References

Pictures
James Joyce: http://beingpoet.blogspot.com/2012/02/happy-birthday-james-joyce.html
Dubliners Book Cover: http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&gbv=2&biw=1366&bih=612&tbm=isch&tbnid=k-C3USf1d5l13M:&imgrefurl=http://dubliners-jamesjoyce.blogspot.com/&docid=f98rN8TWVg_HMM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIaibd459hfA-jwz8z1nnF_QzwUCmtduxjyQJjMC7O3FqXIDnot6UC7BTlbIsyh3cdIjwbZYD-QbXjtpEJI9O-fK6EnlYb0enIQMahSMWrlhgpoAO0y5O5EpTDQkZfMVaVwmg5OtGWGE/s1600/dubliners.jpg&w=763&h=1173&ei=EHK5T9LEDaa16gHL47zzCg&zoom=1

Information:
On Dublin: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/exhibition/dublin/main.html, http://www.europe-cities.com/en/697/ireland/dublin/history/period5/

Summary and Analysis of Araby

The book begins with the narrator, who remains nameless throughout the entire story, talking about life on North Richmond Street. He remembers that the priest who used to live in his apartment had died, showing the darkness in his life. But that is not the only darkness he has; the environment he lives in is gross and disgusting. He describes the neighborhood as having, "muddy lanes," and "dark dripping gardens." Since his life is so displeasing, he wants something meaningful; this is where is fantasy relationship comes into play. The narrator is in love with Mangan's sister. Every day he watches and waits for her to come out of her house, and as soon as she does, he immediately grabs all of his things and follows her. Even though he has such a burning passion for her, not once have they ever spoken to each other. But at last, one morning Mangan's sister talks to him, asking if he is planning to attend the bazaar in town, Araby. She tells him she is unable to go due to a school trip. After recovering from the shock of their conversation, the narrator offers to bring something back for her from the bazaar. The rest of the day, the narrator cannot concentrate in school because he keeps thinking about their conversation. On the morning of the bazaar, he reminds his uncle that he wants to go to Araby and asks him for money. But that night, the narrator waits and waits for his uncle to return. Not only is the uncle late, but when he does arrive, he does not even have the money for the boy. The narrator finally gets to the bazaar just before ten o'clock, when it closes. The bazaar is dark, empty and not at all what he expected it to be. No one is there, except for a couple fighting about something pointless. Suddenly, the lights are turned off and the narrator experiences anger and animosity. He was pushed to go to the bazaar for the love of the girl, even though their relationship was purely fantasy. He would do anything at all for her, despite the fact that their relationship was only in his imagination. Since the narrator is surrounded by so much disgust and darkness, Magan's sister resembles the lightness and happiness he wants in his life. But, by the end of the story, he discovers the light and happiness he so much desired, does not truly exist.  

Summary Analysis of The Boarding House

Mrs. Mooney, after a bad marriage that ended in separation, opens a boarding house with the money she had gotten out of the marriage. Since Mrs. Mooney is a strong and strict woman, she earned the title of "Madam" from the guests, who were mainly city clerks or tourists. Her son, Jack, and her daughter, Polly, both live in the house with her. Polly, who previously worked at an office, now cleans and helps her mother at the boarding house. Surrounded by so many young men, Polly, being the young, flirty girl she is, develops a relationship with one of them; his name is Mr. Doran. Even though Polly knows that her mother is aware of her affair, she continues to see Mr. Doran frequently. Polly wonders why her mother is not stopping them, but Mrs. Mooney wants to wait until the right time to intervene. Once she does, she first speaks with Polly, but the conversation is rather awkward and uncomfortable. Then, she plans to talk to Mr. Doran. Mrs. Mooney feels confident she will be able to win him over by convincing him to marry Polly. However, Mr. Doran feels the opposite. He dreads going to the meeting because he knows he only has two options; either marry Polly or run away. Knowing that the second option is unrealistic, he braces himself for the meeting. While pondering his options and his new life, Polly comes into the room upset and distressed. This makes Mr. Doran realize why he loved Polly in the first place. A little while after, while Mr. Doran is in his meeting, Polly prepares herself for what is next to come; marriage. This story shows that marriage is not always about true love or finding the right person. In this case, what began as a simple affair, turned into marriage, even though Polly and Mr. Doran do not necessarily want that. Mrs. Mooney is basically arranging her daughters marriage, by forcing her to marry Mr. Doran after what they did together.

Dublin in the Early 20th Century

In the early 20th century, Dublin was changing dramatically. Irish Nationalism was first introduced, new classes and cultures came together as one, and the "Dublin Lockout" came about. Ireland had been subject to British rule since the late 12th century, but now the Irish citizens wanted a state to call their own. The city of Dublin became the first city to truly experience Irish Nationalism, which caused some people to move out of the city, because they did not want to be affected by the Nationalists groups. Even though some people left Dublin, the population did not suffer in the least. In 1900, the population of Dublin exceeded 400,000, but with so many people living in Dublin, jobs became more and more valuable and difficult to find. In 1913, the "Dublin Lockout" happened, which is known today as the most severe industrial dispute in the history of Ireland. 25,000 workers and 300 employers protested their rights to unionise. The protest, or lockout, ended in 1914, when workers agreed to go back work, due to their poverty. With all of this going on, many writers, including James Joyce, used the outside world to influence and help their writing. Dublin in the early 20th century was a city full of new ideas and major changes. Irish Nationalism and the Dublin Lockout helped transformed Dublin into the city it is today.

James Joyce

James Joyce, the author of Dubliners, is known for his use of language, his unique writing style and his notorious cliff-hangers at the end of a story. Born in Dublin on February 2, 1882, Joyce based most of his books on Dublin during that time period. He was formally educated at the University College, Dublin. While studying there, Joyce published his first work, an essay called When We Dead Awaken. After graduating in 1902, he began to work as a teacher and journalist, due to difficult financial conditions. He spent a year in France, but returned back to Dublin when he found out his mother was dying. Not long after her death, Joyce began travelling again and later got married. He published Dubliners in 1914, along with A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in 1916, Exilesin in 1918 and Ulysses in 1922. When World War I broke out, his family was forced to leave Trieste and arrived in Zurich, where they lived for most of the war. They lived in poor, cramped conditions and but Joyce persisted to continue writing, even though he did not have his own office space. Since he did not have a space to call his own, Joyce let the outside world influence his books. The rest of Joyce's life was spent writing and publishing books that are still popular today. He died on January, 13 1941, at the age of 59, and was buried in a cemetery in Zurich.

Overview

Dubliners is a collection of 15 short stories written by James Joyce. First published in 1914, James Joyce describes life in Dublin in the early 20th century, while telling an interesting and compelling story. This blog will have a brief biography of Joyce and will go into great detail about two of the stories in the book, The Boarding House and Araby. All the stories take place in Dublin, but the characters and plots do not connect or interweave throughout the book. While the first three books are told in first person, the last 12 are in third person. Each story has a unique and intriguing plot, but most of them tend to leave the reader hanging at the very end. These stories let the reader connect with the characters, their situation and their life. Each story featured in this blog, The Boarding House and Araby will analyze the characters and the main themes of the story. Have fun exploring and learning!