The stories “Salvation” and “Araby” are both told by adult narrators looking back on a painful episode in their lives. Please address the following two questions.
How do you know the narrators are adults?
Now imagine the narrators are telling you the story in a cafe or bar. Describe the voice and attitude of the narrator of “Salvation” as he tells the story. Describe the voice and attitude of the narrator of “Araby” as he recounts his experience. In what ways are the voices and attitudes of the two narrators different and why?
To receive full credit, you must address both questions.
Please address comments to others by name so that we can all follow along.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE: I am posting this here just to make sure everyone sees this. You have also received an email. If you are new to BMCC, you may not have an ID card yet. The barcode on the ID card is your access to the BMCC online library. You will need access to the library for The Week 2 writing assignment. To gain entry without an ID card, please submit the following form. Processing may take a day or two, so please send the request this week, rather than next.
47 thoughts on “Week 1 Discussion”
The narrators of both “Salvation” and “Araby” express their insights in highly sophisticated and stylized manners, suggesting a maturity beyond the age of the protagonists portrayed in their narratives. This is a strong indication that the narrators are adults looking back on their adolescent experiences. The insights expressed suggest that the narrators have had many years to place into perspective the formative experiences described in the narratives and to understand how they shaped their lives and sense of self.
I imagine narrator of “Salvation” to have a deep and smooth baritone voice. He speaks in a sophisticated manner, retaining some of the traditional cadence of his rural black southern roots. He is a natural orator and raconteur, and able to employ vocal emphasis to great effect.
The narrator of “Araby” I imagine as having a silvery voice, speaking with a mannered articulation that emphasizes his dexterity with an extensive vocabulary. His style of speech is somewhat theatrical but suits him naturally, and his delivery has a lyrical quality. He consciously retains elements of his Irish brogue for character, and at times accentuates it for emphasis.
Both adult narrators are proud of their heritage but equally proud of how far they have come from their humble beginnings. This juxtaposition comes through in the attitude conveyed in their speech and the confidence of their delivery. The narrator of “Salvation” is fully absorbed in the very moment of the narrative that he is telling, driving the listener directly to the beating heart of his story. Conversely, the narrator of “Araby” enjoys dancing around his story with brief descriptive tangents and a richness of sensory detail, keeping the listener a bit off-balance before ultimately guiding to his conclusion.
Karl, this is really beautifully written! I especially love your vivid descriptions of the two narrators. “A silvery voice” is such an evocative description of the narrator in “Araby.” And I love how specific you are in your imagining about the “Salvation” narrator. And yes, he definitely comes across as a seasoned raconteur. Your first paragraph very deftly discusses how the insights of the narrators indicate their age. The other fascinating observation you make is that both narrators are proud of how far they come from their humble beginnings. I feel that there is difference in these feelings that comes through in the tone in which the two stories are told. It seems to me that the narrator of “Salvation” is capable of some humor as he looks back on this painful incident, while the narrator of “Araby” with his “silvery voice” still seems to recall the incident with bitterness. Thanks for starting off this discussion with such thoughtfulness.
Karl, it looks like we’re having private conversation so far. I’m sure it will pick up next week when everyone gets with the program. Thanks again for the information about access to the library.
Prof. Conway – Thank you for your generous feedback. Looking forward to comments from classmates, as well as being able to comment on their posts.
Reading both “Salvation” and “Araby”, you can hear the voices of the narrators as grown men, one who can look back at their stories and see what went wrong. They know how to make the story come to life through imaginary, action and dialogue. Moreover, they entwine showing with telling and are very specific with detailed insight.
I can imagine the narrator of “Salvation” speaks in a bold but smooth voice telling in details of his story in a playful way. He speaks in a precise manner.
The narrator of “Araby” on the other hand, I can imagine speaks in a soft voice with a bitter tone. Telling his story brings back pain and I see that on his facial expression and can clearly hear from the tone of his voice.
The narrator of “Salvation” voice and attitude show that he has had time to reflect on things that had happened in the past and his moved forward with a clear mind but the narrator of “Araby” still feel some bitterness when looking back on his childhood.
