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Heir of the Mist

Heir of the Mist
Raquel Pagno

1. Setting:

• A Paris city
• An old big house
• Sobornne
• A cheap inn
• Notre Dame Cathedral
• A huge forest

2. Characters

Inácio Vaz

Chloé Champoudry
Stephen
Adélie

François Roux 
Camille
Enzo
Detective

3. Synopsys

Inácio Vaz could hardly believe in his dream coming true. He had just arrived in Paris, with some coins in his pocket and a strong wish to be a lawyer. He had rented a small room in a cheap inn, and had gotten a miserable job that would provide him a roof and a maintenance for years ahead. While he was waiting for the interview that guaranteed him a scholarship at the Sorbonne, he was amazed by the beauty of Chloé Champoudry. The fire-haired girl had charmed him so much that when he was called to chose his course, he had mistakenly chosen Artsi nstead of Laws just to be in her company. Desperate about abdicating his dream, Inácio discovers that his name is not on any lists of the university. In order to solve the misunderstanding, Inácio does not realize that his documents have been changed. The face in the photo is yours, but the name, on it is other. Stephen, his roommate, tries to convince him to take on the new identity. The documents belong to the heir of the Roux dynasty, a disappeared millionaire with no trace. Tangled in a range of lies and suspense, Inácio fights against his own conscience, while in love, searches for the girl who had stolen his heart.

4. Symbols

Fourtune: Money is not everything in life!

Love: It is a force who can be stronger than any other!
Life: To live a life in piece, it depends on the choices a person makes.

Death: The death is felt since the first pages. The dark aspect of the old big house and its background leads to a sadness lived for the two major characters; especially when they are alone, the presence of the death is felt so close to them that they can think about their lives.

Food: It is understood as a source of energy, to keep on healthly living.

5. Interpretation

This book shows us how a person can be so in love with another one that allows to break his/her behaviour and in order to keep on doing what he/she please is needed to have a decision. In this moment that the moral values, which are the most important ones for ourselves, overcome the will and make us to have a decision, it can be good for us and bad to whom will receive the new. This decisions lead the way we live our life, even when we regret about some of them. In this case, the loneliness and the poverty that a person lived are too deeply rooted that dos not allow this person to see what is better to him/her or even to try to understand some situations of the life.

Sites where you can find this e-book:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1253469994

https://www.kobo.com/br/pt/ebook/heir-of-the-mist

https://pt.scribd.com/book/352458476/Heir-of-the-Mist

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heir-of-the-mist-raquel-pagno/1126656892;jsessionid=3DBB0BDE72E01A2FE2035995F2E2CA0E.prodny_store02-atgap07?ean=2940154725443

A Painful Case

A Painful Case

1. Setting:

• A city far from the suburbs of Dublin
• A somber house
• Dan Burke's restaurant
• An eating-house in George's Street
• Mrs. Sinico's house
• The Park
• Sydney Parade Station

2. Characters

Mr. James Duffy

Mrs. Emily Sinico

Mrs. Sinico's daughter

Mrs. Sinico's husband 

3. Plot summary

There is a man named Mr. James Duffy that lives alone in a somber house in the suburb of Dublin. He is a lonely and intellectual man which works as a bank cashier. After the routine by working a day, Mr. Duffy spend his evenings out in concerts or operas, He has not friends or fellow to make company to him in his moments of fun. In one eventual evening out, He engages in a conversation with Mrs. Sinico and her daughter, and get admired not just for her intellectual thoughts but for her beauty too. After their occasionally third meeting, Mr. Duffy starts to go to her home; although she is married with a captain merchant ship, he keeps approaching to her through conversation about many things that both like and they become more close in each meeting. The captain encouraged his visits because he believed that Mr. Duffy was interests in his daughter. They were always alone in the house the confidence was mutual, then, in one of their night meeting , she surprised him taking his hand and putting in her cheek, he was scared about Mrs. Sinico’s attitude and what could to occur between them, then he stopped to go in Sinico’s house cutting off  totally the relationship with her. After one week, he decides to meet her at a cake shop for the last meeting: she is upset with his decision of break up the meetings but accepts it. Four years later, Mr. Duffy is in the same daily routine life: eating at the same restaurants, walking out for the same places and streets, living alone since Mrs. Sinico completely depart out of his life. One casual dinner night in George’s street, he is surprised with a notice in a newspaper entitled “A painful case” he does not believes what he is reading, then, he reads many times the notice about Mrs. Sinico’s death who was killed by a train when she crossed the line and in his mind, apparently was a suicide and he feels as he has guilty about it, his thoughts goes to her, how she felt so lonely while all this time that they were apart and now there is no anyone who will feel his miss. Now, he realises how alone he is in the world. Then, he turn back the way he had come and does not remember who she was, does not remember the meetings with her, does not remember her. He is by himself as always.

4. Symbols

Routine: The repetition of Mr. Duffy's actions in the daily life shows how a person can feel as a prisoner,  stuck in the life, without a sign of exit from this.

