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Short Stories

Name

Institutional Affiliation
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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. The book was initially 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 at that time who wanted a better experience

other than the poverty-stricken Dublin.

In an exciting turn of events, even when she is very confident 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 history may make it hard for us to progress with our lives. Change in

itself is uncomfortable and this perhaps paralyzed Evelyne into not proceeding 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 the

opportunity. Evelyne seems to have absolutely no reason to stay, yet she chooses to stay behind
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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 decide between leaving the place she is

familiar with or find an escape from what has brought her mystery. Water is used as a symbol for

fear of the unknown that Evelyne holds (Farquhar,2018). Her decision 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. All the stories in Dubliners seem 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 they 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 he

indulged in other secular activities besides religion. This is confirmed when the narrator finds an

old bicycle pump 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 help us

see then priest as a regular person who had a 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
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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 of a child going by how he deals with situations. He is attracted to

one of his friend's sisters but never makes any attempt to engage with her (Rokeya,2017). He

watches her from a distance and walks behind her then speeds past her 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 worshipping her. His emotions towards her are powerful to the extent that he

feels he is losing control of himself. When she mentions Araby, the narrator purposes of going

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 for 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.
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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 describes their life in

depth. All the stories in this series represent individuals in between two worlds, the world they

left and the new world that they have to adapt to[ CITATION PRA12 \l 1033 ]

The author who is originally Indian, is an immigrant in America and provides the narrative from

a first-hand perspective and an observer perspective as well. He is pitted between two worlds

right from him being an English scholar in a foreign land.

Throughout the story, the author lets us indulge in the Indian culture and shows us him paying

attention to the general mannerisms of American people and Indian people as well. He can 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 adhere to their culture strictly

[ CITATION Pra \l 1033 ]The manner in which the characters wait for their loved ones at the airport

could depict the need to see their 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 can single out individuals from his origin. The

story highlights the search for a better life by the immigrants and the struggle to remain faithful

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
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assumed that he was there for a family member.[ CITATION PRA12 \l 1033 ]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,

whereas Prahbu Jha portrays the struggles an individual undergoes to adapt to a new world. All

the stories depict real-life situations and would certainly recommend all the stories.
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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.