Daniel, thanks for the good comments. I thought Karl and I were going to be the only ones in this forum! I agree with you about the difference in the tone of the narrators, one being a bit “playful”— a good word for the narrator of “Salvation” even though the event is quite serious. I’ll be very candid about the first part of your response. I don’t want to hear literary buzzwords like “action,” “dialogue,” and “Imagery,” unless you’re going to be specific. What is it in the dialogue that gives a clue about the age of the narrators? What action or behaviors give you clues (if any)? And what does imagery have to do with this? Is it about the sophistication of the narrator’s imagery? Is it the mature and skillful way in which imagery is used?
Hey Daniel, I agree with your response. You stated “The narrator of “Salvation” voice and attitude show that he has had time to reflect on things that had happened in the past and his moved forward with a clear mind.” The narrator of Salvation did show that he had time to reflect on things that had happened in the past, but had someone forcing him to do something that he should have did on his own spiritually. On the other hand, the narrator of Araby did feel a bit spiteful I would say, when looking back in his life.
Hi Daniel ! I loved how you stated ” you can hear the voices of the narrators as grown men, one who can look back at their stories and see what went wrong”. I totally agree that both narrators sound as if they are reflecting on the past. In salvation, the narrator uses vocabulary that is able to express how his mistakes affected him in a way only an adult can do. However, the narrator of Arby was able to relive his experience to the bazaar in a way where we can actually imagine him, using a tone that an adult would use while looking back at a heartwrenching experience.
In the story “Salvation” the narrator is an adult because he is talking about the boy’s love for his neighbor’s sister in the way that an adult would speak. In the story “Araby” the narrator understands that the market that the character is going to is very dangerous and mysterious. If the narrator was a young person he wouldn’t know that the market the boy is going to is dangerous. In “Salvation” the narrator is an adult because in the first sentence it says “when I was 13”, so the narrator must be older – probably middle aged like 40.
If the narrator of “Salvation” tells the story in the café he will tell the story in a deep serious voice. The narrator of Araby” would use a scary and mysterious voice. The two voices are different because the stories are from two different time periods. The cultural backgrounds are different although the themes of these stories are very similar.
Jiang Hua, these are great observations. Some readers become so involved with the stories that they don’t step back and listen to the voices of the narrator. In both stories, we glean a narrator who has processed the experience and is reflecting back from an adult perspective. In “Araby’ we hear the eloquent voice of a still bitter narrator, but his diction (vocabulary) is certainly not that of a child. The same holds true of “Salvation,” even though the narrator presents a much lighter, even comical tone. “Scary and mysterious” are good labels to attach to the tone (voice) of “Araby.” And you are so right that both stories come from different times and places (settings). I think the narrator of “Salvation,” if telling this story face to face, might smile at times. I don’t imagine the narrator of “Araaby” smiling at all as he recalls this childhood incident.
Hi Professor Conway so I want to ask you question do you think this would be a good respond to the discussion questions or not I would love to hear your opinion thank you!
Hi Jiang! I enjoyed reading your response, I agree with the way the stories were written, very mature and aware of their incidents which would indicate they were adults. I did not think about the two different time periods, but I notice the distinction now as well as the cultural backgrounds. I liked that you used the word “mysterious” for the narrator of “Araby” that definitely describes the events leading up to the end very well and his behavior throughout the story.
Jiang Hua Liu, you gave a good explanation. For the first part where u said the narrator of ‘Salvation’ is an adult because of the way that a adult boy will tell his love story to someone else. I can personally relate this because I also have the same voice and attitude when I tell my love stories to my friends. Whereas, his thoughts and understanding in the market shows that the narrator of ‘Araby’ has a matured personality.
The narrators are adults because they are giving a full picture of the story that could only be enriched in such a way that only time would have allowed for. Both works present reflections on painful, yet pivotal episodes that they have processed and developed into stories.
