(McNeil) North Richmond Street

Today we were told to find a place from one of the stories in Dubliners and find its corresponding location in Dublin and to compare how Joyce described it in the book to how we see it now.  Well, in the story "Araby" Joyce doesn't really describe much about the street that the unnamed narrator lives on.  He gives a basic description of a residential street with kids playing and that is about it when it comes to the physical description of the street.  Today North Richmond Street is still a residential area.  There is currently a grade school underway being built right next to the street and the surrounding area is quite residential as well.  The street itself has been cut off into a dead end, I imagine when Joyce was writing his novel the street was much longer than about three blocks.  From the street you see the construction of the new school and the back of a very large stadium, the largest one in Dublin I might add (told to me by Mr. Murphy on my first day here).  The street was somewhat deserted, you could tell that people lived there but it didn't give off the impression that families lived there, maybe working class people in like there thirties who live alone.  One of the parallel streets is somewhat of a busy street with a few pubs and other nicknack stores lining it but other than that there isn't much else surrounding the street.  If you are to walk another block or two in any other direction away from the street it's extremely residential with even a lovely park nearby.  The street itself is almost kind of depressing now that you think about it (even though our group rejoiced as we had reached our wanted designation).  Compared to the street that Joyce had described in the book as well as other locations throughout the city of Dublin, a lot has changed in his time, even historical things that don't have much change have changed.  We have see what Joyce saw in his day and time and how much has changed.