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A Glossary of Literary Terms and A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices

I have placed on the WEB site for this course two excellent solutions to the critical paper assignment from Spring 1997. Students were asked to select a scene from any of the stories, analyze it carefully to construct an effective, well-written argument. This one argues one interpretation of an aspect of "Evelyn," based on his reading of this scene. Lee Thompson on the page makes a different argument. Both are excellent papers. I invite you to study them carefully.

Dr. H.

Professor's on-line comment to Darin:

Darin, this paper is excellent--insightful, thoughtful, and well argued. To clarify your thesis and provide your reader with a clue as to the shape of your argument, it would be good to include a statement of your supporting claims in a brief, specific sentence following ". . . resonded assertively." Doing so also enables one to check one's own structural logic and sometimes to discover arguments hitherto undiscovered. In short, the device of the argumentative theis is not a mere crochet of a harmless drudge but a genuine aid to argument and navigation.

Date: Fri, 23 May 1997 19:55:14 -0800 (PST)
From: A NERVOUS SYSTEM <drsmith3@csupomona.edu>
To: eng20103 <eng20103@csupomona.edu>
Cc: DRSMITH3@csupomona.edu
Subject: Critical Paper(Revised)

Darin Ray Smith
English 201, Dr. Humphrey
17 May 1997

The Power of Silence: A Discussion of Assertiveness in Joyce's Eveline

By Darin Ray Smith

If one looks deep into the text of the closing of Eveline, it
becomes apparent that Joyce was not painting Eveline as a helpless,
passive person, but instead was illuminating her difficult but important
decision that was thrust upon her by a lover. It is in the closing that,
although Eveline appears passive by her outward actions, the reader is able
to see her as a person who, faced with a difficult situation, responded
assertively. It is during the closing of the piece that we can recognize
that the decision to stay with her father was one of strength and not of
passivity. Perhaps even from the opening of the story she was not given
credit for her assertiveness. This appearance of passivity could be, of
course, a result of her quiet nature. Eveline is not a woman to complain
of her surroundings. That is certainly different from not caring about
what happens in them. If one looks at the story as a whole it is
then possible to see how the closing scene fits in with this message.
Although Eveline's silence during the story may at first indicate
passivity, it is clear that she asserts herself through her actions, through
the images that describe the scene and her feelings about the possibility of a
life in Buenos Aires with Frank, and the language that describes
her feelings of her relationship with Frank.
Throughout the story, Eveline is recounting her memories of
her father and their relationship. During this process Eveline discovers
that her life with her father is one that she is not willing to leave, and
that there are moments of caring and support. From the beginning of this passage (after break p.52)
it is clear that Eveline is not looking at her possible escape with Frank
as something that she feels good about.
"She stood among the swaying crowd in the station at the North
Wall." Eveline is among them and symbolically as well as quite possibly
physically swaying with this crowd. She is undecided. There can be no
accident that Joyce sets the scene in a crowded station adding to
the tension that she feels internally. This tension stems from her desire
to perhaps feel 'happy,' but she recognizes that Frank is not going to be
the one that gives that to her. It becomes clear that she alone can make
herself happy. She does not even listen to him. "He held her hand and
she knew that he was speaking to her." Notice that he held her hand. She
did not hold his. It is this sort of language that must cause the reader
pause when evaluating the condition of the relationship. Just as Frank
holds her hand, he has made this decision.
But Eveline realizes that leaving Dublin is not an escape. She would only be
smothered by this "new life." She does not walk with him; instead she
notices only the crowd. At the very least, the reader is made to feel
uncomfortable with the setting, but there could also be a deeper echo here
of how she views the situation. "The station is filled with soldiers with
brown baggages." Soldiers are taught to not question a plan. They just
act. Eveline is quietly refusing to be a soldier and follow along with a
plan without question. It is in details such as this that the struggle
Eveline faces becomes apparent.

The wall is most certainly used metaphorically as well as
literally in this piece. The wall is more than just a barrier to stand
next to in the scene; it also suggests Eveline's feeling of being
trapped. One must also look at the similar regard for Frank that Eveline
holds as they wait at the station. "He was speaking to her, saying
something about the passage over and over." It is obvious that not only
is she not involved in the decision, but that she is
feeling as though she is without a voice in this adventure. She does not
even bother to listen to him. She knows that this is not a good thing,
leaving home to go to Buenos Aires, but she has yet to tell him.