The voice of “Salvation” is one that beautifully skirts the line between humor and seriousness. If I sat down at a cafe with Langston Hughes (I imagine us sitting on a round table in the sun also with Countee Cullen and DuBois) I can imagine him telling this story to reflect on the irony of his upbringing, with his distance of adulthood that would allow him to laugh, but also have compassion for the boy who felt alone in his family and community because he did not believe in God anymore. Often very serious and frightening topics such as religion need to take on some degree of humor in order for us to have the strength to address them. There is a feeling of strong rhythm and imagery present in “Salvation” that does feel as if he is a friend telling a story at a cafe about a pivotal moment in his childhood. It is the kind of personable and lyrical voice I seek when I pick up a memoir – the voice of a friend simply telling a story that they have spent a significant amount of time thinking about.
In contrast, James Joyce’s “Araby” takes on a much more serious voice, void of humor but rich in personal experience. The somber voice of “Araby” can be attributed in large to the conclusion that the author comes to about life and growing up, that there is not happiness to be found elsewhere, but life to enjoy where you are, as you are.
The first thing I want to say is I agree you with what you’re saying for these two stories a conflict the narrator trying to send a message to the reader. The narrator is trying to satirize his growing up process of what he the coming through on his teenager age both stories are similar. But the narrator I was also trying to let the reader field the Motion behind the story and the mood of the story behind he’s voice.
Jiang Hua, please be sure to address comments to others by name so we can all follow along!
I’ll promise I will do it next time thank you
Kassandra, thank you for your thoughtful post. I agree with your reading of the stories, in that the pivotal experiences described are viewed by the narrators through the lens of many years, allowing them to be placed into context within their lives. I also appreciated your suggestion for additional guests to join you at the café!
There is a small point in your post that may be an assumption in the reading of “Salvation”. You wrote that the protagonist “did not believe in God anymore”. In the text, the narrator’s actual wording is that he “didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore.” It is a subtle point but perhaps significant. The narrator may be implying that he no longer believes in God, however not believing in God and not believing in “Jesus anymore” are not necessarily the same. The narrator’s adult thoughts about the possibility of a higher power, albeit different from his adolescent understanding, is perhaps ambiguous in the text.
Karl, this is a great point. I have to admit, in my mind I have also always interchanged “God” with “Jesus” when reading this story. I’ve had conversations with others about what actually happens to this narrator at the end. I used to believe that the narrator doesn’t necessarily lose his religious belief but that it evolves into something less literal. I felt that the fact that he is humorous in his telling suggests that he is not, in fact, bereft of faith. But there’s really no indication in the text itself that as an adult he is a believer. You add to my thoughts with this very astute observation, which I feel should have been obvious to me, but wasn’t.
Karl, thank you for pointing that out I did not even realize I was making that assumption and I will make sure not to do so in the future.
Kassandra, wonderful post! Your description of the two voices of the narrators is so well expressed. I love the phrasing you use that describes the narrative voice of “Salvation” skirting “the line between humor and seriousness.” It seems to me that this narrator has come to terms with his realization that he does not believe in God, while the narrator of “Araby” is still grappling with his shattered illusions—or maybe the environment that caused him to harbor these illusions.
Hi Kassandra, I like how you describe your “hangout” with Langston with the round table in the sun. I also agree with you on the tone that Langston had in “Salvation” as if he was talking to a friend, especially in a humorous but serious way as he describes his childhood. As if he was comfortable sharing that part of his life. I also agree with the tone of “Araby” it’s severe but also gave me the message that to do something nice for someone you love.
Both stories show growth and describe these events as important realizations they’ve experienced. I also noticed they speak in past tense, so the fact that they are much older is implied. To say they are adults, that would show by maturity in the text, kids often do not take things so deeply or can express their understanding of why those events occurred. For example, in “Araby” if it was narrated by a kid, they would have just focused on playing with friends, school and most of all the girl he was fascinated by. He would not have understood the true anger or regret in the end.
If I were at a coffee shop hearing the story “Araby” I imagine a hopeless romantic with a raspy deep voice who sounds like they’ve been through it all and given up. As for “Salvation”, I imagine a bold yet toneless hesitant voice. Considering that the story made the character seem out of place and unsure of what to feel.
The difference between the stories is the ending, some may say they both lost hope which may be true if you look at it from another perspective; but I noticed that in “Araby” the narrator is blinded by frustration whereas in “Salvation” he is filled with sadness and disappointment.
