ipl-logo

The Symbolism Of Eveline In James Joyce's Dubliners

1137 Words5 Pages

Theme: Eveline was given a chance to change her life, but she preferred to leave it unchanged. We can’t judge her for this choice, she had various reasons to do so - from her father’s abuse up to higher moral obligation. Eveline’s story is an example of cultural issues, which were faced by young women in Ireland of the early 19th century. James Joyce, the Irish writer, left Dublin forever at the age of 20. He had never came back, but he believed that only if he could understand Dublin, he could understand any other city in the world. During his life, he dedicated many of his work to Dublin, but not because of being homesick. Joyce himself considered Dublin to be the centre of paralysis and inactivity. During his life, many of his works were …show more content…

She feels that she can’t do it, and in this very moment she destroys all her dreams and aspirations for a better life, looking at her savior-to-be with no sign of being thankful to him or worried for her decision. Joyce uses water in this episode as very powerful symbol of a transmitter, purifier. She was afraid that the new life may “drown” her, but she never thought of being reborn from the waves. To introduce a counterargument in my essay, I would like to note that probably, Eveline considered it selfish to leave her house, her ageing father. Who would take care of him and her younger siblings? From this prospective Eveline committed a noble deed. There were various reasons for Eveline leaving her life as it was, surrendering to reality and remaining a sacrifice of circumstances – fear of the uknown, obligation, abuse. The most dramatic point of the short story is that by the age of 19 she still was not able to take a decision, even having a sad example of her mother. Somebody can say, that it was the spirit of the time - women had subservient roles and were overshadowed by their husbands, brothers, fathers. But what makes the story urgent nowadays is realizing how many people, having all possible freedom they can have, still prefer staying in their zone of comfort, not taking efforts to change their lives to better. By the examples of Eveline’s and her mother’s lives Joyce shows his readers, what consequences may surrender and inability to take a decision lead a human being

Show More
Related

Analysis Of Edna Pontellier's Sacrifice In The Awakening

723 Words | 3 Pages

History is filled with tales of those who were willing to risk it all in order to be the change that the world needed. In the book, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier, realizes the sins that are imparted upon her by society and is willing to sacrifice everything about her past self in order to be break free of the chains that entangle her. Edna’s sacrifices include her comfortable lifestyle and esteemed reputation; however, to Edna these are small sacrifices that are needed in order to progress as an individual and expand into a new realm of independence. As she develops throughout the story, she starts to value a sense of independence and of equality more and more. However, the bonds placed on her by upper-class society's expectations mean that in order to achieve a position in life where she can embody her values, she must sacrifice her current culture and position.

Read More

Compare And Contrast House Taken Over And The Feather Pillow

674 Words | 3 Pages

In this text the charater Alice goes from youthful and pretty to unhealth and hopeless of servival. Alice lived a extravagent (realistic) life with her new husband as said on paragraph 3,”For three months--they had been married in April-they lived a specail kind of bliss”. As the season changed she became very ill and grow fursterated due to lack of hope for very servival. Quoted in paragraph 15, “They doctors returned, but to no avail. They saw before them diminishing life,a life bleeding away day by day...without knowing why”.

Read More

Self-Sufficiency In The Glass Castle By Jeanette Walls

1281 Words | 6 Pages

The central idea of the novel is self-sufficiency in shaping what is wanted in life, which is developed by key components throughout the novel. Jeanette’s relationships among her family member are intertwined with the events that occur throughout her life and the attitudes she presents to her family in times of hardship, fleshing out the central idea.

Read More

Kate Choplin's The Story Of An Hour

635 Words | 3 Pages

In the short story “The Story of an Hour”, By Kate Choplin was about a main character named Louise Mallard, who had a tremendous change in her life. The open window and the independence Louise Mallard is experiencing is a forbidden pleasure that represents her way of new life and opportunity. The life of Louise Mallard was always been in control by his husband and she never gets any freedom until the news she receive about the death of his husband Brentley Mallard. Mrs. Mallard reaction to the death of her husband was “She wept at once,” this describe how she felt when they told her about his husband was “killed” (Para 2, Line 6), she felt as she was hopeless and not herself anymore and that she will always be the wife material of Brentley Mallard.

Read More

Outward Conformity In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

825 Words | 4 Pages

It is common for people in everyday society to conform to society’s expectations while also questioning their true desires. In the novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, the main protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess, "That outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions." In other words, Edna outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly. Kate Chopin, uses this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning to build the meaning of the novel by examining Edna’s role as a wife, mother, and as nontraditional woman in the traditional Victorian period. Edna outwardly conforms to society’s expectations by marriage.

