The short story “Araby” by James Joyce is about a boy that will literally do anything to make the girl he likes happy. Mangan’s sister and the boy don’t speak much, but she is always on his mind. As mention in the story, he thinks of her when he goes grocery shopping with his aunt and when he sits alone in the rear room oh his house. The boy is so enamored with the girl that he believes that he would never have the guts to talk with her and convey his thoughts. Mangan’s sister tells the boy one morning that she would be unable to travel to Araby due to a commitment to a retreat at her school, to which the boy says that he will bring her something from Araby because he is going. This causes the boy to stop acting as he used to; he is impatient for the day to arrive and is unable to concentrate in school. On the day of the boy going to the bazaar, his uncle is taking longer than usual. His uncle arrives very late at home and later on gave the boy the money. Luckily the boy arrives at the bazaar just before 10 PM when it starting to close down. He approaches one of the remaining stalls but leaves empty-handed, feeling unwelcome by the woman in charge of the merchandise. The narrator stands furiously in the empty market as the lights go out, having failed to make a purchase for Mangan’s sister. “Araby” by James Joyce is not a love story. What is “Araby” really about? “Araby” was actually about all the obstacles one faces in order to make another person happy and valued.
Daily Archives: February 22, 2022
The short story “Araby” by James Joyce is about a young boy who has such an infatuation with his friend Mangan’s sister, he begins to idolize her as if she was a saint. This is when the idea of love and desire comes into play. He simply can’t stop thinking about her and sees her in a godly way. As the story begins to unfold the realization that the young boy doesn’t quite understand the concept of the illusion and the reality of Mangan’s sister The young boy realizes that his love and desire go hand in hand with the illusion and reality he has for Mangan’s sister. As well as the connection the author James Joyce brings to this short story “ Araby” represents how Joyce views these same ideas of Love, Desire, Illusion, and Reality. By the end of the short story, he realizes the bareness of everyday life. The disappointment that is Araby awakens the boy to the fact that his immature dreams have blinded him.
In the story “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, the 2 characters that stand out the most in the story are Sylvia and Sugar. The reason Sylvia stands out the most is because she shows in the story that she does not want to be part of the wrong doings. In page 5, it says I just couldn’t go through with the plan. Which was for me to run up to the altar and do a tap dance while Sugar played the nose flute and messed around in the holy water”. This shows she acts sort of like an adult due to that she does not want to do anything wrong. The reason why Sugar is another character stands out is because in the story she is pictured as a girl who characterizes herself as someone who wants everything to herself. In the story it says “Can we steal?” Sugar asks very serious like she’s getting the ground rules squared away before she plays. “I beg your pardon,” say Miss Moore, and we fall out. So she leads us around the windows of the toy store and me and Sugar screamin, “This is mine, that’s mine, I gotta have that, that was made for me, I was born for that”.
“Araby” is a short story about a young kid who falls in love with a girl who is Mangan’s sister. Mangan’s sister comments to the young boy one day that she wishes she could go the Araby bazaar but is unable to. The young guy informs the girl that he will attend and bring her something. He believes that by purchasing something for the girl from the bazaar, he will impress her. The small lad becomes fixated by the Araby and Mangan’s sister. On the day of the Araby, the young boy’s uncle returns late after promising to pay for the Araby. When the boy reaches in Araby, it is already too late; the majority of businesses have closed. The young kid is devastated because he was unable to purchase something for the girl. Finally, the young guy realizes that he had fantasized about Araby for so long just to be disappointed. He recognized his folly in being so consumed by his “adoration” for Mangan’s sister. The young boy has no concept of what love is. This narrative demonstrates the concept of maturation and coming of age. The youngster sees “love” and the Arabs for what they truly are, not what he imagines them to be. His time at the Araby functions as a form of education and maturation for him. As a result, “Araby” is truly a coming-of-age story.
The short story, “Araby”, is about a young boy who is in love with a girl, Mangan’s sister. One day, Mangan’s sister mentions to the young boy that she would like to attend the Araby bazaar but can’t. The young boy tells the girl that he will attend and will bring something back for her. He thinks that if he buys the girl something from the bazaar that it will impress her. The young boy develops an obsession with the Araby and Mangan’s sister. On the day of the Araby, the young boy’s uncle arrives home late after he had promised to give him money for the Araby. When the boy arrives to the Araby, it is already too late and most of the shops are closed. The young boy is extremely disappointed and wasn’t able to buy the girl something. In the end, the young boy has an epiphany, he had fantasized about Araby so much just to be disappointed. He realized he was foolish for being so focused on his “love” for Mangan’s sister. The young boy doesn’t know what love is. This story shows the theme of coming of age and also maturing. The boy sees “love” and the Araby for what they truly are, instead of just his fantasized version of them. His experience at the Araby is like a teaching moment for him and a way of maturing him. Which is why “Araby” is really a coming of age story.
In the short story “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, Sylvia and Sugar are a lot alike in ways, however, Sugar shows a little bit of character development at the end of the story much to the dismay of Sylvia. Towards the beginning, when the crew first arrives at the toy store, they are all nervous. Sylvia even explains how she was tentative about going into the store. One can assume from her words that she felt as though someone of her social status didn’t belong in a store where toys are sold for over $300. She felt out of place and even looked to her friends to enter first. Eventually, they all managed to muster enough courage to enter the store. Sylvia shows in the story a sort of resentment for upper-class citizens who can afford these types of toys and she thinks that Sugar feels the same way, however, towards the end of the story Sugar surprises Sylvia by not making fun of the rich people, but by trying to understand why the economy is the way it is and why it is so unfair. This angers Sylvia and she even says that she is “disgusted by Sugar’s treachery” demonstrating the different mindsets that Sylvia and Sugar have at the end of the trip.
In the short story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, a twelve-year-old Langston is having a discussion with his aunt about what it is like to be rescued by Jesus. She talks to him about the innate feeling inside your body that you experience when you are saved. Hearing all of this from his aunt excited Langston and further drove his belief in the church and being saved. This strong and seemingly unwavering belief in the church made him wait patiently for his turn at being rescued by Jesus, however, after waiting a very long time and seeing all of the other children being saved, he felt ashamed that he was the only one not being saved and he eventually lost hope in his belief. This even caused him to lie to the church and to his aunt about being saved by Jesus. At the end of it all, Langston went from being extremely overjoyed and eager to be saved by Jesus, to wondering whether or not Jesus even existed and if he could ever be saved.
