The Bordering House

Shaimardanova Alina

THE BOARDING HOUSE

Part 1.

A

I can neither object nor approve of her actions, because she wants the best for her child, so she interferes in her personal life, but in fact she cannot choose for her daughter, she can only advise.

B

1. List all the reasons why Mrs. Mooney left her husband. Did they get a divorce?

She left her husband because he was alcoholic, he was a thief, also he had a fight with her in public and the most dangerous he tries to kill her with cleaver. After that «she went to the priest and got a separation from him, with care of the children» But they didn’t get a divorce.

2.What do the boarding house residents mean when they refer to Mrs. Mooney as “The Madam”? (line 24) Is the title accurate? Support your answer.

They call her like that because it showed their respect for her, because in those days she was a very strong and successful woman who owned her own business.

3.Explain what is meant by describing Jack Mooney as having “the reputation of being a hard case.” (line 30) What details are given to support that description?

They call her like that because it showed their respect for her, because in those days she was a very strong and successful woman who owned her own business.

4. Why did Polly have to leave her job as a typist?

She left a job because mother was against her contact with her father, who had ruined their lives.

5.What did Mrs. Mooney hope would happen when she brought Polly home to the boarding house?

She hoped that Polly would entertain guests and help the mother with boarding house.

6.Explain the sentence “. . . Mrs. Mooney . . . knew that the young men were only passing the time away: none of them meant business.” (lines 52-54)

Mrs. Mooney was convinced that Polly just had a fun time with the young men, because they were young and just entertained with flirt without any serious plans for the future.

7.What is Mrs. Mooney determined to have Mr. Doran do? Is she confident of the outcome? Explain your answer.

She determined to make Doran to marry Polly. She had no doubt that this would happen exactly like that.

8.Why do Polly and her mother not talk openly about what is happening in the house? When does the situation change? Does Polly understand what her mother is doing?

The mother decided to manipulate her daughter because her daughter was entertaining people at the boarding house and getting her attention, we can say that the mother benefited from her daughter, it helped her business. Besides, Mom was an authority figure for her daughter.

9.How does Mr. Doran view Polly as he sits waiting to see her mother? Draw up two columns representing her pros and cons in his eyes.

Pros: Polly’s care towards him. Cons: that she made stupid grammatical mistakes, that she looks too vulgar, also he didn’t like her background because of her bad family.

10. Who is Mr. Leonard? Why does Mr. Doran think of him that Sunday?

He was his boss. And he was afraid of him. He thought that he would lose his work and that why he was afraid to hear Leonard’s voice after accident.

11.At what point does Mr. Doran finally decide what he will do? What is his decision, and why does he come to it?

I guess that he decided to marry her, because it was the only one right decision in that situation. Also, such a decision could have been made because he was afraid of spoiling his social status.

Part 2

A

1. What do we learn about the values of the Dublin society in which the characters live?

It was important to have a good reputation among Dublin society, so every resident tried to look decent, but if any gossip spread, it would quickly affect the personality.

2.Show how the simile “she dealt with moral problems as a cleaver deals with meat” (lines 64-65) sums up Mrs. Mooney.

This simile shows that Mrs. Mooney dealt with all moral problems without pity or harshness. She made sure that moral arrangements were followed and if she was not satisfied with something, she knocked it out at the root.

3. Whom do you consider to be a victim in this story? Why?

I believe that all the main characters in this story are victims, because they were dependent on public opinion, I consider such a life terrible, where you need to please everyone, and not live the way you want.

4. Show how the unspoken thoughts of the characters dominate the action and contribute to the themes. For example, Mrs. Mooney’s assessment that Mr. Doran has a good salary and has saved quite a bit of money strengthens her determination to marry Polly off to him.

(lines 119-121)

In this case, Mrs. Mooney does not see Mr. Doran as a man for her daughter to love, but as a man who has enough money to provide for her daughter. She does not even see him as a man who has committed a sin, which is a bad thing, but on the contrary, it is probably a good thing that it is him, because he has money.

Also in lines 153-155, Mr. Doran realizes, that he needs to get married but he doesn't want to, his instincts deny it. He doesn't even know if he loves Polly, but the sin has already been committed. and he realizes, that his life is going to change completely.

