Araby's Personifcation

The short story, “Araby”, starts off right away with the literary device, personification. The very first sentence says North Richmond Street is “blind” (19). I know from my prior knowledge that this means the street was a dead end, which is why it makes sense it is usually quiet. Why bring this up if it has no impact on the rest of the story? Is Joyce making a comment on the people of this street, which could represent any street in Ireland, and that children are the instruments that will bring life back to the street of Dublin? This also brings up what seems to be a central theme in these stories, which is a lack of life. In fact in the following paragraph, the narrator mentions the priest before him who died. The first paragraph goes on and personifies the houses on the block as well. It describes them as having “brown imperturbable faces” and also that they were “conscious of decent lives within them” (19). The first quote could be a comment on the society of Dublin saying they show very little emotion and are not easily excited. In the second quote, the word decent is interesting. Decent has a positive connotation, but so far the book has been basically a negative portrayal of Dublin. By calling the lives of the people who live in these houses decent seems out of character for the book. Does this mean Joyce was saying that, for some, their lives were good but could be better? Is this a indication of hope for the reader?