Hi Florijina Bicaj. I enjoy reading your response to those questions. I agree the narrator are adult because their stories show the dimension of thought. Both of them are regretful from the decision that they’ve made in the past. When we get into conversation with them, the stories are driven by the realization of their immature experiences which easily catch the listener’s attention. All good or bad experiences shape people mindset. I can clearly hear a raspy deep voice from the narrator of Araby who has been through a hopeless romantic story. For the narrator of Salvation, I imagine a little differently about his voice. I think his voice would sound soft but firm from his strongly belief.
Florijana, I smiled a little at your comments about the narrator of “Araby.” I have a similar picture. I always imagine some skinny, poetic, embittered storyteller drinking whisky in a bar, still angry about the hopelessness of his native country—and, as you write, someone who has “been through it all and given up.” For me, the gentle humor of “Salvation” suggests that the narrator may have lost faith in God but not in humanity.
Florijana, I agree with you that both narrators are adult because of the way they describe the events as important realizations they have experienced and the sentences are in past tense. It’s true kids can’t express themselves in this sophisticated manner. Thank you
Daniel, please make sure responses to others meet the length requirement.
Both stories are told by the adults narrators. In the beginning of Salvation by Langston, “ I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen.” is the past tense that I can notice the story is about the childhood of narrator. Moreover, he points out he was in a special meeting for children in his aunt Reed’s church. In Araby, the narrator firstly addressed himself as a kid played around with his friend around the neighborhood including the silent street, the dark dripping garden etc. He lived with the guardian which are his aunt and uncle. He was still in school when he mentioned about his master during the class and tedious work.
If I imagined about meeting two narrators in a cafe or bar, it would have been a splendid experience. I assume the narrator of Salvation would sound like person who wants to share the haunting experience in the past and social pressure. He regretfully grew up in the force of his society that made him lie in something that he doesn’t believe till now. The attitude of the narrator would want to give a signal to all parents about freeing the expectations of the kids. We should respectfully treat children like adult because youth have the right to choose what they want to believe based on the appropriate amount of parent’s advisement.
For the narrator of Araby, he would sound like person who want to share his first love experience and traumatic life in the early 20th century which was the riot of the government in England. The mood and tone of story are gloomy. The tiresome toward his surrounding are described distinctly that people had a difficulty to live in such post war economy. The attitude of the narrator would warn people don’t be afraid or bashful to do something nice to your love one. You can’t turn back in time. He would encourage people by his story.
The way of the voices and attitudes of the two narrators are different in term of the story telling style. The narrator of Salvation walks us through his though in the beginning till the end. The narrator of Araby is more detailed in describing the way of people lives and city vibe to support his first love story.
Kannikar, yes, I’m glad you mention the verb tense of the stories. It reminds me to address the question of diction. Another way we know that the stories are told by adults is by the sophistication of language. In the case of “Salvation,” we see something verbal irony that is beyond what a child might use. Also, children tend not to have much sense of humor about themselves. And what child would describe the slow of passage of time in this way? “What innumerable follies laid waste my waking and sleeping thoughts after that evening! I wished to annihilate the tedious intervening days.”
I agree with you that the narrator of Araby was more descriptive of his environment, as he watched and waited at the window, waiting for the days to pass and walking around the empty rooms. Made him seem more alone as he resided with his aunt and uncle and pined for the girl across the street. As he spoke it painted the images in my head as if I could see him blush in her presence and run to catch that train. Joyce was very descriptive in his story.
Shyvonne, please address comments to others by name.
One thing that is really striking to me is that while Hughes describes a terrible poisoning of his childhood capacity for faith, his own narration is full of an almost jolly ironic humor about the subject, with a genuinely affable and entertaining demeanor. His desire to amuse feels oddly close to an oral account at times in the way it feels slyly addressed to an unmentioned but imagined audience.