5. If you had to give the story a new title that sums up a dominant theme, what would you rename it?

I would give the title "sin" because the whole story revolves around a sin committed. The main development of the story is that committing sins is bad and that sins must be taken responsibility for they are sins for a reason.

B

1.Why is it ironic that Mrs. Mooney should worry about Polly being in communication with her disreputable father?

This is ironic, because the mother did not want her daughter to suffer from her husband in the future the way she did, so she got into her personal life.

2.Explain the irony in the sentence, “She [Mrs. Mooney] dealt with moral problems as a cleaver deals with meat.” (lines 64-65)

The irony is that she did not want to solve problems gradually, she solved them at the click of a finger, without thinking about the sequence and correctness of the solution.

3. Why is it ironic for Mrs. Mooney to describe herself as “an outraged mother”? (line 96)

Mrs. Mooney believes that she “an outraged mother” This is significant as Mrs. Mooney believes she is in the right, that she has been wronged. She allowed Bob to stay in her house, trusting him around her daughter and he has ‘simply abused her hospitality.’

4. Why is Jack Mooney’s outrage toward Mr. Doran ironic?

The irony is that Polly's brother didn't protect his sister, and then got angry about it, even though there was an opportunity to do things differently.

5. How does Joyce bring out the humor in the dilemma in which Mr. Doran finds himself? (lines 126-164)

She laughs at the fact that he doesn't understand his feelings and that he knows he signed the contract but wants to redeem himself.

6.What is comic about the scene in which Mr. Doran recalls how his affair with Polly developed? (lines 165-181)

The comical thing about this scene is that he bought into it himself and spent a few moments with Polly, but in the end of the story, he was puzzled by the sins he had committed, while not wanting to marry her.

7. Find one more example of both humor and irony in the story.

The irony lay in the fact that Mr. Doran did not know whether he loved Polly or not, but at the same time decided to marry her, so that his reputation would not be ruined.

1. What atmosphere do the adjectives create?

The adjectives help better presentation of irony, and humour in the story.

2. What senses do the adjectives appeal to?

The adjectives usually appeal to appearance of the characters and their personality qualities.

3. What does Mr. Doran feel as he watches Polly?

He feels sexual attraction to her.

1. What contradictory facts do we learn about Polly from the description “perverse Madonna”?

It means showing a deliberate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable and “a Madonna” is idolized virtuous and beautiful woman.

2. There is another example of an oxymoron in connection with Polly in lines 82-89. Say what it is and explain its meaning.

The oxymoron was that she was frank, but at the same time awkward.

C

1. What did you think Mr. Doran would do at the end? Do you agree with his decision?

The importance of public opinion for Bob and Mrs. Mooney can also be seen at the end of the story, when Polly is called to talk to her mother and Bob. Although the reader will never know what Bob will say to Polly, most likely he followed Mrs. Mooney's instructions and marries Polly. Bob knows it's easier to marry Polly than people who will talk about him, especially his employer, the church, and other guests at Mrs. Mooney's boarding house. Bob marries Polly not out of love, but out of fear of what others will say about him if he doesn't marry her.

2. In your view, does the couple have a future together?

I think they have no future, because initially this possible marriage "would be for convenience", and not for love, as practice shows such marriages quickly collapse.

3. Do you think Mrs. Mooney is a good mother?

I think she is a religiously obsessed person, and at the same time she is mercantile, because money was important to her, not the well-being of her daughter.

4. What kind of a mother-in-law do you think Mrs. Mooney will be?

I think she would be mercantile towards him, she would only need material goods.

5. Do you approve of Mrs. Mooney’s actions?

I wouldn't really approve of her actions, but if you look at her character, she cared about public opinion, so she did it.

6. Would you like to have Mrs. Mooney as your landlady? Give reasons for your answer.

I wouldn't want to, because she was constantly in control of everything.

7. Do you feel sorry for any of the characters? Explain your answer.

I have no pity for anyone, because all their actions can be evaluated negatively.

D

1. What is the attitude toward sex before marriage in your culture?

In the modern world, everyone doesn't care about personal relationships, so this is treated normally.

2.How do young people meet each other in your country? What do you think of arranged marriages, Internet dating, blind dates, or advertising as methods of meeting people for dating purposes?

