The story “Araby” by James Joyce isn’t a love story but rather a story about a child that is infatuated with Mangan’s sister. The boy constantly keeps a distance from her but always is close enough to keep watch of her and admire her. When he was finally able to talk to her she mentioned if he was going to Araby. He had all these ideas about how magnificent the event would be. He went as far as wanting to buy something for her because his “like” was so deep for her. But when his uncle comes home late and gives him some money, as he rushes off to go to the Bazar and arrives he notices that it was dark and most of the stalls had already been closed. This disappointed him as he had told Mangan’s sister that he would go and buy something for her. At this moment he realizes that his expectation of the Bazar was not what it is at all. At the end of the story, he is mad that he was not able to buy anything for her but he also realizes that his expectation was too high and the hope he had was no longer there. The story was about a coming of age of sorts realizing that his obsession lead him to go this far for someone that would not really have noticed him in the grand scheme of things which had led him to become disappointed and upset.
Powered by:
top
2 thoughts on “Matthew Hui Discussion 5”
Hi Matthew I agree with you that that his expectations were too high and that he set himself up for disappointment because she wasn’t really showing any interest in him but he was infatuated with her even willing to go out late to get her something when it was closed. In the end she never really noticed him which caused him to be even more disappointed.
Hey there, Matthew. I struggled to find a word that really did fit the emotions the boy was feeling for Magnan’s sister. So far I’ve read Obsessed and infatuated. I couldn’t really tie his behavior to anything romantic. It seemed more like, he was fanning a flame? He found something that was exciting and felt good and it was her attention. He didn’t seem to consider the possibility that she was not interested in him and his gesture might have been accepted but not praised. There seemed to be very few things in that town to look forward to. He didn’t question at any moment if she was as curious about him as he was of her, It might not have mattered to him initially but, a negative reaction from her would have weighed heavy on him considering that he viewed his existence in that town to be so gloomy.