Araby, By James Joyce

Various authors use different narrative techniques in order to express their ideas in the plot and characterization of their story. “Araby” by James Joyce is the story of a boy, who is desperate to find a sense of love and affection, so he promises to get Mangan’s sister something from a bazaar known as Araby. However, he fails to accomplish his task and leaves filled with anger and disappointment. “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell is the story of how a British police officer, who secretly supports the Burmese, is forced to shoot an elephant to ensure that he is not embarrassed in front of those he is guarding. These works are two examples of texts that use narrative techniques to enrich the events described in the story. Each
narrative technique enhances the plot of the story and allows the reader to explore the deeper meaning of the text. The narrative techniques, such as imagery, personification, irony, and point of view, used in “Araby” and “Shooting an Elephant” help the reader to better understand the main character as well as the events described in the story.
In “Araby”, there are many narrative techniques used to help the story progress.
The narrative perspective of this short story is the first person point of view. We know this because of the use of I throughout the story. The first person point of view offers a better understanding of the text because we are able to see the thoughts and feelings of each situation the character goes through, enabling the writer to better develop the character and the audience to go through the character’s experiences as if it were their own. To begin the story, the narrator indirectly references himself through the descriptions of his neighborhood. For example, the narrator says, “An uninhabited house of two storeys stood at the blind end, detached from its neighbours in a square ground.” (paragraph 2) This could be an indirect description of himself because, at times, he could feel empty, untouched, and isolated from everything. In addition, the repeated reference to “being blind” (1) could describe the boy being blind from the desire to be loved and the desire to have an adventure. These indirect references allow the audience to gain a better understanding of the boy and his
intentions.
In addition, the writer uses narrative techniques, such as imagery and personification, to appeal to the audience’s feelings.
A narrative technique used as a way to offer a better understanding of the text is imagery. For instance, “Air, musty from having been long enclosed, hung in all the rooms, and the waste room behind the kitchen was littered with old useless papers.” (2) This allows the audience to picture what the house had been like after no one had lived there for some time. Another example would be “the cold air stung us and we played till our bodies glowed” (3) as it relates to the reader’s senses of touch and sight. Personification allows readers to better understand what life in the boy’s neighborhood is really like. For example, “The other houses of the street, conscious of decent lives within them, gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces.” (1) The houses cannot be conscious of what is happening around them nor do they have faces. Lastly, a narrative technique that is used is irony, which can be seen when the narrator states,“very charitable priest.” (2) This is because the priest is described as generous but only does so for the public to see. He did not leave anything to support his family, the people who may have needed it the most. (2) This allows the reader to remain interested in the
story. In the essay, “Shooting an Elephant”, by George Orwell, the narrative style used allows for the audience to gain a deeper understanding of the story. Like “Araby”, the narrative perspective of this essay is the first person because of the use of I throughout the story. The first person point of view allows for better insight into the reasons behind each action the main character takes. In addition, the first person point of view allows the audience to think and feel as the character would, thus enabling the reader to create a deeper connection. Throughout the story, we see that Orwell claims to support the Burmese despite the fact that he is British as he states, “Theoretically- and secretly, of course- I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.” (2) However, he contradicts himself repeatedly through the way that he describes Burmese people. For example, he states, “evil-spirited little beasts” (2) and “devilish roar.” (11) These examples could also be referred to as metaphors because they compare Burmese people to monsters. He views the people of Burma as monsters because he thinks that he is being forced to shoot the elephant by the Burmese as he does not want to be seen as weak. This allows for a better understanding of the text because it clearly shows the reader what the main character thinks of the people of Burma.
Furthermore, the use of irony and imagery in “Shooting an Elephant” allows the audience to better understand the events occurring in the story. Irony is used when the narrator states, “In Moulmein, in lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people- the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me.” (1) The use of the word “important” here is ironic because it usually refers to being respected by others, but here it has a negative connotation. This allows for the reader to remain interested as well as see Orwell’s thoughts about how others think of him. Lastly, imagery is also used in this essay when the narrator is describing the elephant’s death. For example, “His mouth was wide open- I could see far down into caverns of pale pink throat.” (12) This allows the audience to truly picture what the character is seeing and therefore understand what the character is going through.
In conclusion, the numerous narrative techniques used greatly impact how the story is told.