At first glance,
James Joyce’s “Eveline” might appear as a short story about a sad character
failing to escape from Dublin to Buenos Aires. Therefore, her mood was filled
with unhappiness. After all, when Eveline Hill “gripped with both hands at the
iron railing” to refuse the drawing hands of Frank, we might think that the
unwilling behavior of Eveline hints the readers that she fears changes in her
life. However, on the other hand, this worry which is associated with the
concept of “paralysis” in the Joyce’s theme results not only from her unwillingness
to radically change her ways of life but also from a dissolved life, including
her love. Therefore, it is perhaps more accurate to assume that “Eveline” is a symbol
of the weak nature in the Joyce’s theme. In this sense, Eveline Hill is a
protagonist without emotions with “no sign of love or farewell or recognition”
for Frank with a dissipated epiphany lying in the core of the 5 page short
story.
At first glance, James Joyce’s “Araby” might appear as a short
story about a failure in a little boy’s first love. Therefore, he cried out and
even became frustrated. After all, when an unnamed little boy arrived in the
“Araby” bazaar late; it results that he became despaired because of the failure
of buying a gift for his lover; we might presume that the unwilling result of
the unnamed protagonist hints at the readers that his first love remains in a
miserable failure. However, on the other hand, this result which looks only
like the dismal failure results not only from his first love, but also from his
view of the entire world. In this sense, un named boy is a protagonist with the
failure in his life.