Joyce, who actively turned his back on the church in a kind of intellectual protest, remained perpetually tormented by this decision, and the narrator of Araby seems to be Joyce at his most stubbornly and sadly rational, stuck in a kind of bitter mourning for the loss of the church and its magic that perhaps began at the moment described in the story. Araby is very stuffy and brooding, and at times its as if he has a total indifference to the audience – he’s writing as if his life, or his soul, depends on really capturing with incredible sensual precision the specifics of this moment, but only for himself. There is no imagined audience at all; it’s as if he’s writing for the love of the text itself, or to conjure some kind of divinity out of paper. Perhaps it’s this obsessive, microscopic introspection that imbues his writing with such a peculiar text-iness.
Thomas, just a short comment… wonderful observation that Joyce’s style conveys a sense of his writing primarily for his own need to work through his memory of the experiences. I was also very much taken by the beauty of his “sensual precision”, as you phrased it.
Yes, so sensual – Joyce was my first introduction to the idea of a text and its language and literary devices having a kind of erotic quality. My first brush with Ulysses as a teenager absolutely changed the course of my life.
Thomas, I enjoyed reading your thoughts on the readings. I had trouble connecting with “Araby” but also enjoyed reading it because it was simply so beautifully written, and although I did not personally connect with the story I knew I was reading a powerful story for the narrator. Your description of Joyce not writing for an audience helped me to articulate this disconnect I was feeling when reading Araby. However, when I think more about it I also feel like he is only writing for an audience, in the manner that he is writing with “peculiar text-iness”, as you put it. I wonder if maybe both are the case; Joyce’s story is very self serving as a whole, whether it is written without the audience in mind or in an almost performative manner, or both. Thank you for your close reading and sharing such a thought-provoking interpretation with us.
The narrator in Salvation is reflective but mocks his experience of becoming saved and meeting Jesus with a hint of humor. I imagine the sound of the narrator’s voice pivoting between highly joyful emotions and great sadness. When he speaks his voice has a beat that is full of zeal and a zest for life but at other times it is raspy, low, and moody.
The voice of the narrator in Araby sounds like someone that enjoys life and fondly recalls his childhood experiences. His voice is whimsical and filled with hints of mischief even as an adult.
Both stories present the rite of passage experience and profound experiences for each narrator. Langston seems to be encapsulated in life’s difficulties. His grandmother dies, his father leaves the family, his mother goes north and goes to live with relatives and aunt who takes him to church to be saved and none of his expectations are met there. The narrator of Araby has a relatively normal experience and becomes infatuated and unable to speak when is he near or sees the girl he proclaims his love for and the big adventure to the fair does not meet his expectation either.
Lisa, thanks for posting! Yes, the humor in “Salvation” is subtle and wonderful even though the subject matter—the loss of faith—is a deeply serious one. I think it’s true that there is no sense of hopelessness in this narrative voice. The narrator seems to have found a different way to find meaning and enjoyment in his life, without religion. I have disagreements with you about the narrator of “Araby,” however. I’m not sure what in this very dark and poetic text suggests anything whimsical or leads one to think that the narrator enjoys his life. You might was to revisit the story in your spare time (That’s a joke, the part about “spare time.”)
Hi Professor — I truly appreciate your feedback and take your advice to revisit Araby and my interpretation of the narrator. Your mention of “spare time” is well taken, its the thing I pray for daily. Thank you for an interesting start to my online experience.
Lisa, I completely agree with your perception of what Langston Hughes’ voice would sound like! I think that a smooth and easy voice (like many have suggested) would be very suitable for many of his other works, but for this specific piece it’s very hard to imagine anything without a spectacular amount of energy and emotion. Although I could not visualize any sort of playfulness in Joyce’s voice at first, I believe you make a completely valid point on the mischief that could be heard during some parts of “Araby”. Thank you for opening my mind to this concept.
In the beginning of Salvation by Langston, he started off by saying “ I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen.” From then on, I just knew that this was about to be a story from when he was younger. It wasn’t in the present or future tense. He also stated “ That night I was escorted to the front row and placed on the mourners’ bench with all the other younger sinners.” In Araby, the narrator firstly described himself as a kid playing around with his friend in the neighborhood. “The cold air stung us and we played till our bodies glowed.”
