Short Story Analysis: Eveline By James Joyce

#1 In the short story “Eveline” by James Joyce, the first paragraph helps to introduce the theme of not taking the opportunities presented and letting life just go on without enjoying it. In the short story, it states “She was tired.” because she was living her life as she always had; without any real excitement. Instead of getting ready to leave to go somewhere more enjoyable, she was sitting there “watching the evening invade the avenue.” She was doing what she always has: watching. She has been a spectator for her entire life, and she is now only seeing a change. The author used the word “invade” because that is exactly what Frank is doing. He was unexpected and new, and he was asking her to make a change instead of merely watching her life go by. The second sentence of the text, “Her head was leaned against the window curtains and in her nostrils was the odor of dusty cretonne.” was written in a passive voice because Eveline was a passive person. …show more content…
It states in the text “Even now, though she was over nineteen, she sometimes felt herself in danger of her father 's violence.” The author wrote this to have the readers sympathize with the older girl who cannot get away from her father. While she is still responsible for her family, she does not take the initiative to make her life better. Although many unfortunate events have happened to her, her reaction to them is what makes her a victim of her own character. This contributes to the major them by not taking the opportunity of getting away from the terrible situation, and staying behind to just let life go on without enjoying it. She was helpless to leave because of the promise she made to her mother. Instead of leaving her unhappy life, she did not go because of the promise she made; forcing her to stay behind, and just letting the opportunity pass her