Literary Analysis of ‘Araby’ and ‘Christmas Storms and Sunshine’
‘Araby’ by James Joyce
Themes
– Loss of innocence – Coming of age – Romantic infatuation vs. religious devotion – Death of medieval romance – Obsession with exotic culture
Literary Elements
– Characterization – Imagery – Point of view (first-person) – Diction – Symbolism (religious) – Type of narration
Text Analysis: First-Person Point of View
‘Araby’ is a celebrated coming-of-age story written in first-person point of view.
– Features a narrator who speaks directly to readers. – Uses the pronouns”” and”me” – Sees everything through the narrator’s eyes.
The narrator and main character of ‘Araby’ is an impressionable boy living in Dublin at the turn of the 20th century. His comments convey emotional intensity.
Reading Skill: Analyze Descriptive Details
Joyce uses a wealth of descriptive details to help readers understand both the narrator’s real circumstances and his fanciful imaginings.
Vocabulary in Context
– Imperturbable: not able to be excited or disturbed; impassive. – Incessant: continuing or seeming to continue without stopping. – Innumerable: too many to be counted. – Garrulous: talking a lot or too much, especially about unimportant things. – Pervades: to be prevalent throughout.
Background: The Bazaar of Araby
On May 14, 1894, a five-day charity bazaar came to the city of Dublin. The bazaar was called Araby, where bazaars (markets with long rows of stalls or shops) are common. For the children of Dublin, Arabia seemed a mysterious, exotic place, very different from the dark, all-too-real streets of the dreary city in which they lived.
‘Christmas Storms and Sunshine’ by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Text Analysis: Omniscient Point of View
A story told from the third-person point of view features a narrator who is not a character in the story: he or she is an outside observer. Some third-person narrators are omniscient, or all-knowing. An omniscient narrator knows and can reveal the thoughts of multiple characters.
The third-person omniscient point of view was popular with Victorian authors. They used this point of view:
– To reveal characters’ thoughts – To express opinions about those characters and their dilemmas
Reading Skill: Identify Mood
The mood of a literary work is the feeling or atmosphere a writer creates for the reader. Fiction writers can create mood of a story changes as the plot progresses.
Reading Purpose: Read this story to figure out the author’s purpose for writing it.
Background: The Early Victorian Era
The early Victorian era was a time of political reform, as the old aristocracy reluctantly gave way to a more democratic system. The Tories, a political party that represented the interests of wealthy landowners, opposed the democratic reforms. They scorned the Whig party for supporting measures that gradually allowed the middle class to become a major force in British politics. Gaskell chronicled the clashes between the parties, as well as the manners, morals, and living conditions of Victorian society.
Vocabulary in Context
– Bigoted: prejudiced and narrow-minded; intolerant. – Propensity: a likelihood to do or think something; tendency inclination. – Penitence: feeling regret for a wrongful act and wanting to atone for it. – Upbraiding: scolding upbraid v. – Affronted: insulted, offended affront v. – Assent: acceptance of an opinion or a proposal; agreement. – Tory: referring to Britain’s Conservative Party. Most British newspapers in Victorian times expressed the opinions of one political party or another. – Stereotyped commencement: a beginning that was repeatedly used, without variation. – &c.: et cetera. – Radical: referring to members of Britain’s Whig Party who were especially insistent in their desire for reform. – “Pro Bono Publico”: A Latin phrase meaning “for the public good.” – Allude: To refer to indirectly. – Wanting: required; needed. – Having matched… tug of war: a reference to the saying “When Greek meets Greek, then comes the tug of war,” meaning that when evenly matched opponents fight, the battle will be fierce. – Went to service: took employment as a servant. – Pinchings: cost-cutting measures. – Reform Bill: One of a series of bills in 19th-century England, generally supported by Whigs but not Tories, that extended voting rights to more men. – Infinitesimal: extremely small; tiny. – Pyracanthus: a pyracantha– a thorny evergreen shrub. – Croup: a respiratory disease in children, marked by difficulty in breathing and a sharp cough. – Slack: fragments of coal. – Pall: fine or rich cloth. – Mould: soil; ground. – Relieved: set off by contrast. – Cooper bag: a bag in which Mrs. Jenkins kept coins. – Texts: passages from the Bible. – Mustard plasters: applications of a paste made of powdered mustard, water, and vinegar, used to relieve inflammation. – Sovereign: effective. – All the Pharmacopoeia: all the medicinal drugs listed in the standard reference work on the subject. – Glees and catches: unaccompanied part or round songs for several voices. – The shepherds… Heights: The shepherds who visited the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. baby Jesus in Bethlehem.