Most often, young people get to know each other via the Internet, because they are embarrassed to get to know each other live. I condemn arranged marriages, but there are cases in the world where this is necessary, for example, in cases where parents themselves choose a couple for their child.

3.Compare dating practices in your country with those in another culture. Which do you prefer and why?

In my country, they practice dating through online dating without any ultimate goal, while in Japan, dating is conducted with the ultimate goal of getting married.

4.Have you ever been forced into taking a major step you were uncertain about? Describe the incident and the outcome.

I was never forced to do anything, because the choice was always mine, and all decisions were made consciously.

5. Who is the dominant parent in your family? In what ways does that parent dominate? Do you relate better to one parent than the other?

As a child, my mother was the dominant one in my family, she usually made all the serious decisions. I treat both parents the same way.

E

Parents should have influence over whom their children marry.

I believe that parents can only advise their child how to act, but they do not have the right to choose for their child, because in the future they will not live with the chosen person. That is why it is called "personal life", because it concerns only one person, it is his choice, his right to life, to personal opinion, to his actions, etc. No one likes it when someone interferes in their life, even if it's their parents. You can advise, but the child must make the decision himself.

Analysis

1.The text under analysis is called "The Boarding House". The author is James Joyce. This text belongs to fiction. Genre is a short story because there is a rapid development of events in the text, the language of the story is specific.

2.The text belongs to aesthetic sphere of communication. A wide circle of readers can read this and understand the plot. It raises themes that people can understand and think about.

3.The main function of the text is emotive and humorous. it shows us the story of an unfortunate family with a hint of humor to show the true situation and mood of their lives.

4.The type of thinking reflected in the text is figurative. The author uses language in such a way that readers better can visualize and understand the message.

5.The form of the text is written. It is mixed. It has some short dialogues, but most of the text is monologue, the story about all the tenets and character’s feelings.

6.The text has 3 episodes. The introduction, when we find out information about Mrs. Mooney. The climax, when the accident has happened and Mr. Doran think what should he do. And the denouement, when Mr. Doran go to talk about accident and the girl was crying about what happened.

7.Paragraphs are short. Paragraphs are long the main characteristic of the narrative form as long sentences full of descriptions. There are long description of actions and characters feeling and thought about everything.

8.Characters. The number of characters is limited. They are major the mother, the daughter and Mr. Doran. All they are 3 dimensional. We know enough information about these characters. Also, we have the father, Mr. Leonard. They are 2 dimensional, because we have too little description and facts about them.

9.The literary trend of the text is realism. This text is about relationships in the society. The influence of society has always been a sore subject for people and their lives. Society believes that they can give voice and influence people.

10.The text is told by the 3rd person. Through the text it is difficult to anticipate the author’s presence in the text, but independently readers can’t understand his attitude to the whole situation in the story.

11.General tone of the story is ironical. The whole story is ironic, because the characters' thoughts differ from their behavior. This is especially true of Mr. Doran. He doesn’t want to get married, but he has to because he doesn’t want to go against society.

12.The leading theme of the text passage is marriage, which covers a major part of the story and another theme is not respecting society’s moral standards. Polly and Mr. Doran went against society’s rules and spent the night before their marriage. The main theme is the influence of public relations on people’s lives, their desires and behavior.

13.The cleaver—a large knife butchers use to cut bone—symbolizes the forceful and decisive power of social oppression. Here, the cleaver symbolizes the ways in which Dublin’s patriarchal society oppressed and even terrorized women in early 20th-century Dublin.

14.The scene is set in the Boarding House.

15.The story itself unfolds in perhaps an hour, maybe less. The story ends when, sometime later, Mrs. Mooney calls her daughter to accept a marriage proposal from Mr. Doran. Maybe the whole story is a flashback. Or the fact that the story mentions a divorce from her husband.

16.The main idea of the passage is constraint and social norms along with the theme of marriage. The author’s intention is to show the way social norms can be used to constrain people and to depict how marriage is viewed by different persons.

17.I didn't really like this story, because my opinion about the situations in the story is the opposite of what the characters have. I believe that many actions were done thoughtlessly, which could lead to bad consequences.