Eveline sees "the black mass of the boat." The boat has become a
thing of darkness. We cannot disregard this detail. It is in these
small details that one can see the true feeling of Eveline. It is true
that she speaks ever so quietly in this piece and internally, but that is
obviously different than having no voice at all. As we will see Eveline's
actions do speak to the reader. Eveline is most certainly struggling with
the possibility of a life that seems easier in Buenos Aires while feeling
a sense of duty and place in her own town.
"She answered nothing." We must regard this statement as
foreshadowing of her answer to Frank. There is nothing between them that
could be cause for her to go away with him which is quite different from
her feelings of her father, to whom she feels an attachment and sense of
duty.
"She felt her cheek pale and cold and, out of a maze of distress,
she prayed to God to direct her, to show her what was her duty." Just with
that image one must question Eveline's feelings toward the situation. This
is not the face of someone who is merely passively following along with a
plan that has been set in motion. This is the face of genuine internal
struggle. Of course there is confusion about how to proceed because one
must admit that the offer to sail away and live in an exotic land with a
man who cares for Eveline is reason to give her pause. And Eveline feels
as though she owes Frank for his kindness. "Could she still draw back
after all he had done for her?" Eveline is a woman who is aware of duty
and of loyalty. She must decide where she will place her loyalty, and
Frank is by all means worthy of Eveline's loyalty. But there is one
problem: Eveline does not love Frank. She states that she could grow to
love him, but at this point does not love him. That is very different
from her father whom she undoubtedly loves, regardless of his shortcomings
and abuses.

When, in the final scene "A bell clanged upon her heart," Eveline
has truly decided what she will and must do. She at this moment in the
story has been awakened inside. She now knows that she cannot leave with
him. She cannot leave the life that she now knows she has chosen. It
is with this bell that she first realizes, and the reader is made aware
that Eveline is choosing the life she leads, for all of its faults or
graces. It is also evident that this is a decision that has torn her apart.
"All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart." It is truly a most
difficult moment for her.

"Amid the seas she sent a cry of anguish." Eveline has used her
voice (although we do not know if it can be heard) and it tells the reader
that she is torn apart by this very moment in time. We must look closely
at Frank for he has given such a valiant effort to bring Eveline with him.
"He rushed beyond the barrier and called to her to follow." This barrier
is more than a physical one. Frank even calls her by a pet name at this
point in hopes that he can break through the symbolic barrier between
them.
Eveline returns to her silence in the very close of this piece.
But this also is not a sign of passivity, it is simply the subtlety of her
communication. Eveline is speaking to Frank in the language she knows,
the language of silence. She did look to Frank with a passive face, but
as we have seen she has not acted passively. Eveline has shown Frank her
decision in her silent way. It is in the last line that we
learn that , although she is described like a "helpless animal," she is
indeed in control of her actions.

"Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition."
She has spoken with her silence and the message is clear. "I choose
here." Although those words never sprang from Eveline's lips, she most
certainly has spoken that with her silence. It is in these actions that
the reader learns the true strength of Eveline.

Eveline, in her silence, is never passive. She is simply
confused, distraught, or nervous over the possibility of an entirely new
life. That possibility of an entirely new life with Frank causes her to
evaluate the importance of duty and her father. She chooses to stay with
her father and her decision rings loudly, just like a bell.

drs.

A Glossary of Literary Terms and A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices

Fearing Fear Itself:

A Reflection on Eveline's Decision Against

the Unknown

Lee Thompson

In his story simply titled "Eveline," James Joyce creates a world viewed

entirely through the mind of a young woman, who is sitting by the

window, thinking. Eveline is dreaming of a better life, leaving what is

familiar and traveling to a far off and mysterious land and starting

over. This is her chance to leave home and have an adventure of her own.

Yet there is a seriousness to her situation she has to come to terms

with first. She would not merely be leaving her life but would also be

abandoning her father and two children left in her charge by her

mother's death. Eveline is trying to be sure of her decision to leave as

she sits by the window and thinks about the past. Although Eveline is a

responsible and intelligent person, she allows herself to be controlled

by her environment, because even though she longs for a life of her own

and wants to gain social standing and self-esteem, she is afraid of the

unknown, and overcome with self-doubt. Through this story of her

reflection we are given a look at just who Eveline really is.

Franklin Roosevelt once said, "The only limit to our realization of

tomorrow will be our doubts of today. A perfect way to sum up what

Eveline is going through in this scene. She is thinking about all the

events in the past that have led her to where she is today. The logic

she uses to try to support her decision seems to hinge on two ideas. Of

paramount importance to her is a life of her own. In Eveline,s thinking

of Frank, Joyce writes, "He would give her life. But she wanted to

live. She isn,t leaving for love; she has decided to leave as an

escape. Yet even in this escape she is afraid of still being a captive.

Frank would give her a life, but she doesn,t want a life given to her;

she wants to have a life of her own, to really live. She has been tied

by her promise to her dying mother to "keep the home together as long as

she could, and "to see that the two young children who had been left to

her went to school regularly. All this duty and pressure put upon her

kept her from living for herself. This feeling of responsibility has

ultimately weakened her own resolve to do what is best for her.