Read More

Conformity In The Awakening

849 Words | 4 Pages

Often times when a person is forced to outwardly conform while questioning themselves it leads to a struggle between their inner selves and what is expected of them. Outward conformity often oppresses a character’s true feelings of loneliness and being misunderstood. In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, leads a dissatisfactory life. She is stuck in a loveless marriage, and has children, all in an attempt to conform to the social norm of the Victorian woman. However, she inwardly questions whether or not she should try to break free from this life to find her own independence and happiness.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Hills Like White Elephant And The Story Of An Hour

1004 Words | 5 Pages

In both The Story of an Hour and Hills Like White Elephants, the authors Kate Chopin and Ernest Hemingway describe women and the desire to express themselves and be free and how men influence their decision making. Women strive for a sense of freedom and independence and have the yearning to convey themselves freely. In Kate Chopin’s and Ernest Hemmingway’s stories, the authors suggest the two female main characters in their stories feel suppressed for liberty. Louise Mallard in The Story of an Hour is sick and very lonely. She is

Read More

Literary Techniques Used In Philip Larkin's Essay 'Here'

601 Words | 3 Pages

In his essay “Here,” Philip Larkin uses many literary devices to convey the speaker’s attitude toward the places he describes. Larkin utilizes imagery and strong diction to depict these feelings of both a large city and the isolated beach surrounding it. In the beginning of the passage, the speaker describes a large town that he passes through while on a train. The people in the town intrigue him, but he is not impressed by the inner-city life.

Read More

Eveline And The Things They Carried Literary Analysis

786 Words | 4 Pages

When one is seeking a new voyage to self-discovery such as love, death, war, or even an exciting moment in your life, it’s a struggle to find yourself when all of these occupancies’ are happening. In James Joyce “Eveline” and Tim O’Brien “The Things They Carried”, the characters overwhelming circumstances of events have a topic similar to each other’s story, love. With comparing any two stories, there is differences in a few topics as well. James Joyce story “Eveline” is regarding about a young girl name Eveline.

Read More

Analysis Of Othello's Jealousy In 'The Awakening'

500 Words | 2 Pages

In Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” shows a controversial protagonist, Edna Pontellier. The character in the novel showed different expectations for women and their supposed roles. One literary critic, Megan Kaplon showed how this novel can be viewed as a struggle of the world or society around her. Edna in the story is trying to find freedom and individuality Kaplon mentions that “one of her most shocking actions was her denial of her role as a mother and wife.”

Read More

The Character Of Edna Pontellier In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

628 Words | 3 Pages

A woman with an independent nature can be described as rebellious, passionate, and courageous. In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, the reader is introduced to Edna Pontellier, a female who epitomizes the qualities of a woman with such an independent nature. Living in a “patriarchal society” that expects women to be nothing more than devoted wives and nurturing mothers, Edna attempts to seek out her true identity as it becomes apparent how unsettled she feels about her life. Throughout The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, dissatisfied with her duties as a mother and wife, decides to pursue her own interests and express her true identity, resulting in an awakening and her finding the courage to make the changes she deems as necessary. Edna Pontellier had two young boys, Etienne and Raoul, who were ages four and five, respectively.

Read More

Story Of An Hour Character Analysis Essay

940 Words | 4 Pages

In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” demonstrates the personal growth of the dynamic protagonist Louise Mallard, after hearing news of her husband’s death. The third-person narrator telling the story uses deep insight into Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts and emotions as she sorts through her feelings after her sister informs her of her husband’s death. During a Character analysis of Louise Mallard, a reader will understand that the delicate Mrs. Mallard transforms her grief into excitement over her newly discovered freedom that leads to her death. As Mrs. Mallard sorts through her grief she realizes the importance of this freedom and the strength that she will be able to do it alone.

Read More

The Middle Class In James Joyce's The Dead

1547 Words | 7 Pages

Joyce allows readers to see another side of middle class Ireland. When one thinks of Ireland, they might believe the stereotypes of alcohol, potatoes, dirty, hardcore, and many others; but, if one were to read James Joyce, then their perspective might

Read More

The Contrast Of Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

520 Words | 3 Pages

The Contrast of The Story of an Hour While Mrs. Mallard is just starting a new life, so to say, for herself, her life she has known comes to an end. She is just able to become “free, free, free!” (57) when she loses her life. Kate Chopin uses contrast with the news Richard’s gave, the way Mrs. Mallard felt in the room and the doctor’s news to show how women perceived marriage in the 19th century in her story The Story of an Hour.

Read More

Summary Of A Respectable Woman And A Story Of An Hour

1469 Words | 6 Pages

Women in the 1890s were expected to work at home to keep their husbands comfortable and bear him children. Kate Chopin wrote most of her short stories during this time period. Her stories “A Respectable Woman” and “A Story of an Hour” show a female protagonist who want their freedom and control over their own lives. Her characters pushed the bounds of the roles that society gave them and showed the brutal reality of how women were treated in the 1890s. In “A Respectable Woman” the female protagonist Mrs. Baroda is married and lives on a plantation with her husband, who invites a friend to spend a week or two with them.

Read More

More about The Symbolism Of Eveline In James Joyce's Dubliners

Related Topics

Open Document