Despite the often automatic preconception in literature that darkness and negativity are inextricably linked, darkness is first and foremost a protective and natural force of childhood in North Richmond Street. The narrator first mentions darkness when describing sunset, defining the time of children's play as the beginning of twilight. As darkness flows into the street, “the space of the sky above…was the ever-changing color of purple,” and the streetlights attempt in vain to bring back the light by casting “their feeble lanterns” (Joyce, 1). This highly romantic image emerges as the first sign that Joyce's contrast between light and dark will not be traditional and bland. And describing the sunset sky as “ever-changing” establishes that the impending darkness cannot be responsible for or indicative of the locked-down, paralyzed Dublin that Joyce repeatedly illustrates in both Araby and Dubliners. Instead, the light appears potentially negative, intruding on the darkness, attempting to destroy even the beautiful sunset. The children then rampage into this darkness, "[running] the gauntlet of the rude tribes" (1). Joyce uses several details defined by darkness to describe their game, which give the night a mysterious and magical air. Children run through “dark, muddy alleys” and “dark, dripping gardens” and can hear a groom “[shaking] music from [a] buckled harness” in the stables, all wonderfully wild images. Joyce does not pretend that such comedy can be perfectly sweet, highlighting strange smells and ash pits, but the scene appears childish, wild and innocent, devoid of any misery or suffering. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In stark contrast, the light comes to represent the corrupting effect of Dublin society on its children. As children delight in nighttime games, they escape from the harshness of the world, avoiding adults and “[hiding] in the shadows” (1). When Mangan's sister comes out to call the children inside, they only agree when she "stays" outside the door for a while and then they do so "resigned", torn from their comforting shadows in the cruel adult world of Dublin ( 1). Mangan himself “[mocks her]”, but he too has no choice but to go towards the light (1), underlining that all children sooner or later are forced to enter the adult world. And it is only once in this light that the boy first describes his attraction to Mangan's sister, stressing that darkness, or whatever it may represent, is not the cause of what he later describes as "vanity ” (5). He says that “her figure [was] defined by the light coming from the half-open door,” reducing her to a representative of light and practically nothing else (2). The boy's only descriptions of her are aesthetic, detailing "the soft string of her hair" and "the swing of her dress" (2), which only increases the importance of her figure defined by light. In his only conversation with Mangan's sister, the boy focuses primarily on "the light...the lamp in front of our door [catching] the white curve of her neck, [illuminating] her hair...and her hand" (2) . Only in the light does the boy feel an attraction towards Mangan's sister, an attraction that is purely superficial and without any significant foundation. All signs indicate that light, despite any preconceptions to the contrary, is a force that children would prefer to avoid and should not be the one in which they spend their time. Joyce uses the motifs of light and dark to highlight the repressive and harmful.