Eveline,s secondary motive to leave is a desire to rise in social status

and hopefully in self-esteem as well. She is bothered by the judgments

made about her by the women at the store where she works. Eveline is

curious about what they will say when they find out she has run away.

Even though she thinks about the women and their reactions she is less

concerned about what they will think than about how she will be regarded

in her new life. I think she has been considered lower class or in

poverty in her community and that this judgment extends to her whole

family, perhaps as a result of her father,s drunken actions. Eveline,s

statement that "she would not be treated as her mother had been is in

respect to her social standing. She would like a chance to start over

and live without this stigma. This revelation is made early on in the

story, even before the introduction of Frank, her supposed savior. Her

thoughts of a better life do not contain him. He is a means to an end.

Eveline does not deny the possibility of love, but that is not something

she feels for Frank at this point. Frank has pulled her out of her

element, out of the status she is used to. Eveline sits in an

unaccustomed part of the theatre when she goes with him and Frank sings

songs that "pleasantly confused her. Her relationship to him is not

about love for him but about what she can receive out of being with him.

As Eveline says, "He would save her. This is not to say that Eveline is

using him only as a way to escape but that this opportunity to change

her life is merely a side benefit to being friends with him.

This longing to become something more does not make Eveline a selfish

person. She has taken on the responsibility for the house and the care

of her father and the two children. These are not actions of a selfish

person. Even her decision in the end to stay is a statement of her

self-sacrifice, however we may feel about its appropriateness. This

apparent willingness to take advantage of Frank to get a life of her own

is not something she is fully conscious of but rather a way of

fulfilling her dream of a life she has always wanted. Even though she

sees this as an opportunity to make a fresh start, she is not fully

committed to going. Rather Eveline says she has "consented to go away,

she has not decided. Her detachment in this regard makes her sound as if

she is going with Frank as a favor. Perhaps Eveline is so used to

sacrificing herself for others that she is incapable of doing something

good for herself; even if it would fulfill her dream of becoming

something more than she is. She is afraid of her father, barely able to

make ends meet and lacks the resolve to assert herself to decide to do

more than merely "consenting to going away.

These desires to change are not the only feelings that control her. On

the other side of her contemplation she is equally afraid that she will

have no opportunity to turn around should she change her mind. Traveling

by boat to Buenos Ayres with a man she doesn,t love and of whom her

father does not approve can be a very scary proposition indeed; not to

mention that she is only nineteen. She attempts to justify staying by

realizing that her basic needs are taken care of. She has shelter and

food and her father gives up the money for weekly provisions although

somewhat reluctantly and judgmentally. Even with her life the way it is

Eveline is controlled by a romantic notion of her present situation; at

least when she is thinking about leaving it. She is needed here, and

"now that she was about to leave it she did not find it a wholly

undesirable life. She continues by saying that her father would miss

her. Not only is this feeling of need important in the analysis of her

final decision but this is where the shift in her thinking occurs to

make her stay. After spending a quarter of the story revealing her

present dysfunctional relationship with her father she starts to

remember how he used to be; in fact "sometimes he could be very nice.

Eveline feels bound to the man her father once was, not the man whose

violence she now feels herself in danger of. Her promise to her mother

to keep the family together is weighing heavily on her. Her resolve to

leave is collapsing. Eveline,s self-esteem is lowered still.

Eveline,s final problem is one of self-doubt. Her father,s ranting has

gotten to her. Her mother has died and left her in a position of

responsibility for what is left of the family. Her favorite brother,

Ernest has died as well. Her other brother Harry is always in the

country, perhaps driven away by her father who as Eveline says "had

never gone for her, like he used to go for Harry and Ernest. She feels

alone. But with all the adversity in her life she may feel she has

deserved it for some unspoken reason. A way for her to justify what has

happened in her nineteen years of life and her present station in it.

Before leaving for the dock she says "why should she be unhappy? She had

a right to happiness, but applying this statement at the end of her

reasoning makes it sound like a last ditch effort to convince herself to

go, as if she is powerless over her life and as she has said, Frank

would save her. Her self-esteem is low and she caves as if what she

wants doesn't matter.

She is caught in a very difficult spot. On one hand she wants her own

life and not one just handed to her. But on the other she feels trapped

in her current life and wants someone, Frank in this story, to save her.

Eveline,s thoughts in this scene start on where she is now and circle

into positive points in her past. These past positive events are what

she uses to justify her decision to stay. As we read the scene we want

her to go because we see it from the outside in a more detached way.

Eveline is letting us in on her thoughts but we don,t have such a clear

picture of her emotions. She knows what she wants but lacks the ability

to make it happen. Plagued by self-doubt and an inability to deal with

the unknown; Eveline is doomed to remain as she has always been.

A Glossary of Literary Terms and A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices