Dubliners Narrative Analysis

In the first three stories in Dubliners the main character is not telling the story himself. It is told by an older version of the “narrator” of each story. The way the author’s point of view strategy was set up, it let the readers see what the “narrator” of each story was feeling while they experienced it. Each character did something different, but they all found out something about themselves along the way. They also learned what they perceive about others rather than just what they learn about themselves. In each of the first three stories, each narrator had been either set free, disapointed, isolated, changed and/or recognized Paralysis which is acted in opposition by movement during their childhood.
In “The Sisters”, the narrator lived …show more content…
The narrator skipped school. He liked the games with the indians but he wanted to seek opportunities outside of Ireland. He played the game because he had a desire to leave Dublin. He also, just like in the first story, “The Sisters” felt as if the whole country had a suffocating feeling. He didn’t like the suffocating feeling so he wanted an escape. The narrator of this story dealt with change when he got tired of the games. That was when him and his friend Mahony decided to skip school. When they skipped school, he stared at the symbols and markings on the ship. The ships are a symbol of freedom because they actually leave Dublin and the boys don’t. He also scanned the faces of the sailors looking for green eyes because it meant something to him. He thought seeing a real “Norwegian” would give him good luck. They were on an “adventure” to visit the Pigeon House which is a recognition of paralysis by movement. Their adventure was one of the disappointments that the boy faced. The disappointments started when his other friend backed out and decided not to go with him and Mahony. Another disappointment the boy and Mahony faced when they went on their adventure they encountered that Dublin was not what they thought it would be and it was dirty and empty. The reason Dublin was so empty to them was because Dublin had a lot of poverty. They see this poverty when they came across “ragged girls” (10) that Mahony bullies. …show more content…
The person who lived where he lived was a priest and he died. He had a friend whose name was Mengan. He soon started to like Mengan’s sister who lived across the street. He always followed her on his way to school. When the girl finally speaks to him, she asked if he was going to Araby. Araby was the name of an upcoming market with an Arabian theme. She asked him if he was going because she couldn’t go. He liked her so much that he said that he would go and get her a gift. He then asked his uncle several times if he could go and his uncle gave him permission. He reminded his uncle several times so that he wouldn’t forget. The night of Araby his uncle had to come home on time in order for him to get the money for a ride. However, that night the uncle got drunk and came home late and had forgotten about Araby. By now, it was really late but the boy still wanted to go because he had to get a gift for his crush. He still went even though it was late and this showed how he had little of guidance. When he got there it was closing and this is a recognition of paralysis by movement. He couldn’t get a gift for the girl and feels disappointed in himself and his uncle, "Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger." (19) This is the last story with a first person narrator. Araby was a