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Setting
Style
Explanation and Analysis:
In “A Little Cloud,” Joyce employs a third-person narrator whose perspective stays close to that of the protagonist (Little Chandler) through the entire story, essentially merging with his view of the world. The writing style in “A Little Cloud” thus captures important qualities of Little Chandler’s internal experience, like his alienation and poetic sensibilities. Take the following passage, for example, in which Little Chandler reflects on his vision for his life:
A light began to tremble on the horizon of his mind. He was not so old—thirty-two. His temperament might be said to be just at the point of maturity. There were so many different moods and impressions that he wished to express in verse. He felt them within him. He tried to weigh his soul to see if it was a poet’s soul.
Stylistically, this passage is quite poetic, as seen in Joyce’s use of figurative language like, “A light began to tremble on the horizon of his mind,” and, “He tried to weigh his soul to see if it was a poet’s soul.” That the narrator’s language is poetic while Little Chandler is reflecting on his own poetic inclinations helps readers understand that the narrator is merged with Little Chandler in some ways, and that the narrator’s poetic (and melancholy) language may, in fact, be coming from Little Chandler himself.
It is notable that, when Little Chandler is with Gallaher at the restaurant, the narrator almost disappears for several pages. Here, Joyce focuses more on capturing the dialogue between the two men, showing his ability to write a realistic conversation between old friends, complete with stutters, pauses (shown via ellipses), and subtle examples of Irish dialect.
Related Themes:
