Symbolism and Perspective Comparison Between Araby and The Horse Dealer's Daughter

Introduction

Symbolism and perspective have been widely used in literature. Perspective refers to a tool or a point of view through which the reader can see and understands events or characters in writing. The writer usually uses perspective, which can either be a character's perspective or their perspective to create a distinction from other writers. It, therefore, serves as a lens through which a reader sees events and happenings. There are different types of perspective an author can use; these include first person, second person, and third-person perspective. They are an essential part of literature as they help the reader identify with the writer hence getting all the detailed information as it was intended.

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Symbolism has been used where writers attach a meaning to something concrete to create an impact. In other words, symbolism helps the author convey information comfortably and poetically without necessarily saying it outright. It allows the writer to create a new and more significant meaning to his/ her work. The different types of symbolism include- metaphor, simile, myth, allegory, and archetype. Also, symbols in a piece of work maintain its critical importance while at the same time, bring up other meanings within a story. The implications brought about do not have to be real and applicable. According to Lu, "symbolism enriches the narrative by pulling its message to the level of our unconsciousness and open to a different ineffable association"(6). This paper, therefore, aims at bringing out the comparison of symbolism and perspective between James Joyce's Araby and D.H. Lawrence's The Horse Dealer's Daughter.

Use of Symbolism

Both James Joyce Araby and D. H. Lawrence's The Horse Dealer's Daughter, have enriched their work with symbolism. Color as a symbol has been observed in both books. In Araby, the boy who loves Mangan's sister, who is the narrator, in this case, describes the houses vividly in North Richmond Street. "The other houses of the street, conscious of decent lives within them, gazed at one another with brown in imperturbable faces," he uses color brown to symbolize the atmosphere of bareness (Stone 353).

Apart from that, the narrator uses color brown to describe a character's physical appearance, that is, Mangan's sister. "I kept her brown figure always in my eyes" (353). Besides physical appearance, brown typically shows barrenness, which describes the emptiness between the boy and the girl in terms of communication and the relationship between them. "Had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words." Also, the color yellow of the pages depicts sexuality and profanity in the boy. Although he can sense the brown color and the implication brought about by the yellow color, he, however, cannot feel the sad state of Dublin, until at the end of the story when he realizes that his desire for her is merely a self-indulging illusion.

In contrast, Lawrence, at the beginning of his work, already introduced his characters to experience the psychological states corresponding with the colors, as shown by the doctor; although he sensed boredom in his work, it was the only way of stimulating his nerves. "Daily work wore him out, but at the same time, he has a craving for it. It is a stimulant for him to be in the homes of the working people... His nerves were excited and gratified."

Similarly, the author uses blackness and darkness to refer to death in a statement, "The doctor's quick eye detected a figure in black passing through the gate of the field down towards the pond." (Stewart 13). In this case, this black figure represented Mabel's spiritual death. Besides, the grey color symbolizes hopelessness experienced by both Mabel and the doctor, since, both of them cannot seem to get off their busy and usual monotonous routine. The doctor talks of constant hastening from dwelling to dwelling among the colliers' and ironworkers, while Mabel has a responsibility she inherited from her mother to take care of her family's need.

Moreover, the drowning scene is described by phrases such as grey clay beneath black water of the pond, and the afternoon is described as 'deadening.' He repeatedly uses 'dead' describing the cold water. The author, as well, talks of the 'grey wintry afternoon, blackened by the industrial smoke.' This color symbolism demonstrates the hopelessness state of Mabel's life, and the only thing she can think of at that moment is death.

In both works, religion has been used as a symbol. In Araby, the priest, the central apple tree, book with few pages, and the bicycle pump are metaphoric concerning the Catholic Church. While in the Horse Dealer's Daughter, there is a grave in the church used as imagery. It is, however, clear that James Joyce's symbolism represents the alienation the boy had from religion. This is seen when the boy says he only likes the last book with yellow pages but is not aware of the content inside (353), while in Lawrence, the symbolism demonstrates the connection Mabel has with the dead world. The happy ending in Mabel's life can be symbolized by her strong spiritualism, while Araby's boy seemed miserable to the extent of using love as an escape from his misery, which made him feel empty. He realized the void in his life needed more than love.

Furthermore, the central apple tree could be a representation of the Garden of Eden, and the pump symbolizes the serpent that tricked Adam and Eve. They are located in the garden behind the house in which the priest met his death. This imagery makes the catholic doctrines questionable and suspicious.

