Introduction to Short Stories - Kaleidoscope

A short story is a prose narrative of limited length. It organises the action and thoughts of its characters into the pattern of a plot. The plot form may be comic, tragic, romantic or satiric. The central incident is selected to manifest, as much as possible, the protagonist’s life and character, and the details contribute to the development of the plot.

The term ‘short story’ covers a great diversity of prose fiction, right from the really short ‘short story’ of about five hundred words to longer and more complex works. The longer ones, with their status of middle length, fall between the tautness of the short narrative and the expansiveness of the novel.

There can be thematic variation too. The stories deal with fantasy, reality, alienation and the problem of choice in personal life. There are three short stories and two long ones in this section representing writers from five cultures.

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Author: James Joyce (1882-1941)

James Joyce is a major literary figure of the first quarter of the twentieth century. He is known for his bold experiments in narrative techniques in fiction, and Ulysses is his most famous work. ‘Eveline’ is one of the fifteen stories of Dublin life that form Dubliners, first published in 1914. It is a sympathetic portrayal of Eveline, who has within her reach escape from the drudgery of her life but cannot gather enough courage to seize it.

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Story Summary: English & Hindi (Detailed Overview)

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Plot Summary: Key Events & Structure

Overview

The story unfolds through Eveline's stream-of-consciousness, building from nostalgic reflection to paralyzing indecision. Central conflict: duty-bound paralysis vs. romantic escape, culminating in epiphanic refusal at the dock.

Tip: Note temporal shifts: Present reflection → Past memories → Future fantasy → Climactic now.

Stop and Think Questions

Understanding the Text

Talking about the Text - Discussion Prompts

Discuss in groups

Appreciation & Analysis

Language Work

A. Grammar: Parallelism

Notice the following sentence: One was to Harry; the other was to her father. When you coordinate two or more elements in a sentence, they are in the same grammatical form, that is they are parallel. This ensures balance in the sentence.

Parallelism is a basic rhetorical principle. Equal form reinforces equal meaning. By placing equally important ideas successively you emphasise their relationship to one another. It can show either similarity or contrast.

TASK

Underline the parts that are parallel in the following sentences

• She had consented to go away, to leave her home.
• Strange that it should come that very night to remind her of the promise to her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could.
• She prayed to God to direct her, to show her what was her duty.
• Frank would take her in his arms, fold her in his arms.
• Her time was running out but she continued to sit by the window, leaning her head against the window curtain, inhaling the odour of dusty cretonne.
• Not long before, when she had been laid up for a day, he had read her out a ghost story and made toast for her at the fire.

B. Pronunciation

A word has as many syllables as it has vowels. man (one syllable); manner (two syllables). The mark( ) indicates that the first syllable in ‘manner’ is more prominent than the other.

In a word having more than one syllable, the one that is more prominent than the other syllable(s) is called the stressed syllable.

TASK

Mark the stressed syllables in the following words chosen from the lesson. Consult the dictionary or ask the teacher if necessary.

Suggested Reading

• Dubliners by James Joyce.

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