"An Encounter"

In the story, "An Encounter" by James Joyce, the two main characters come across a strange man during their journey for adventure and excitement. The narrator of the story reveals that he is frightened by this man through various references in the text to obsessive behavior. After Mohony returns, the speaker describes Mohony's running as "He ran as if to bring me aid." The narrator also states that, "...for in my heart I had always despised him a little." The only reason Mohony would have to bring the narrator aid is because of the old man. This then demonstrates that Mohony had understood the unusual characteristics the man was displaying which prompted him to nonchalantly distract himself so he could be away from the old man. When he left, the narrator felt defenseless and alone because his companion abandoned him. The narrator channeled that panic on Mohony and revealed to the reader that he did not like Mohony’s personality. The language used intensifies the tone of the narrator when he says he “despised him” as opposed to disliked him. The use of such a strong word as despised confirms that the narrator has an opposite personality than Mohony and that they must disagree often.
When the narrator realizes that Mohony “runs as if to bring aid,” he realizes that Mohony had known that the man was strange the entire time and did not tell or ask the narrator to come along with him to leave the man. This exposes the question of: why would a friend leave when their comrade is in or near danger? This discovery reveals a lot about the narrator and Mohony’s character. Since the author wrote “for in my heart” it shows that the narrator is one who will not confront problems and who sometimes denies the truth. Earlier in the text the narrator had turned down a fight and advised Mohony not to fight either, which further exhibits that the narrator is not confrontational. During the last two lines in the reading, the reader is asking themselves why Mohony had seemed to intentionally leave the narrator alone with the man. Earlier on in the story, Mohony brings a catapult to shoot at birds and tries to start fights with kids. These ruthless actions are examples of how the character does not care for other beings and therefore could not care about the narrator’s safety. The fact that the narrator had secretly disliked Mohony and Mohony did not care about the narrator reveals that there is an unspoken tension between the two characters. This can let the reader infer that there had been a previous disagreement between the two or that the author is foreshadowing a possible argument. Therefore, the quotation at the end of this story enhances the character’s personalities and exposes the untold relationship between the two main characters.