Reading "Araby" by James Joyce
Reflective Essay #3
Mar. 20, 2013 (Revised in Mar. 28)
Reading Journal 3: One paragraph writing of the story "Araby", in <Dubliners> by James Joyce
From a distance, James Joyce’s
"Araby" might appear to be a story of an innocent boy who experiences
a sudden turning point within his maturation process. After all, when the
nameless narrator enters the bazaar and by a chance hears a conversation of a
young lady and two gentlemen, the story clearly shows that the epiphany dramatically overwhelms the boy: The nameless boy consciously recognizes the discrepancy between the reality and his ideal in love and life. However, on the other hand, it is
doubtful to say that this epiphany is the only moment where his maturity is
developed in the story. Although the epiphany, his maturation within the conscious
level, happens only once at the end, his maturation within his subconscious
level takes place in the story long before the bitter epiphany strikes him in
his head. In fact, his subconscious maturation is portrayed within the plot as
the boy feels sexual attraction to Mangan’s sister: This is explicitly spoken
by the narrator within his delineation of some physical charm points of the girl,
such as in the portrayal of “the white curve of her neck” or “the white border
of a petticoat”. Therefore, it is perhaps more accurate to assume that
"Araby" is not a story of an innocent boy who all of a sudden is
exposed to the bitter secular reality, but rather a story of a normal teenager
boy who was already experiencing a subconscious maturation process but then
directly confronted to the maturation in the conscious level, the epiphany. In
this sense, it is accountable to say that the boy’s confrontation of the
epiphany was not an unfortunate incidence, but rather a deserved, inevitable,
and already foreshadowed “rite of passage” from his subconscious maturation
process.
Much clearer than before, and I admire your tenacity to chase after something unique that isn't as easy as the standard literary claim. You are right. The experience is foreshadowed, and puberty is obviously wreaking havoc on this boy's mind, body, and soul. In the priest's back room, it might be a frightening epiphany that he is no longer in control of what happens. So, good claim, and quite clear. Well stated.
답글삭제However, some odds and ends throughout need attention:
While this sentence is "not wrong" and does make sense, be careful of "longish" clauses in the middle of the sentence. Even one or two extra words can interrupt flow and clarity:
"the story clearly shows that the epiphany,<<<<< the conscious recognition of the discrepancy between the reality and his ideal in love and life,>>>>> dramatically overwhelms the boy."
Who is Maggie? You mean Mangan. Maggie is a girls' name and there is no Maggie in the story.
Instead of "all at sudden," you should write "all of a sudden."
You are a good writer, but as a non-native speaker you sometimes overreach in terms of sentence complexity. I suggest keeping vocabulary and clauses a bit more simple.
Thank you, Mr. Garrioch! I changed my mistakes. No wonder where I got the name "Maggie";;
삭제I REALLY am worried about my vocabulary, in terms of short phrases, or some usage of prepositions, such as whether to put 'on', 'with', 'in', or 'by' after some verbs. "All at sudden" is one of them.... :( This I guess pulls me back on the SAT tests too..... Grammar..... Ugh.... I will try hard anyway!