I wonder how many phrases might be taken from Irish sayings?

Great use of 4 words...

Belfast, Northern Ireland, strained relationship?

Her "poor" grammar could be explored. It is interesting to note that this was a major concern of Mr. Doran.

Marriage, another kind of pledge, as alluded to in the introduction of the short story.

A pledge of sobriety? Maybe religious in nature? It is interesting how religious terms and image are used even in areas that today might not be considered part of a faith tradition.

Two words used in the introduction, how they seem comforting rather than disturbing.

There is a clear tension around changes and attachment to home. It seems most of these attachments are memories.

Imagination. It seems like a large part of the narrator's description is what lies in his imagination.

There was a huge build up, the call to heroic adventure, and in the end, the experience was empty. Araby existed as a powerful force in the narrator's imagination.

Very astute observation for a boy. However, the interesting thing here is "repeating something." Repeated words and phrases might be studied using computational literary analysis.

The scene is set this early in the story... I think it would be interesting to look at negative words and how they are used.

Of course the sentence is interrupted at the point of greatest importance.

The story has a disconnected narrative style, like a dream. Emotions are clear, what spawned them is less clear.

The image of death?

The language is interesting. the man is old, and goes down the steps, but it is SPRING. Of course spring here is a season, and stands in contrast to old. Used like a verb spring is in contrast to just "standing still."

Similar to the scene at the beginning, when she is in a cab.

See Waltzing above, after all, the story is about "her first ball."

Since she is in a cab, and apparently moving, the lamp posts seem to be "waltzing."

And "Hallo" is used just below. In such close proximity, it seems like the differences should have some sort of special meaning?

Instead of hugging a teddy-bear? Hard times?

Unlike the earlier tagged reference, beast here seems like a joke.

Very negative connotation of Beasts here but later on, more of a joke.

China tea likely means hot tea in this context?

Broke of course totally out of money. Might be confused with something being broken if taken out of context.

Association with witches?

This statement is open to interpretation. Does this suggest her requests were reasonable, or that the servants were just kind?

Of course this dialog is not to be taken literally.

2x descriptive word.

The Colonel only opened one eye to look at them at the end. This is an interesting use of "peaceful eye."

Seems to be taking his pulse, and the sisters do not seem to understand. It is unclear how old the sisters are.

Easy to understand why sisters would not use long names in everyday conversation.

Childhood language pops up here and there in the book, I wonder if there is a pattern?

Class is here expressed in clothing choices.

There is a real focus on keeping up appearances, even if the fashion is uncomfortable.

This short story will be very different from The Moonstone. It is written later (1922) and if this passage is typical, the author describes physical settings in detail.

RC has so many themes that are reflected in this book, it is difficult to tie them together. I think the main issue here is the theme of returning home.

The Captain also uses formal language.

In most American jurisdictions First Degree Murder (premeditated).

More formal language, precisely identifying the object, as would be found in a report.

This narrative is a "report" which suggests that the language will be formal, with perhaps less dialog.

His use of the word liberal is interesting, I wonder how he understands that word in 19th century England?

Crusoe is a character that Mr J might identify with, as he is currently in an alien society compared to the colonies.

This is interesting, as Mr J gives the true motivations (according to him) of the other characters. It is interesting that he has to "translate," which because he was raised in the colonies (and his background) he does not feel fully at home in the society around him.

Uses opium to control pain, and might be considered an addict.

The Wheel of Fortune is the kind of name, in a novel, where things can happen. Fortune can be good or bad...

At the end of the book Robinson Crusoe, the main character returns home and is out of place. I think the reader of that book is invited to ponder if he would have been happier if he stayed on his island? The dialog suggests that FB might be thinking the same thing, after more more disappointments (as noted above).

There are many references to him being an outsider. This is interesting in that it suggests identity can be picked up after childhood.

Here the narrator is stating clearly that he is not convinced that Mr. G's public reputation as an eminent philanthropist is valid. However, it is interesting that he says the statement from Miss V about Mr G is "entirely beyond dispute." Looking back, I think he does indeed dispute Mr G's character, but does not want to explore that so as not to embarrass Miss V.

It is interesting how the author is using his special knowledge of the law and weaving it in with the story. The lawyer's account is of course from a legal perspective.

brusque - perhaps impolite but blunt and straightforward. A good name for a lawyer who people might want to advise them!

Interesting comment about lawyers, of course when you need them you are usually in trouble. On the other hand, lawyers might normally not be the most welcoming people...

I think it might be interesting to study the language of the letters compared to the dialog in the book. It seems the style of letters is much more formal.

The sentiments of the era might be shocking to some now!

1 Corinthians 14:34–35: 33b "As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 And if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church."

The local police officer is a complete fool, alienates everyone in the house, and finds no clues. He sounds like Detective Inspector G. Lestrade in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Incompetent police seem to be a recurring theme.

This seems to follow the Victorian line of reasoning that women cannot effectively hide their mental state.

I think this means to trap him like a wild animal. Badgers are hard to get from their den, which is in the ground, but easy to bait with a stinky food lure (https://www.trap-anything.com/trapping-badgers.html).

It is interesting the author compares an undertaker to a parson. It might show what he thought of religion. There is a link here to a post that suggests he was opposed to fundamentalism: https://wilkiecollinssociety.org/wilkie-collins-an-interpretation-of-christian-belief/

Almost an apology, as it seems that they were indeed quarrelsome!

This is a very interesting way of describing how Penelope is attractive.

This is a nice pairing of words, but again might not be used much today. Slight anger or irritation might be used, anger seems too strong. I think current, or nearly current, language here might be something like "pet peeve."

I think the word that would be used today is "willfulness" which here applies to her opinions. Stubborn is a word that might also be used here.

I think Jugglery here has multiple meanings. It can refer to the skill and performance of a juggler. It might also refer to someone who balances a number of different occupations. It might also refer to deception in general. Mr F says that the Indians are "lurking" after the diamond, so there might be lots of deception, as well as juggling, going on...

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, 1719. The first edition credited RC as the author, and some thought it was a true account. I think the author here is indicating that he is writing fiction like DD? In style of course DD wrote in a kind of English very different from the (almost) up to date modern English as in The Moonstone.

Another author who uses the literary device of family papers is George MacDonald Fraser, who write the satirical Flashman series. The first book of that series was published in 1969, and uses rather stiff and formal language to convey the (bad) character of the titular character. I think Fraser drew heavily on books like The Moonstone.