Family is also a significant theme as the boy relies on his aunt and uncle on almost anything he wants. Firstly, he asks their permission to go to the bazaar. Then he depends on his uncle to give him money to go to the bazaar. A quote to back this up would be, ‘When he was midway through his dinner I asked him to give me the money to go to the bazaar.’ By depending on his uncle, this meant the boy had to wait for hours before he could attend the bazaar. This may suggest that the boy is dependant on his family regardless of his situation.
There are several references to religion in this story. This is another theme of the story. The first sign of religion is on the second line where he mentions the ‘Christian Brothers’ School,’ I think his neighbourhood could have been very religious because along with the Christian School, there is a quote, ‘The former tenant of our house, a priest had died in the drawing room.’ Other suggestions of a religious theme are when the boy refers to his body being like a harp and her words and gestures being like fingers running upon the wires. Mentioned also are praises and prayers. He regularly prays about the girl. This is shown in the line, ‘Her name sprang to my lips at moments of strange prayers and praises.’ This may demonstrate how highly the boy thinks of the girl, as his infatuation with the girl is nearly as strong as his devotion to his religion.
An essential theme in this story is poverty. This is demonstrated as the boy has to wait on his uncle for money to go to the bazaar, but yet when he arrives there he has very little money to buy the girl a present which he promised her. Due to his lack of money, he finds it impossible to part with it. The poverty his family is in adds to the main and key theme, paralysis. He realises at the end that his life will probably be like this forever and the way he let the girl down could fail him in everything else he tries to do.
Just like ‘Araby,’ ‘Eveline’ has the exact same themes including another one escape. In ‘Eveline,’ she experiences blind love. This is blind love as she only really finds Frank as a way to escape her family. She only really wants Frank as a solution to her problems. Frank is offering Eveline a new life with him away from her family. He would provide her with a home, and a chance to start again. This blind love binds with the escape she needs. Love is a very strong way to describe Eveline’s relationship with Frank. She may only actually like him but feel that she is in love as she regards Frank as the only way to escape from her family problems.
Family is more important in this story. Eveline made a promise to her mother to keep her family together when she was dying. The quote to suggest this is, ‘Strange that it should come that very night to remind her of the promise to her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could.’ Ever since, she has managed to stick by her family, regardless of any problems. She has had to suffer all her life to complete this task. She works and looks after the house and looks after two young children, but still gives all her wages to her father. Although she has so much responsibility and she is still only nineteen. Her father does not appreciate this compassion and commitment dedicated towards him. I feel that all the themes in this story are stronger than those in ‘Araby,’ except religion.
Religion is touched on many times in ‘Eveline.’ I don’t think religion has been taken as seriously here. This is suggested by the line, ‘She had never found out the name of the priest whose yellowing photograph hung upon the wall.’ This suggests that she does not respect the priest enough to find out his name, let alone take care of the photograph. Harry, Eveline’s brother shows another religious side as it reveals in the line, ‘Harry who was in the church decorating business.’ This also proposes that although Eveline and her family don’t have as much respect for religion, he shows its true value to him by earning a living through the church. Eveline also prays for God to help her decide what path in life she should choose: ‘She prayed to God to direct her, show her what was her duty.’ This demonstrates how much trust she has in God.
Poverty is essential in ‘Eveline’ as it shown that no matter how hard you work and how much you earn, it doesn’t make a difference in life. Eveline works hard to keep her family together, but her father accuses her of squandering it, when actually he is the person who spends it all. Harry, Eveline’s brother also sent any money home to his father. This shows how reliant their father is on them.
Paralysis restricts Eveline from saying goodbye to the unpleasant life she lives and moving on to a better life with Frank. Even though Frank is offering Eveline a future and a new beginning, she just can’t desert her family. This shows that the love she has for her family is stronger than her love for Frank. Another sense of paralysis is how Eveline has made a promise to her mother. Eveline is limited in her life as she feels that she has to fulfil the promise to her dying mother. This restricts Eveline as she puts her promise before anything else in her life.
Both of these stories were quest-like in their own way. In ‘Araby,’ the boy goes on a mission to bring the girl something back from the bazaar. He is so determined, that he is willing to do anything to get to the bazaar. It is as if nothing will stop him. In ‘Eveline,’ the quest-like objective is to fulfil her mother’s plea, which she made on her deathbed. For years Eveline had fulfilled this task, but now she has a sense of curiosity. She wanted to know what life away from her family was like, but in the end family came first.
The language devices used in each story are very similar. For example, personification is a key device: ‘An uninhabited house stood at the blind end, detached from its neighbours. The other houses, conscious of decent live, gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces.’ This line is used at the start of ‘Araby’ to convey the mood of the neighbourhood. Rhetorical questions are used frequently in both. An example from ‘Eveline’ is, ‘Why should she be unhappy?’ This line shows that even though there is a third person narration, we can still experience her feelings.
Both stories have a modern relevance that we can interact with. In ‘Araby,’ the boy experiences momentary infatuation and this is something everyone experiences in some point of their life. In ‘Eveline,’ she feels that she has to escape from her family and run away with the man of her dreams. Do many women not dream of this today?
In conclusion, I think that both these stories were both very similar as the themes and language devices are essential in both. It has a very good relevance to the modern world and the writer conveys different advantages by using different narration techniques in both. Both stories were successful!
Amie Keenan