On the other hand, there is a strong spiritual connection in Lawrence's writing, "she felt in immediate contact with the world of her mother. She took a minute pains, went through the park in a state bordering on pure happiness as if performing this task, she came into a subtle, intimate connection with her mother". Mabel connects herself with the world of the dead through the grave in the church. And it was after Mabel watered the cornerstone of her mother's grave that she decided to go to the pool and commit suicide to connect with the people she loved. In the pond, she dives in the water with the aim of suicide when the doctor saves her. The same water meant for her death is used for rebirth and baptism.

Further, both writers bring out the theme of transformation. In Araby' s, the boy has his point of change in the realization that there is difficulty in overcoming social constraints such as their accent, inability of the girl to have time with the boy due to a retreat, and their love is accompanied by refrains from all angles. The transformation happened when he went to Araby to get the gift that he had promised the girl, but the universe made it impossible for him to get there on time. It was at that moment he got into his self-awareness. In contrast, Lawrence's, idea of transformation is the beginning of new life for both Mabel and the doctor, where, in the end, they both got off their boring life to a life of love and passion. The doctor always observed Mabel on the gravel, and he decided to follow her to the pond at the very moment she wanted to commit suicide.

Both Araby and The Horse Dealer's Daughter uses symbolism such as color, religion in which they use this symbolism in different ways. In one, religion is depicted dead, and the other, there is a great spiritual connection. The colors that demonstrate bareness in one story also illustrate a sense of rebirth and new life in another. It is, however, worth noting that both stories, through symbolism, bring about the theme of love, in a sense that love is not just a feeling, but a point of connection for the desire to show. Both writers have allowed the readers to create different perspectives when reading hence allowing them to emphases with protagonists in their level and understanding.

Use of Perspective

In Lawrence's story, the author uses the perspective of a third character Mabel who represents a girl struggling with her inner self. This character lives with her three brothers, and she suffers after her mother died when she was fourteen years old. Further, when her father dies, the family is left in a debt crisis. Mabel suffered depression, and a huge rift can be seen between her and her brothers since they have no respect for her, and this makes her feel the need to become more close to her parents and therefore contemplates suicide. She thinks of drowning in the pond.

In this case, Lawrence uses the pond symbolically, which brings about the theme of death, and love where instead of death, she faces a transformation where the doctor saves her life, and this changes her whole life altogether. The author's point of view of death is that it can destroy a family and take away their happiness, but at the same time, it is a way of connection and love. The family, which was once happy and wealthy, fell into debts and had an emotional breakdown, as seen by the way the three brothers looked at their last horse.

In contrast, the thought of Mabel to take her own life to be close to the people she loved "For the life, she followed her in the world was far less real than the world of death she inherited from her mother" (Lu 459). It is clear how the author demonstrates each perspective of the story through the third-person narrator's voice. The story of Mabel's revolves around death, family relationship breakdown, loneliness, but also the hope of being in love. The moment she was about to lose hope is the moment she found meaning in her life and found love again. She thought that death was evil; it took away the people she loved changed. She will finally become the wife of a doctor, and through death, she can live a life of languishing lifestyle as the one she was used.

On the other hand, in James Joyce's Araby, the author is the narrator, a young boy where he describes his growing up in Dublin. He has this crush on his friend's sister, and he promised to bring her from Araby. Unlike in The Horse Dealer's Daughter, where the life of disappointments ends up with love and happiness, the boy's quest is faced with a lot of disappointment, and he finally gives up. The boy is granted permission by his uncle to go to Araby, but on the day of going, his uncle comes home late, making it hard for the boy to get to Araby before it closes. On arrival, he noticed it's too late to buy anything, and his quest ends in failure. It is with this failure that he finally has self-awareness (Bingmei 19).

Further, the author brought a powerful linguistic perspective; he never identifies his characters by name but uses personal pronouns such as I, she myself, her, we, us, and so on. In this case, they only identify a male or a female. In the beginning, the boy is immersed in the "we" personality and the girl as her until she spoke to him that she turns into an active subject in the story where the author now referred to her as a "she." And also, the boy now refers to himself as "I," which showed feelings and loving. It is until later on the quest when he finally realizes he had failed; it turns to "I" and "myself" in a way that it portrayed disappointments and failure. "I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity: and my eyes burned with anguish and anger." At this point, the narrator comes into self-awareness and is transformed into an adulthood world which, he is not yet ready for (Marcella 40).

When viewed from a different lens one, gets varying interpretations, religion in the 'Araby's' story as compared to The Horse Dealer's Daughter is considered dead. It has also been depicted as a rejection of the religion by the rebellious youths. This is made clear by the fact that the narrator lives in the same room where the priest died, showing religion is dead in its own household.

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