In the short short “Araby” by James Joyce, a young narrator brings us on his journey of blinding infatuation. Throughout the story, it almost seemed like the narrator was being guided by a light. Little did he know it would lead him to a dark dead end. I would describe the protagonist as naive, passionate, and rash. The narrator is hell bent on purchasing an item from a Bazaar named “Araby” for his neighbor who you can call his “crush” after having a short conversation about the marketplace event. The narrator thinks this bazaar is some sort of sophisticated Middle Eastern market when in reality it’s run by the English. By the time he arrives, it’s almost closing time so there aren’t many people and the atmosphere is dead just like back home. The narrator is confronted with the harsh reality of the bazaar and realizes he was so blinded by his fantasies he didn’t realize he spent most of his money on his way there so now he can’t even purchase any gifts for the girl he likes.
Daily Archives: February 23, 2023
“Araby” by James Joyce is a story about an Irish boy who lives on a quiet street but has an “uninhabited house of two stories stood at the blind end, detached from its neighbors in a square ground.” The “wild garden behind the house as an apple tree and struggling bushes.” After reading this story, I picked up some confusion from the young boy. He has some romantic observations of his friend’s sister, whom he described as her “figure defined by the light, and her dress swung as she moved her body while her hair tossed side by side.” There is something about lights throughout the story; it seems he doesn’t see the bright light at the end of the tunnel for him. The young man is shy when the young girl is nearby, “when we came near the point at which our ways diverged, I quickened my pace and passed her.” He is an inexperienced young man who had no preparation when going to the Bazaar; he was expecting his uncle to provide him with funds to purchase something for the young girl. His emotion got the best of him when his “eyes were often full of tears but doesn’t know why.” His daydreaming and desire towards the young girl were seemingly getting unreal; his impatient and expectation didn’t coincide with his feelings. He seemed lost in the story and needed to use this experience as a learning lesson for himself. He would need to disconnect from his fantasy to be recognized; he needs self-love at this point.
Araby by James Joyce is narrated from the point of view of a young boy. Numerous descriptions of the narrator’s home and neighborhood are provided. He says that North Richmond Street is very peaceful, with a “wild garden” behind his house and an “uninhabited house of two storeys” at the end of the street. When you read the story, you can feel the boy’s confusion and frustration as he navigates his newfound feelings for his neighbor’s sister. The contrast between bright and dim is a major theme throughout the narrative. Aside from his obsession with the girl, who is always depicted with a bright, almost divine light, the narrator seems to have no sources of hope in his life. The narrator describes how the home life is monotonous and devoid of happiness. He sees the bazaar as a magical and exotic place that brings a lot of joy into his life. Unfortunately, the bazaar is already partially dark when he gets there, and the last lights go out. When I read the story, the young boy strikes me as sensitive and romantic, but he also strikes me as naive and inexperienced.His thoughts are constantly diverted to daydreams about the girl he can’t help but be hopelessly in love with. I believe that he went to the bazaar to find a place where his dreams and thoughts about the girl could be fulfilled, but that was just a thought in his mind; he wanted to get her something from the bazaar without first making any preparations. To the point of complete disillusionment by the story’s end. When the light goes out at the end of the story, he understands that his dreams and hopes have also vanished. What he will do next is unclear, but his unrequited feelings for the girl […]
In the beginning of the short story Araby, I would describe the young boy as being very affectionate and sensitive. Due to the fact the boy has a huge crush on Mangan’s sister he is very descriptive of her as well as how he watches her from a distance and infatuates about her. He shows signs of desperation as he sits and thinks about her daily and even begins to fantasize about her and he begins to think about having a future with her. He changes by the end of the story because he starts to feel rejected and discouraged due to the fact he wasn’t able to attend the Bazaar as planned and was unable to purchase a gift for her due to the fact he arrived late and doesn’t have enough money. He becomes disappointed which makes him realize that he was going over board with his feelings for Mangan’s sister.
After reading the novel “Araby” by James Joyce, I think I would use the word lost to describe the boy in the story. At the beginning of the story, the boy is curious about his friend’s sister and has a crush on her. Here he has his first lost, he can’t concentrate, either at school or at home, and he keeps thinking about the girl. He waits for her to appear and converse with her. His second lost was when the girl told him she wanted to go to the fair. It was the only thing on his mind, and his uncle’s late return made him too anxious to think about anything else. The last lost was at the fair, where he lost himself because he didn’t know what gift he should bring back to the girl. His fantasy was wonderful, to bring back a gift to meet the girl. But the reality is that he doesn’t think about what to bring back. This is a reflection of the fact that adolescent boys always have good fantasies but rarely think about reality.
