"Araby" by James Joyce Question 1. response

Myra Khan

9-3-2014

EN 102 –C6A/6C

"Araby" by James Joyce

1.  How do the first three paragraphs of "Araby" characterize the environment in which the narrator lives?

                A nice suburban neighborhood on North Richmond Street in France; being blind, as in not really having the big cities of France affect its heritage that much. It is populated, with Christian families; where everyone knows everyone and they could sleep with the front door unlocked. The homes are big houses with max of two floors, all bright colors with trimmed lawns, and children’s laughter can inhabit the streets while mothers were resting with a good book after house chores and fathers were doing hard labor at the work force. However there is that one house at the end which has a gruesome past and no one is allowed to walk by the home. Even adults avoid that place while riding their horse carriages. Even if the sun is at its peak, dark clouds hang above the house; unkempt dead grass spilled out of the yard invading the sidewalk. It has a haunted aura, when you glance toward the window, you will see a man staring back at you; he would be old and pale as a ‘ghost’ and mouthing words no one would ever know. People would see the man, and say a silent prayer, for they know him as the humble priest who always thought of others even after death. He cared for everyone, even the horses; the priest rode a bike instead of a horse carriage; proof would be in his backyard near the apple tree skeleton, where he would pump air into his bike long ago. Today the home is cold, because the days are short and the nights are long, with winter in the air, the cold moisture made everything in the kitchen damp, even the books thrown away in the waste room near the kitchen. The air in the house looked green; and cobwebs filled the abandoned home like the echoes that filled the unfurnished place, because the priest’s furniture was with his sister now. The moon reflected into the living area, allowing dust particles to be seen in millions. Outside the home, everyone was warm in their own houses, near a fire or fast asleep; the streets were isolated and as quite as can be that a pin drop could be heard. The ripple of the puddles caused by the rain in the evening sounded like screams. But puddles weren't the only thing causing the neighborhood to look different, ankle deep mud behind everyone’s houses set the mood for the eerie night.   

  

This is how the first three paragraphs of the story help me interpret the scene that was taking place.