The will of freedom: When Mr. Duffy meets Mrs. Sinico is expected for him an opportunity to get out of that scheduled life, to get out of the known things and explore the unknown ones. It is the opposite of the previous one.

Life: There are two views of life, the first one is the 'monotony life' lived for Mr. Duffy (as a bore and sad way of living) and the 'apparent good life ' lived for Mrs. Sinico (as a life lived because a choice that can not go back).

Death: The death is felt since the first verses. The dark aspect of the house and its background leads to a sadness lived for the two major characters.; especially when they are alone, the presence of the death is felt so close to them that they can think about their lives.

Food: It is understood as a source of energy, to keep on the daily routine.

5. Epiphany

The epiphany is in the protagonist realization of his loneliness. After ''he turned back the way he had come'', he begin to doubt about what he had lived in the last five years, understanding those moments as mere memories that could not have existed before. He can not feel that woman who one day have a casual meetings anymore. He was, is and always will be alone.

6. Interpretation

This short story shows us how a person can be so true to what he/she believe that can not allow to break his/her behaviour and in order to keep on doing what he/she please is needed to have a decision. In this moment that the moral values, which are the most important ones for ourselves, overcome the will and make us to have a decision, it can be good for us and bad to whom will receive the new. In this case, the loneliness that a person feel inside him/herself is too deeply rooted that does not allow this person to see that what is better to him/her is to change his/her life or even to try to understand some situations of the life. The person is so closed to him/herself that is not able to have any kind of relationship with someone because of his/her lonely life and the only possible exit of it is the death.

The Boarding House

The Boarding House

1. Setting:

- Butcher’s shop

- The boarding- house in Hardwicke Street

- Fleet Street

2. Characters

- Mr. Mooney

- Mrs. Mooney

- Polly

- Jack mooney

- Outsiders

- Lodgers

- Butcher – Mrs. Mooney’s father

- Mr. Doran

3. Plot summary

Mrs. Mooney had a difficult marriage with an addicted husband on alcoholic drink that tried to kill her with cleaver.

She got a separation and for surviving, she opened a boarding-house.

With a son called Jack and a daughter called Polly, Mrs. Mooney lived cunningly governing the house.

The boarding-house was lodged by outsiders, tourists, there was music in the place, actually, it was a place for fun. . Mrs. Mooney runs a strict and tight business and is known by the lodgers as “The Madam.”

It was not easy for a separated woman living in a society with two sons, but, she used her daughter Polly to amuse the lodgers and help with the cleaning. Surrounded by so many young men, Polly inevitably develops a relationship with one of them, Mr. Doran. But, Mrs. Mooney has a purpose with this situation, wich she intends to “win” by defending her daugther’s honor and convincing Mr. Doran to offer his hand in marriage.

Maybe, because she wants a better future for her daughter, not there but married with an honored man who has worked for a wine merchant for thirteen years and garnered much respect, will choose the option that least harms his carrer. Mr. Doran is afraid of facing the situation, but, there is no way, because he has to repair the problem. Polly threatens to end with her life, then, Mr. Doran decides to keep on with her.

Mrs. Mooney gets what she wanted and Polly waits Mr. Doran comes back from meeting.

4. Symbols

Madonna:  A well-organized, profound case for the reinterpretation of the creative woman in the nineteenth century."

Joyce's private system of color symbolism (yellows and browns indicating decay) is used again in "The Boarding House." The yellows appear in "yellow streaks of eggs," "butter safe under lock and key," "the little gilt clock," and it is a corn-factor for whom Polly works. Examples of browns are the "beer or stout," "bacon-fat," "pieces of broken bread," and Jack Mooney's bottles of Bass ale. 

5. Epiphanies

 Each character in Dubliners demonstrates conflict in their intentions and actions. The individual moral dilemmas they undergo will force them to have an epiphany and realize that life is not so glorious.

Mr. Doran and Polly Mooney both want to escape the situation they are in but both have an epiphany and realize that, in life, one doesn’t always get what one wants.

6. Interpretation

Actually, Mrs. Mooney was afraid of her daughter’s future and planned everything to get a respected husband for her daughter. Because she did not want to see her daughter to suffer what she suffered before with a problematic husband who left her in a bad situation opening a boarding house, because she did not find other way to keep on.

Presentation

This blog is dedicated to the study of short stories from the collection Dubliners by James Joyce. It is part of the activities carried out in the course English Literature IV - Night class - at Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (State University of Paraíba) under the guidance of Prof. Valécio Irineu Barros.

Seminars

Dates

Eveline - July the 13th 2015
(Carlos)

The boarding house - July the 17th 2015
(Allex and Vandemberg)

A painful case - July the 20th 2015
(Emanuella, Kécia and Everton)

In the seminar it has to be covered some aspects, such as:

• Setting
• Characters
• Plot summary
• Symbols
• Epiphanies
• Interpretation (and personal reactions to the tales)