Eveline - 1643 Words

In â€Å"Eveline,† James Joyce uses the juxtaposition of the ever-changing setting and the unchanging stoic character of Eveline in order to exemplify the character’s reluctance and inability to move forward. James Joyce is known for his juxtaposition of light and dark throughout his short stories, specifically in his story â€Å"Araby.† I would argue that Joyce is using the contrast of opposing forces described above between the setting and the character in a similar way as he was light and dark. â€Å"Araby† and â€Å"Eveline† were both written in the year 1914 and â€Å"Eveline† precedes â€Å"Araby† in the larger work. They are both part of Joyce’s larger work Dubliners which is a work of fifteen short stories. This compilation of stories all share the†¦show more content†¦The story begins with Eveline â€Å"watching evening invade the avenue.† (Booth 552). From her window Eveline sits as day turns to ni ght. We even read that â€Å"in her nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne.† (Booth 552) In the first two sentences of this story the setting around Eveline is changing while she remains sitting with her head against the window, it doesn’t even say she smelt the cretonne just that the smell was in her nose. Air is flowing, but Eveline doesn’t even notice. We learn a little about her family history and how that has also changed with time. We learn that she has two brothers; one of them is dead and the other is not at home anymore. We also learn that her mother is dead, and her father is a violent man (Voogd 48.). Eveline still poised by the window in her room remembers how the scenery she is watching has changed over time. The new red house across the street used to be a field in which she and the neighbor kids would go to play. She recalls being happy and then it seems she makes the statement, â€Å"Everything changes.† At this time we learn tha t Eveline has plans to leave just like the others, and for the first time in the story Eveline moves. In Eveline’s first movement of the story we watch as she looks across the room â€Å"reviewing all its familiar objects...† the reader is thenShow MoreRelated Empty Spaces in James Joyces Eveline from Dubliners Essay1080 Words   |  5 Pagesclearly delineating his characters every feature, Joyce concentrates on hinting at the emotional meanings of his depictions with a rich thick dab of paint here and there. Although Joyce flexes his descriptive muscles in the Dubliners short story Eveline (1914,) he leaves much to the imagination of the reader through calculated omissions and suggestive phrases.    Such omissions begin at the opening of the story; She sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue (Joyce 37). JoyceRead MoreEveline s Struggles By Eveline944 Words   |  4 PagesStruggles Although Eveline has to be the central life and the caretaker of her family’s home, she dwells on the past and fearing her life ahead of her. Eveline is seen as the woman in charge of the household. The narrator states, â€Å"Of course she had to work hard, both in the house and at business,† implying that she not only works hard around the home but also has a job where she earns her own money (Joyce). Eveline takes care of the home and has to keep it clean and together. Also, Eveline had been â€Å"treatedRead MoreEveline3513 Words   |  15 Pageselsewhere. The Irish were second-class citizens within their own nation; Ireland was a British colony and the Northern Protestants controlled the economy of the country. Catholic families often faced hardship. Alcoholism and abuse, as portrayed in â€Å"Eveline† were rampant. As a result, many of the Irish sought to escape James Joyce represents everyday life of Dublin in the early twentieth century in his collection of short stories, Dubliners. Dubliners consists of 15 stories and each of them unfoldsRead MoreReflection Of Eveline1135 Words   |  5 PagesEveline In the short story â€Å"Eveline† by James Joyce, talks about a young woman who is around nineteen years of age that deals with a lot in life. As Eveline sits and gazes out the window one evening, she begins to think about her past and how it has been painful to her.   Growing up Eveline didn’t have the best family life. She had an abusive father who would always terrorize the family.   Before Eveline’s mother died, she told Eveline to make sure she watched after her brothers and to keep them safeRead MoreEveline Essay578 Words   |  3 Pagesthe short story Eveline by James Joyce, the title character Eveline is fearful of making a change in her life by moving with her boyfriend Frank from her homeland of Ireland and making a life with him in Buenos Ayres. Joyce illustrates that one of our most inherent qualities as humans and one that Eveline displays is that we are resistant to change. Through Evelines relationships with her father, Frank and various peripheral relationships, Joyce demonstrates to us how Eveline has come to haveRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Eveline1019 Words   |  5 PagesJames Joyce’s â€Å"Eveline† is a short story about a nineteen-year-old Eveline, who contemplates abandoning a life she is accustomed to and moving to a distant land with a man she hardly knows. In one hand she holds the weight of uncertain happiness, in the other, inevitable misery. Eveline needs to make a choice between two contrasting lives; one in which she is a servant to her father, in other, a respected wife. Following her mother’s death, Eveline assumes the role of a parent and inherits all the Read MoreAnalysis Of The Novel Eveline 1069 Words   |  5 PagesIn Joyce’s, â€Å"Eveline†, most of the story is situated in the mind of the main character, Eveline. Eveline is characterized as passive, easily-influenced, and indecisive. Joyce highlights Eveline’s indecisiveness as she struggles with her immediate predicament; should she leave her abusive father and disobey her duty as a daughter, or pursue a new life with her potential husband Frank, to be free? As she contemplates, readers are taken inside Eveline’s mind to discover factors from her past and presentRead MoreChildhood Abuse In Eveline1128 Words   |  5 Pages James Joyces short story Eveline is set in Dublin, Ireland during the turn of the 20th century. The suffering was of the Irish was immense during this time in history, due to the struggle of against the English occupation of Ireland. An observation made about Dublin during the early 1900s was that â€Å"the Irish capita l is paralysed by Catholicism, by the English imperialism, by grave poverty and social injustice† (Boyson). Ireland was still reeling from the famine the occurred fifty yearsRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Eveline1123 Words   |  5 PagesJames Joyce’s Eveline is a story of a woman dealing with the decision to stay at home with her father and the children she cares for while enduring abuse, or going out across the sea with her boyfriend Frank, who wishes to make Eveline his wife. Although Eveline s father had caused her strife through his abusiveness, she reflects on a time when she was younger and her mother was still alive and he was not that way. Eveline wonders what what they would say about her in the stores if she were to goRead MoreEveline Essay examples721 Words   |  3 Pages2012 Comparison of Eveline and Connie â€Å"Eveline† and â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been† are similar stories set in different eras. â€Å"Eveline† is a short story written by James Joyce. â€Å"Where are you going, Where have you been† is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. Eveline and Connie are two teenage girls who are ultimately trapped by the influences of their cultures. The church plays a heavy influence on Eveline throughout the story. Eveline is conflicted on whether she