Requirements:
The paper must make use of at least three academic sources.
The length must be 2,000-2,500 words, not including the list of works cited.
The paper must conform to MLA standards.
Papers that do not fulfill these basic requirements will automatically start with a letter grade of B.
OUTLINE OF THE PAPER
INTRODUCTION
A. Introduction to James Joyce and his literary style
i. Brief biography and significance of the author
ii. Introduction to the collection Dubliners (historical and social context of the early 20th century) themes: epiphany, paralysis, and Irish society.
B. Thesis Statement
James Joyce explores the theme of love as a complex and ultimately unfulfilling force in two of his short stories, “Eveline” and “Araby”. Despite taking different paths, both stories depict love as simultaneously inspiring and paralyzing the characters, initially motivating them to pursue new and exciting goals but ultimately preventing them from achieving self-fulfillment.
Make sure to distinguish the idea from the sources. Do a brief literature review on what has been said and done on this topic and then say what you are doing differently. Do no regurgitate others ideas
“ARABY” ANALYSIS
A. Plot Summary and Setting
B. Character Analysis
i. Focus on his romantic idealization of Mangan’s sister and his infatuation with her. QUOTE: “Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand.” (Narrator, describing his feelings for Mangan’s sister)”
C. Symbolism and Imagery connected to the theme of love (leading to paralysis)
i. i.e., light and darkness, the bazaar… QUOTE(s):
LIGHT vs. DARKNESS: “The light from the lamp opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand upon the railing.” vs. “I found myself in a big hall girdled at half its height by a gallery. Nearly all the stalls were closed, and the greater part of the hall was in darkness”
EMOTIONAL PARALYSIS: “Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand. My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why), and at times, a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself out into my bosom.”
D. The Narrator’s journey from love to disappointment
i. QUOTE: “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity, and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.”
“EVELINE” ANALYSIS
A. Plot Summary and Setting
B. Character Analysis
i. Focus on her sense of duty towards her family (love for her mother and the promise she made to her to always keep the family together) versus her romantic longing for Frank her freedom.
C. Symbolism and Imagery connected to the theme of love
i. i.e., the window, the dust, Buenos Aires… QUOTE: “She sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue. Her head was leaned against the window curtains and in her nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne.” and “Her time was running out but she continued to sit by the window, leaning her head against the window curtain, inhaling the odour of dusty cretonne.”
D. Paralysis and Unfulfilled Longing
i. Focus on her internal struggle and inability to act on her feelings. QUOTE: “Escape! She must escape! Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps love, too.” “She trembled as she heard again her mother’s voice saying constantly with foolish insistence: “Derevaun Seraun! Derevaun Seraun!” (Gaelic for “The End of Pleasure is Pain”)”.
ii. Focus on her fear (?) QUOTE: “All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He was drawing her into them: he would drown her. She gripped with both hands at the iron railing.” (The sea is her fear of the unknown).
iii. Her ultimate paralysis. QUOTE: “She set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition”
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
A. Common themes (mood of the story, epiphanies during conflicts, suffocating surroundings, paralysis, exoticism)
B. Different paths = similar outcomes
C. Love as a double-edged sword (inspiring vs paralyzing)
i. Araby: love inspires him to see beauty in his surroundings, it moves him to embark on a quest at the bazaar. Love also paralyzes him from his duty (to school and church) and blinds him to the harsh realities of the world (the idealized bazaar vs. the scene he is presented with).
ii. Eveline: her love for Frank (although childish. Her real love is for freedom) inspires her to contemplate a future that goes beyond the life she has with her father and fills her with hope and possibility. Her love for the family (mostly her mother) paralyzes her from escaping her abusive father, and fear of the unknown paralyzes her from escaping with Frank.
CONCLUSION
A. Restate Thesis Statement
B. Broader implication on the Theme of love and what it means for human experiences through the eyes of Joyce.
DO MORE in the conclusion. Professor’s comment: you took your reader on a journey so you should have more to say now.
SOURCES
Bai, Yu. “Realization of Epiphany through Disillusion of Ideals in Araby.” International Journal of Education and Management (2020): 98. http://ij-em.com/Papers/Vol%205,%20No%203%20(IJEM%202020).pdf#page=104
Dahal, Kalpana. Female Positioning in James Joyce’s Short Stories “Clay”, “Eveline” and “Araby”. Diss. 2020. http://202.45.147.228:8080/bitstream/123456789/58/1/400312_Dahal_Kalpana.pdf
Kitamoto, Yuko. “A Sense of Love in Dubliners.” Osaka Literary Review 32 (1993): 35-42. https://ir.library.osaka-u.ac.jp/repo/ouka/all/25497/OLR32-035.pdf
Wieczorek, Chris. “Searching Between the Lines: Ambiguity, Paralysis and Revisionist Readings of Joyce‘s “Eveline”.” Verso: An Undergraduate Journal of Literary Criticism (2017). https://ojs.library.dal.ca/verso/article/download/7046/6100
ADD ALSO other sources if you find them, just make sure that they are accessible online.