are mostly predecessors and characterizations of James Joyce's later works. "The Sisters" is no different. It, along with "An Encounter" and "Araby," are drawn from Joyce's personal memories and sentiments. The young boy and the characteristics of these short stories are an indirect sampling of Joyce's next published work, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, a novel mostly written from his own memory. "The Sisters," by James Joyce, is a story that mingles unworldly associations with an aim to teach with realistic endeavor, revealing truths of life and death.
This short story revolves around a young boy's struggle to affirm and rationalize the death and insanity of an important figure in his life. The narrator arrives home to find that Father James Flynn, a confidant and informal educator of his, has just passed away, which is no surprise, for he had been paralyzed from a stroke for some time. Mr. Cotter, a friend of the family, and his uncle have much to say about the poor old priest and the narrator's relationship with him. The narrator is angered by their belief that he's not able, at his young age, to make his own decisions as to his acquaintances and he should "run about and play with young lads of his own age ..." That night, images of death haunt him; he attempts make light of the tormenting face of the deceased priest by "smiling feebly" in hopes of negating his dreadful visions. The following evening, his family visits the house of the old priest and his two caretakers, two sisters, where he lies in wake. There the narrator must try and rationalize his death and the mystery of his preceding insanity.
The title of "The Sisters" is in one instance a simple title, but it may also indicate a greater, more expressive intent. First, on a mundane level, the title "The Sisters" signifies the two sisters, Nannie and Eliza, who have taken care of the priest in his illness and have helped to arrange the formalities of his passing -- embalmment and documents of burial and insurance. The two sisters give sentiments of Father Flynn about the occurence in the months prior to his passing, helping to explain his stricken condition, always repeating, "Ah, poor James!" Secondly, on a more significant and symbolic level, the title may connotate the relationship of insanity to death of that of the close relationship between sisters.
Throughout “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Doodle is met with kindness and cruelty when interacting with his brother. The shifting attitude of Doodle’s brother is a wonderful example of the shifting emotions of the people around the world. Just like Doodle’s brother, people are happy, sad, jealous, prideful, angry, cruel, and kind. Although times and circumstances may change, people can’t live without their
In the commencement of the story, the narrator is shocked and in disbelief about the news of his brother’s incarceration, “It was not to be believed” (83). It had been over a year since he had seen his brother, but all he had was memories of him, “This would always be at a moment when I was remembering some specific thing Sonny had once said or done” (83). The narrator’s thoughts about Sonny triggered his anxiety that very day. It was difficult to bear the news of what his brother had become, yet at some point he could relate to Sonny on a personal level, “I hear my brother. And myself” (84). After the news had spurred, the narrator experienced extreme anxiety to the point of sweating. Jus...
Tell Tale Heart is a short horror story by E.A. Poe that is told from the first person perspective and describes the murder of an old man. The main character plots the crime because he (supposing the narrator is male) is irritated by the old man’s “evil eye”. The narrator kills the old man in his sleep, dismembers the body and hides the corpse parts under the floorboards. The main character is not suspected until he confesses the murder to the police believing everyone can hear the beating of the dead man’s heart from under the floor. Tell-Tale Heart is not a confession but an apology. The murderer tries to prove that the hideous crime, no mater how irrational it might seem to the readers, was planned and carried out in the calculated and premeditated manner. The narrator tries to convince the readers that he was conscious of his motives, actions, and intentions. What is more, he stresses that there was no trace of permanent or temporary mental disorder, let alone insanity. However, the choice of the point of view, tone and mood of the Tell-Tale Heart allow Poe to create the opposite effect and convince the readers that the story is an account of a madman. The psychological effect of the first-person narrative, the tone and symbolism let Poe enhance the gruesome effect of the story. The point of view chosen by Poe also makes readers feel as if the insane narrator addresses every reader personally. A vide range of stylistic devices is employed to make the story frightening from the very beginning.
James Joyce author of Dubliners, is a book which examines the everyday life of people who live in Dublin. In this intimate portrayal of Dubliners, Joyce writes short stories about the individuals in Irish society. In Dubliners many characters feel the pressure of society, and show their desires to escape. In the stories “Eveline”, “Counterparts” and “The Dead”, the themes of individuals v. society and journey through escape are present. In each story there is a powerful person present that controls a particular person or situation. In Dublin jobs are very important, since they control the social standing in their society. Dublin itself is a major issue to the characters in Dubliners; they wrestle with the ideas of being able to escape.
“-, I lay there crying, sheltering my fallen scarlet ibis from the heresy of rain.” This quote shows that the author began to appreciate his brother too late. Throughout the story, it's noticeable that the author overlooks Doodle’s disability, which he admits he was ashamed of and it is this shame that leads to him pushing his brother too far. For, on the day of Doodle’s death he had done many strenuous things and even told his brother, he was feeling tired. The author, ignoring his brother’s pleas and then purposely leaving him behind, is what lead to his death. In The Scarlet Ibis, Doodle is symbolized by the bird in many ways, such as them both having a disability, dying alone, and their deaths being caused by overexertion.