If I imagined meeting two narrators in a cafe or bar, I feel like the narrator of Salvation would sound like a person filled with sadness, guilt, embarrassment and disappointment. He was sort of forced to do something that should have been spiritually dealt with. It was more of a monkey see, so monkey did type of situation. For the narrator of Araby, in the story it mentions the city of Dublin. As it was described, it seems pathetic and depressing. The first sentence demonstrates his attitude toward the city. The street being “blind” or a dead end shows a lifeless description. The houses all gaze at one another “with brown imperturbable faces”. The attitude and tone of the story is dark. The attitude of the narrator would be people you don’t have to be frightened to do something for someone you really love.
The voices and attitudes of the two narrators were both different. The narrator of Salvation made us readers feel what he was going through from the beginning of the story until the very end. THe imagery was great. On the other hand, the narrator of Araby played around a bit in the story. I say this because as a reader I felt mixed emotions. I felt many different ways during the story. I didn’t just have only one feeling.
The narrators to “Salvation” and “Araby” are both adults because the way they detail the story gives us an image of a sentimental moment that had happened in their life. I also believe that children are not able to comprehend certain situations and aren’t able to express the situations as the narrators did.
If I was sitting in a café with Langston as he tells the story of “Salvation”, I imagine his voice to be deep, with a southern like accent, and a serious but also a laughing tone as he describes the irony of his upbringing and how he can reflect on it now as an adult. The story does give an atmosphere as Langston was talking to a friend about a touching moment in his life.
If I was in a café with James, the tone and attitude in the story sounded dark but also gave the message as to don’t be afraid to do something nice for someone you love. I would imagine him sounding like he has a croaky kind of voice, as he shares his story about his first love in a terrible time while smoking a cigarette.
Both narrator’s styles are different because the tone in “Araby” is dark and unpleasant about his childhood and “Salvation” tone is more him reflecting on something that has happened in his past and is able to move on.
Both the narrators have one thing in common. They used mature language when describing their childhood experiences. For instance, in “Salvation” when the narrator cried for not telling the truth to her aunt and realized that he deceived everybody in the church. This realization of his mistakes shows that Hughes was well matured when he narrated this story. On the other hand, in “Araby” the narrator’s interaction with his uncle and aunt shows that he has a mature personality. For instance, the narrator getting annoyed when his aunt and uncle don’t take his request seriously.
If both the narrators tell me this story in a café or bar, I would for the first few minutes the narrator of “Salvation” would tell the story in a smooth voice and sometimes in a sarcastic manner as he speaks about the feelings and thoughts of Jesus would come to see him. However, towards the end of the story he will have a deep voice as his all expectations turn into feelings of guilt and sadness. On the other hand, the narrator of “Araby” would have express the story with a serious voice, with no happiness seen on the face because his story is full of pain and anger.
While reading both stories “Arby” and ” Salvation” the narrators conduct themselves as mature individuals who are able to express there upbringing from children to adults. Reflecting on the pain they faced they are able to look back and see how their actions altered certain views they may have during adulthood.
If I were in a cafe or bar listening to both stories, I would be intrigued to find out how their views have changed. I would expect the voice of Salvation to be soft-spoken and pure being able to reflect every word said as if I were experiencing myself. He voices his memories in a mature sophisticated manner being able to relive his mistakes without failing to understand what he did wrong.
The voice of “Arby” I imagine having a deep based voice sounding very hurt. Understanding that choosing to go to the market is dangerous and he needed a ride I would expect the narrator to be a child, reflecting back on what was his first love. His obsession and weakness for love shows how much he is willing to do to express his feelings.
In Langston Hughes’ “Salvation” and James Joyce’s “Araby”, the narrators look back at specific experiences from their childhoods that may have brought them sorrow, pain, or confusion. These experiences last a lifetime and play an important role in our development. There is subtle language in each piece to indicate that these are recountings, and that the narrators are adults. Hughes and Joyce both show signs of maturity as they look back, present in the melancholic nature of “Araby” (especially towards the end) and in Hughes’ lamenting after coming to terms with his lack of faith.
Hughes’ voice when telling “Salvation” would be of one that varies greatly throughout the story. There are high points and low points, and it would be an injustice to not give great care to each word and emotion felt throughout that night. Every sob would be felt.
