Differences in Points of View Between James Joyces Short Stories Araby and Counterparts

In Joyce’s short story “Araby,” a man thinks back to his childhood and reminisces about his excursion to a bazaar in Araby. This first person account enables the reader to know exactly what he feels in this situation.

The reader learns that, as a young boy, this man, probably Joyce himself, has an infatuation with Mangan’s sister. Mangan is the deceased priest that used to live nearby. Joyce conveys to the reader exactly what the boy thinks and how he feels about this woman through his use of first person point of view.

Through the use of first person point of view the reader learns of the boy’s anxiousness to go to the bazaar, where he believes he will meet the woman whom

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In comparison of the points of view in Joyce’s works “Araby” and “Counterparts,” both tend to let the reader know exactly what a character is thinking and feeling. He also physically vents his stress and anger on his son, thus being the reason for the title “Counterparts. The reader is made aware of the “anguish and anger” the boy experiences as the bazaar closes through the use of this point of view. If it were to be written in a different point of view, the story would lose a great deal of its effect on the reader and would not sound very realistic. Alleyne, and the stress builds up until Farrington snaps and lashes out in a defiant manner towards Mr. ” Only then does he realize that this is why Margan’s sister speaks to him. It is difficult to imagine “Counterparts” being written from any other point of view than third person. ” James Joyce’s use of an omniscient third person point of view is very effective because the reader is able to interpret the feelings of all of the characters in this work as well as know what they are thinking. Yet, since the story is a reminiscence of the past, the use of first person point of view suffices. Alleyne as well as a counterpart of his son. It is when the woman working in the booth, that he visits, asks if he would like to buy anything, that the reader realizes why his crush speaks to him in the beginning of the story. Certain literary works would lose many of their concerns if it were written any other way.

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Approximate Word count = 821
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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