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Cambridge/ Edexcel O Level / IGCSE

ARABY – James Joyce

1 NORTH RICHMOND STREET being blind, was a quiet street except at the hour when the
Christian Brothers' School set the boys free. An uninhabited house of two storeys stood at the
blind end, detached from its neighbours in a square ground The other houses of the
street, conscious of decent lives within them, gazed at one another with brown imperturbable
faces.

2 The former tenant of our house, a priest, had died in the back drawing-room. 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. Among these I found a few paper-covered books, the pages of
which were curled and damp: The Abbot, by Walter Scott, The Devout Communnicant and The
Memoirs of Vidocq. I liked the last best because its leaves were yellow. The wild garden behind
the house contained a central apple-tree and a few straggling bushes under one of which I found
the late tenant's rusty bicycle-pump. He had been a very charitable priest; in his will he had left
all his money to institutions and the furniture of his house to his sister.

3When the short days of winter came dusk fell before we had well eaten our dinners. When we
met in the street the houses had grown sombre. The space of sky above us was the colour of ever-
changing violet and towards it the lamps of the street lifted their feeble lanterns. The cold air stung
us and we played till our bodies glowed. Our shouts echoed in the silent street. The career of our
play brought us through the dark muddy lanes behind the houses where we ran the gauntlet of the
rough tribes from the cottages, to the back doors of the dark dripping gardens where odours arose
from the ashpits, to the dark odorous stables where a coachman smoothed and combed the horse
or shook music from the buckled harness. When we returned to the street light from the kitchen
windows had filled the areas. If my uncle was seen turning the corner we hid in the shadow until
we had seen him safely housed. Or if Mangan's sister came out on the doorstep to call her brother
in to his tea we watched her from our shadow peer up and down the street. We waited to see
whether she would remain or go in and, if she remained, we left our shadow and walked up to
Mangan's steps resignedly. She was waiting for us, her figure defined by the light from the half-
opened door. Her brother always teased her before he obeyed and I stood by the railings looking
at her. Her dress swung as she moved her body and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to
side.

4 Every morning I lay on the floor in the front parlour watching her door. The blind was pulled
down to within an inch of the sash so that I could not be seen. When she came out on the doorstep
my heart leaped. I ran to the hall, seized my books and followed her. I kept her brown figure always
in my eye and, when we came near the point at which our ways diverged, I quickened my pace
and passed her. This happened morning after morning. I had never spoken to her, except for a few
casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood.

5 Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance. On Saturday evenings
when my aunt went marketing I had to go to carry some of the parcels. We walked through the
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flaring streets, jostled by drunken men and bargaining women, amid the curses of labourers, the
shrill litanies of shop-boys who stood on guard by the barrels of pigs' cheeks, the nasal chanting
of street-singers, who sang a come-all-you about O'Donovan Rossa, or a ballad about the troubles
in our native land. These noises converged in a single sensation of life for me: I imagined that I
bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes. Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange
prayers and praises which I myself did not understand. My eyes were often full of tears (I could
not tell why) and at times a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself out into my bosom. I thought
little of the future. I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not or, if I spoke to her,
how I could tell her of my confused adoration. But my body was like a harp and her words and
gestures were like fingers running upon the wires.

6 One evening I went into the back drawing-room in which the priest had died. It was a dark rainy
evening and there was no sound in the house. Through one of the broken panes I heard the rain
impinge upon the earth, the fine incessant needles of water playing in the sodden beds. Some
distant lamp or lighted window gleamed below me. I was thankful that I could see so little. All my
senses seemed to desire to veil themselves and, feeling that I was about to slip from them, I pressed
the palms of my hands together until they trembled, murmuring: "O love! O love!" many times.

Comprehension and Writer’s Craft Questions

1. In the first paragraph identify the personification and explain the effect. (3)

2. In paragraph 2, to whom does the bicycle pump belong to? Answer fully. (2)

3. From paragraph 3, identify 6 adjectives. Write them down with the noun they describe. (3)

4. From paragraph 3, identify 5 instances of impactful imagery. Your choice should include at least 2
auditory imagery. (5)

5. From the 4th paragraph identify one personification and explain the effect created. (3)

6. I ran to the hall, seized my books and followed her. Comment on the sentence structure. What is the
effect created? (2)

7. Identify a metaphor and a simile from paragraph 5. What are the effects created by these? (4)

8. From Paragraph 6, what is the metaphor used to describe the rain? What is the effect created? (3)

Vocabulary

Write down the words in bold and explain their meanings in your own words.

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Writing Skills.

Observe how the writer describes:

1. The Girl.

2. The protagonist’s reactions and feelings towards the girl.

3. The setting.

What is the mood created?

What words or phrases does the writer use to create such an effect?

Writing Task

>> Write a 50-100 word beginning to a story describing an isolated manor. Create a sense of
foreboding/mystery. Try to use impactful words, imagery, similes, metaphors and personification to make
your writing effective.

Tip

When attempting to create atmosphere, the way you describe the inanimate objects can be crucial.

 Personification
 Pathetic Fallacy
 Adjectives/Similes

Example – The naked trees extended their gaunt limbs to the somber skies as if begging for alms. (The
words in BOLD create a certain atmosphere/mood0.

Example – The sturdy tree freely lifted its strong arms into the passive skies, as if claiming the expanse of
the universe. (How is this description of the same reality different to the previous example?)

Example – The weak tree stood infirm in its vulnerability, meekly reaching to the barren sky, as if an old
man with Death lingering at his feet. (This sentence has another focus – this is brought out through the
similes and the adjectives used in the description).

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use of teachers and students – Please do not use without acknowledgment of the source. Do not copy content for other
worksheets without acknowledgment. Thank you!