Joyce’s voice was a bit tricker for me to visualize, but I believe that unlike Hughes’ (deep, yet full of range), Joyce would stay solemn for the entirety of the story. “Araby” was very low-energy in my opinion, and almost felt as though some parts read like a whisper.
I disagree with your opinion of Joyce voice in regards to the fact he’s speaking about his first love that he felt so highly about and infatuated with to the point that he wanted to burst out her name and the only thing holding him back was by squeezing his hands. In a case with such intense feeling are involved I highly doubt that he will be able to maintain one particular tone while those feelings of love and disappointment surfaces as he speaks though his story.
In both Salvation and Araby, their vocabulary usages was very developed and expressive of how they felt at that time and was said with such intense knowledge and understanding of those emotional moments they have experienced was how I knew that they were reflecting on an significant moment in their past.
If I were to be sitting with Hughes in a café as he was speaking about his “Salvation” experience, I imagine his voice to be shaky filled with sadness as he goes back to that time and feel those emotions flood back to surface again, I imagine he will be resentful, a bit angry with himself and the choice he made, ashamed of actually standing up for the sake of making everyone and regret. As he ends his story his voice will have a shift in a persuasive, determined and mature way that expresses that he will never contradict himself again.
As for the narrator for “Araby” in my opinion his voice will have a subtle hint of anxiousness when he spoke about waiting for the days and hours to pass till he is opportune a chance to go to the bazaar, and when he spoke of Megan’s sister and his feeling for her. His voice will soften, spoken slowly as he remember how he felt nervous and how his blood used to rush trough his body with just the thought of her, then his voice would shift with anger and disappointment as he remembered the realization of his plans fading due to his uncle coming home late and drunk and then his voice will have a very soft tone of surrender and anguish at the end of his story when he recalls that he was just a little boy with only two pennies in his pocket.
The two narrators where both speaking about two different types of a personal emotional experience. One of love and desire filled with hope and disappointment “Araby”. And the other speaking of a promise and the choice to do what he believed was right and wrong with the weight of pressure from his loved ones that left him confused and hurt on the inside “Salvation”. Both experiences are different yet significant moments, one giving up on his infatuation of an older woman and the other losing his religion, hope and uncertain of what to believe in anymore. Therefore, I believe both their voice though speaking of an emotional moment in their lives, their tone will be different.
The stories “Salvation” and “Araby” are both short stories that are significant to literature analysis. They are both told by adult narrators who are trying to flashback their life experiences. It’s evident in the Salvation story that the narrator is an adult because of the tense used in the whole story, past tense. At the onset of the story, the narrator clearly reflects his old memories when he was 13 years old (Sharpe, n.d.), an indication that he is no longer a child. The Araby story is narrated from an adult point of view, indicating that the story is about growing up. He seems to be an adult who is reflecting on a formative time during his childhood. In a mature language, he describes the experience in the Araby market in an adult insight.
Hughes narrates the Salvation story in a reflective attitude that allows the reader to form mental pictures of the actual event that transpired in the church as well as his thoughts. The imagery of the multitude in the church who surrounded the writer is highly descriptive. Also, a cynical attitude is depicted in the text as the narrator no longer believes in religious salvation and punishment of sin after his encounter and that of Westley’s blasphemy.
The Araby story contains both the attitude of optimism and pessimism running together at the mind of the narrator. The pessimistic tone and attitude towards the town are intertwined with an optimistic tone toward the boys. In the evening, the narrator describes how cold the town was and the houses growing ”somber” as they walk down ”dark muddy lanes” past dripping gardens of odors arising from the ashpits” ( Joyce, 1914).
Langster narrates the story in a disappointed voice and cynical attitude as he feels deceived by the church and no longer believes in salvation. On the other hand, the narrator of Araby is contemplative as he recounts his bitter childhood but changes to comical on remembering his infatuation to Mangan’s sister.
Despite the two stories reflecting childhood experiences, the voices and attitudes differ due to the variation of backdrops and type of pain. Langston feels cheated by the church while the other narrator is reflecting on the suffering he encountered throughout his childhood.