National University of Modern Languages

Department of English
BS English 3rd Semester (Morning)
Post- Mid Assignment

Submitted to: Ms. Humaira Iftikhar

Submitted by: Ayesha Iffat
Roll No: LF 2238
Course: Short Fiction
Due date: 3rd Jan, 2022
 Short Fiction Post-Mid Assignment

Textual Lines from Eveline by James Joyce

Textual Lines

He was awfully fond of music and sang a little. People knew that they were courting and, when
he sang about the lass that loves a sailor, she always felt pleasantly confused. He used to call her
Poppens out of fun. First of all it had been an excitement for her to have a fellow and then she
had begun to like him.

Reference to the Context

The above given lines have been taken from the short story Eveline by an Irish author James
Joyce.

Context

These textual lines are from the central part of the short story. Eveline Hill, a 19-year-old
woman who works in a Dublin shop, sits inside her family's house recalling her childhood that
she along with her siblings and children of other people used to play in the field. She recalled
some happy memories as well as her father's drunken brutality to her and her siblings. Eveline
thinks about people she has known who have either left (a priest who has traveled to Melbourne,
for example) or died (her mother and her brother Ernest), and she also thinks of her own plans to
go away with him by the night boat to be his wife and to live with him in Buenos Ayres.
Then she remembered meeting Frank for the first time and how they come to know each other.

Explanation

Paraphrasing

Frank was a big music fan and he even sang sometimes. People around knew that they were
dating, and she was always pleasantly surprised when he sang about the lass who loves a sailor.
Poppens was a nickname he used to make fun of her. Eveline was excited to find a companion at
first, and then she had grown to like him.

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 Short Fiction Post-Mid Assignment

Thematic Analysis

The theme of Escapism is found in these lines as she is fed up of the emotional abuse of her
father. Eveline fantasizes about her escape and seems to think it will solve all of her problems:
her financial disputes with her father, the lack of respect her coworkers show her, and her
general discontentment with her life at Dublin. The only way her desire of escape is fulfilled is
by running away with Frank and starting a new life with him as his wife. Moreover, she was
completely isolated and emotionally drained before Frank. But as he came in her life she was
excited to have a companion, a friend. And later on, she started liking him.

Stylistic Analysis

In the above mentioned lines, the characteristics and the introduction of Frank is being
mentioned. There is clear difference in introduction of the character of Eveline and Frank.
Eveline is passive and led by circumstances while Frank is active and determined. Frank is
presented through alternations of pose, activity, and speech-style. The above given clauses
describe his speech-style with Eveline like (He was awfully fond of music) and (He used to call
her Poppens out of fun). The character of Frank is not heavily described like Eveline but the
description is carefully made.

The End