"Counterparts"

“The bell rand furiously and, when Miss Parker went to the tube a furious voice called out in a piercing North of Ireland accent: -Send Farrington here!”

These first few lines in the short story, “Counterparts” by James Joyce, defined the mood for the rest of the article. The repetition of the word “furious” demonstrates how the atmosphere is currently tense and that the reader is about to get into a tight situation. Since Farrington’s boss calls him in angry and “furious” it will cause Farrington to have an apparent anger about his character for the rest of the story. The author’s diction of the word “piercing” shows the intensity of the upcoming situation because of the harsh sounds in the word. This diction builds up the mood of the story throughout the text. Additionally, the inclination of the phrase “North of Ireland accent” demonstrates the author’s use of imagery. The author intended for the reader to pay special attention to the sentence so they could picture how the rest of the story would sound. This introductory imagery confirms a basis for the reader so they can picture the scene in their minds.
The first sentence also helps foreshadow upcoming events. Since the mood is already very tense, the reader can foreshadow that the character will also be very tense and that this pressure will cause something incredibly bad to happen. Mr. Farrington holds in his agitation and frustration by continuing to drink until he comes home and beats his little boy. Also, the appearance of a lady, Miss Parker, in the chaotic tension of the first sentence brings an air of innocence to the sentence. Since a woman in present, she helps soften the mood slightly and foreshadows that something unjust will happen to an innocent being. Mr. Farrington’s child in the story was pure and he was the innocence the first sentence was foreshadowing.
Therefore, James Joyce illustrates many important literary devices just in the first sentence. He does this so the reader can build up to the ending and use these clues to understand the characters and the plot in a more efficient manner.