Imagery of Dust in "Eveline"
             It turns the brightest colors to gray. It collects in corners, on shelves, under bureaus, and over door moldings. Left unchecked it will embolden and encroach from these safer areas on the whole of a home, eventually blending every feature into a uniform drab. To many people it is a threat to health. Beginning with discomfort of the eyes and nasal cavity, this elusive enemy can continue to effect some people to the point of debilitation, taking away their ability to breath. Lungs and throats can be irritated, and vision impaired. This bane is often undetectable; but when it gathers itself together, takes on a gray shapeless appearance and is noticeable to the fingers. It has a dull, almost numb feeling under a human digit.
             Dust, civilization's most irritating internal foe, can probably be found in the home of the cleanest person. It often seems that dust gathers faster than a person can wipe it up. In James Joyce's "Eveline," the title character wonder's "where on earth all the dust came from" (29). We can now know that much of household dust is composed of human skin cells; if a house has pets living in it, the animal dander will certainly be large contributor to the dust. If a road runs near a house, passing traffic kicks up enough dust to add to the problem. Despite these easily conceived sources of dust, an isolated house is still in danger of dust collection. When inhabitants of a house or apartment leave it for an extended length of time, they will often cover objects in that home with sheets to protect them against dust. There are no people to shed skin cells there; there are no animals to produce dander; there is no one to open windows or doors to allow dust from the street to wonder in. Where indeed on earth? Dust has a mysterious, almost supernatural way of persisting. It is this powerful mystique and ungraspability
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