James Joyce is the author of Dubliners, a compilation of Irish short stories that reflect on the feelings he associates with the city of Dublin, where he grew up in a large impoverished family. After he graduated from the University College, Dublin, Joyce went to live abroad in Paris, France. This action indicates a sense of entrapment that led to his desire to escape. The situations in his stories differ significantly, but each character within these stories experiences this sense of escape that Joyce had. In “An Encounter”, two boys make their first real move at being independent by skipping school to explore Dublin. In “Eveline”, the main character has a choice between taking care of her unstable father or leaving him to lead a new life with a man she has been seeing. In Joyce’s story, “The Dead,” a young man is thrown into deep human assessment, becomes unsure of who he is, and soon after is frightened of this newly discovered truth. The stories in Dubliners implicate this need for independence through characters in different situations and experiencing the feeling of entrapment.
James Joyce wrote the book Dubliners; Joyce expresses many different types of emotions throughout the book. The emotions portray individuals in society, and light and dark. The emotions of individuals are examined throughout the stories by other members in society. The stories that express the ideas are: “The Encounter,” “Eveline”, and “The Dead.” The symbolism of individuals in society expresses many different situations that are happening in the characters lives. The symbolism of light goes along with the idea of feeling happy and enjoying life. The theme of dark shows the individuals fighting, and having a negative outlook on life.
Dubliners is a collection of short stories that encircles around men, women, and children focusing on every aspects of their lives within the Irish capital of Dublin. These series of short stories were considered to be a masterpiece that was published by James Joyce in 1914, one of the most influential writters during the twentieth century. Joyce's unique style of writing is clearly displayed throughout the stories. This book consist of fifteen depressing and unhappy tales that form a sequence of desire for escape, diminishing faith, and missed opportunities among the characters. These themes are the cores of Dubliners that apply one way or another. The arrangements of each and every story appears to resemble the cycle of human life, commencing from childhood all the way to adulthood and beyond. Despite the differences, there were numerous amount of common and recurring themes found between the stories. Escape has played a crucial role in Dubliners, acting as one of the central themes presented within the stories "An Encounter", "Araby", "Eveline", and "The Dead". The protagonist of each story had made attempts to escape their tedious lives in Dublin and change was demanded, however they were all unsuccessful until arriving at the sense of realization. Having gone through traumatic experiences, only to discover that everything that they thought was possible were nothing more than a mere dream.
Awareness in “The Sister’s” becomes the main focus of the story as the boy begins to realize the truth behind his life. Before the priest dies the boy admires him as a father; but come to learn that he is not a respected as he thinks. After the priest passes on the people around him begin to talk. “-It’s bad for children, said old Cotter, because their minds are so impressionable. When children see things like that, you know it has an effect…-” (3) This shows the disgruntled attitude that most people in the story hold towards the priest. As the story goes on we learn that the boy was in the running for becoming a man of clergy not unlike the priest, even though Cotter still thought less of Father Flynn. “-The old chap had taught him a great deal, mind you; and they say he had a great wish for him-” (2) The boy was supposed to be a legacy for the position the priest held. But as we all do when people close to us die; you get hit hard with the true reality of what goes on around you, like the boy did.
Doodle was like a shooting star in the night sky. He was rare and special. Doodle was a unique person that was different and didn’t fit in. Doodle was born sick and no one thought he would live, but he did end up living and his brother spent much of his time helping Doodle become stronger and learn to walk. Over time in the story Doodle got stronger, but in the end he eventually died. In “The Scarlet Ibis” James Hurst uses creative symbols such as the color red, the scarlet ibis bird, and the seasons to represent the life of Doodle.
how Doodle loved his brother, and that he did not want to be separated from him.
The narrator wrestles with conflicting feelings of responsibility to the old man and feelings of ridding his life of the man's "Evil Eye" (34). Although afflicted with overriding fear and derangement, the narrator still acts with quasi-allegiance toward the old man; however, his kindness may stem more from protecting himself from suspicion of watching the old man every night than from genuine compassion for the old man.
During his stay at the house of Usher, the narrator finds himself unable to draw his friend out of the abyss of misery in which he has enshrouded himself, both figuratively and literally. Admitting to his sister's approaching death being one of...
Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. New York: Bantam Books, 1992.
Death can be very scary for the elder and young. One never really knows how they will react to the event of death. Even though inevitable, death can be shocking for some or troubling for others. A shocking and a troubling reality of death are depicted in two short stories, Used to Live Here Once by Jean Rhys and A Father’s Story by Andre Dubus. How characters in a story react to death are often different from one another.