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.
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2 thoughts on “Discussion 5 Jerry Cantave”
Jerry, thanks for this insightful post. You are right that the story is about illusion and reality. This is a young boy with no light or hope in his life aside from that which he creates with his fantasy about a girl he barely even knows.
On a technical note, please don’t click anything under “Sticky Category” when creating a post. Leave that box as it is and go to the box underneath it.
Hey Jerry,
I believe the story is also about Love, Allusion, and Reality. The religious boy was so in love with Magan’s sister he would do anything to impress her. In the end, the boy realized his fantasy of the girl was wrong and questioned his love for her. He created religious allusions when referring to Mangan’s sister as “chalice” which shows he viewed her as a holy god. In the end, he started seeing things for what they truly are instead of ignoring the reality around him.