In the entire expert, the writer uses the third point of view to show the omniscient nature of the character. She is all-knowing about the other characters. Nevertheless, towards the end, the point of view changes to dramatic. In this case, the writer displays actions in a certain scene but fails to involve the emotions of the involved character.
One is thus made to feel pitiful of Miss Brill’s life.
The author presents Miss Brill, a complex character. Her personality has different sides. She enjoys her Sundays in the parks makes her feels part of the society yet in isolation. She has a habit of seeing people and imagining them as characters in a play. Life outside the garden is a mental escape from reality. In doing so, she feels acceptable to the world. Nevertheless, it is a form of fantasy. In the end, she loses her dignity.
In several moments, Miss Brills dehumanizes different people according to her point of view. For instance, she refers to children as “little French dolls”. Also “an ermine toque” is a metonymy. An ermine toque is women’s white-furred cap. She rejects the girl based on her physical appearance. However, the girl took it as lightly. Ironically, Miss Brill is rejected by a young couple in relation to her physical appearance. She pretends it doesn’t bother her and proudly leaves the garden her head held high.
There are several details of foreshadowing in “The Lottery” that hints its violent ending. In the quote, “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix…eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys.” (Jackson, 254 p2), a reader can imagine that stones were for boys’ gaming, but towards the end of the story, the stoning happens. Also, the black coloured box that had the low-income family’s fate symbolizes death.
In the beginning, Shirley Jackson did not explain either the rules or the prizes of the game; thus, it leaves the reader unaware of what is likely to happen. Nevertheless, in the quote, “Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. “It isn’t fair,” she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head.” (Jackson, 259 p3), makes one predict what is likely to happen.
The theme of the story is the burden of the old traditions. From the story, it is clear that most people understood the reason behind following the tradition, but they still religiously practised them. Also, they did know how the tradition began but chooses to comply it claiming it started when the town began to take form. Most of the details that they understand about the original tradition are stories that are not verified.
“Araby” focuses on Dublin a town in Ireland located in North Richmond Street. From the wording in the first paragraphs, it is clear it is composed of a low-income neighbourhood, “air, musty from having been long enclosed”, “feeble lanterns”, “dark muddy lanes”, “dark odorous stables”, and “the waste room behind the kitchen” (Joyce 575). The author mentions Richmond Street as blind with the aim of concealing some information from both the audience’s and characters’ view. The seclusion atmosphere makes one question further the theory based on as to why it is separated from the rest of the neighbourhood.
The frequent mention of the word “blind” in several passages is symbolic. Blindness can either stand to conceal something or a person’s ability to understand something which is in plain sight. Also, Joyce does not make it clear as to why she keeps mentioning it. This could mean that the reader is blind to the interpretation. Additionally the title, “Araby” is symbolic. It symbolizes the main character and also bazaar’s name. The main character finds a place of fantasy as opposed to North Richmond’s Street dull life. Imagery is also abundant in the story. For examples in the quotes, “The wild garden behind the house contained a central apple-tree and a few straggling bushes, under one of which I found the late tenant’s rusty bicycle pump.” (Joyce 575) “The career of our play brought us through the dark muddy lanes behind the houses, where we ran the gauntlet of the rough tribes from the cottages, to the back doors of the dark dripping gardens where odours arose from the ashpits to the dark odorous stables where a coachman smoothed and combed the horse or shook music from the buckled harness.” (Joyce 575) “When I came downstairs again I found Mrs Mercer sitting at the fire. She was an old, garrulous woman, a pawnbroker’s widow, who collected used stamps for some pious purpose.” (Joyce 577). The imagery makes it’s reading more enjoyable as one can easily imagine himself or herself in the situation of the character.
The character is not happy as he couldn’t get the best suitable gift for Mangan’s sister. He believes that the dream to give the best one would eventually come true as per what he had promised. In the end, he becomes disappointed as he couldn’t get the gift.
Fog: The author starts the story with, “The high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and all the rest of the world. On every side, it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot,” the quote reveals the atmospheric setting of the story to be mysterious and gloomy. From the quote, one can interpret that the main character is trapped.
Garden fence: In the quote, “he leaned over the wire fence that protected her flower garden from cattle and dogs and chickens.” the fence represents that keep p Elisa safe. In this case, Elisa is the flower while the wire fence is the cage that offers protection to her. Nevertheless, the fence secludes her from the world.
Sharp-pointed stars: From the quote, when the night is dark—why, the stars are sharp-pointed, and there’s quiet. Why, you rise up and up! Every pointed star gets driven into your body. It’s like that. Hot and sharp and—lovely.” It is Elisa’s moment to gain awareness of her desire to become free.
Wine: The quote “It will be enough if we can have wine. It will be plenty.” Since Elisa seems not to like wine, on this occasion when she needs it, represents her need to run away from reality.
Chrysanthemums: it represents Elisa who disowns her old values and sprouts into a better environment where she identifies herself with flowers.