As you reflect back on your reading of “Araby,”
review the very last sentence: “Gazing up into the
darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and
derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with
anguish and anger.”Please address the following questions:
How is the narrator a “creature driven and derided by vanity?” How do you interpret this ending to the story?
How would you compare the narrative tone of “Araby” with that of “Salvation,” considering that both stories are told by adults looking back on a painful childhood experience?
Please be sure to include your section number at the end of your response.
Address responses to others by name so we can all follow along.
92 thoughts on “Week 3 Discussion”
In the story, “Araby,” by James Joyce, the narrator recalls a childhood experience in which he travels to a bazaar in order to buy something for a girl with whom he is infatuated. By the end of the story, he reaches the bazaar only to find that it is closing and filled with goods he does not wish to buy. The final line where he describes himself as a “creature driven and derided by vanity” refers to the almost fantastical qualities he ascribed to both the girl and the bazaar itself. The narrator becomes fixated on a girl he hardly knows and a place he has never been as a means to distract himself from his otherwise ordinary life. I interpreted the end of the story as the young boy coming to understand an adult truth, that life sometimes does not live up the mythologies we build up inside our heads, whether they be about people or places. The story differs from the one by Langston Hughes in that it lacks much of the sarcastic overtone that Hughes chose to incorporate, with a more factual and somber narrative style.
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Justine,
I agree with your response as in Araby the narrator went through a lot of struggles for the girl he loved and he wanted to buy a gift to leave an impression on her. Also, as you said the truth could be harsh and is not always what we think it could be. It could possibly be different from what we imagine it to be and in this case in Araby, the narrator learned a lesson and was left disappointed and in anger at the end of this story.
Justine, thanks for jumping in so quickly and getting things started. Your responses address both questions very well. I think the more somber tone of the narrative in contrast to the more humorous one of “Salvation” suggests the different way in which these adults have incorporated the childhood experience. I’d like to hear what others have to say before I jabber on too much.
Hi Justine, I agree that the difference between the two texts were prominent in the way you described them, with a somber tone for Araby and a less than serious recounting of the events that happened in Langston Hughes’s childhood. Your interpretation that the narrator of Araby becoming exposed to an adult truth is somewhat taken with a grain of salt by me, as being disappointed and let down is a universal thing, which both children and adults experience relatively frequently. Of course, I very much concur with your statement that conceptions of the beauty of life that we built up as a child isn’t what we would hope for.
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Hi Justine
Its interesting that you bring up how being fixated on someone or something was to distract himself from his ordinary life because In my opinion alot of people do the same thing however I don’t believe anyone’s life is ordinary but rather they haven’t found their passion. Furthermore I agree with your interpretation of the ending because in reality some of us as young kids do have to realize that we can’t have the world: the adult truth.
In this story Araby, by James Joyce, the narrator went through a lot of emotions from love and hope at the beginning to anger and disappointment at the end. At the end of the story, the narrator is “A creature driven and derided by vanity.” He speaks these words as he exits the bazaar in which he was unable to retrieve a gift from Mangan’s sister who he loved and wanted to make an impression on her as well. He was disappointed at himself and this marked the end of his love. The bazaar which is Araby meant to the narrator as romance. His dreams of expressing his love failed and led him to anger.The narrative tone of Araby and On Salvation were fairly similar as in both stories, the narrators are remembering their painful past as children. In Araby, the narrator who is still in his youth is being set up or prepared for his first major disappointment and despair. In On Salvation, the young narrator was also being set up for his first letdown which was being unable to see Jesus and telling everyone else that he did and he felt ashamed. However, in On Salvation, Langston Hughes uses more of a humorous tone and sarcastic tone while in Araby, the narrator uses a more dull and serious tone.
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Hi Gagandeep,
I agree with you in terms of the tone of the story. I also detected that this one lacked some of the irony that the previous story portrayed, though both contained somewhat similar subject matter. It was interesting to read about the context of it, as much of the tone may have to do with both the setting and the time period, since Dublin was largely poverty-stricken in the 20th century, and the overall tone of life was likely not upbeat or humorous.
Hi Gagandeep !
The way you expressed about the different tone’s of the narrator such as humorous tone and sarcastic tone and also dull and serious tone is being well explained. i also like how you start with the way the narrator felt from going through many emotions from love and hope at the beginning and anger and disappointment how this true with us, i can connected to the narrator emotions. we as well now, go through many emotions as well and just the narrative tone really spoke to me.
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In the short story Araby there is this young boy that comes to have a crush on his neighbor. To impress his neighbor, he said he will go to the bazaar to get her a gift. The narrator is a creature driven and derided by vanity because he was so angry that couldn’t get the gift for his crush to impress her and win her love. I interpret the ending of the story to be unfair he wasn’t able to get the girl anything and he ended up standing in the dark after wasting so much time to get there. The tone of the narrator in “Araby” and “Salvation” are both similar in a way they were both very sarcastic and were both expecting to be able to do something they were told. So, for example in Salvation the boy was waiting to see Jesus and feel him but he didn’t. In Araby the boy was expecting to see the bazaar open and get his crush a gift but they both couldn’t get what they wanted.
Evelyn, thanks for posting. I hope you’ll revisit “Araby” once more (notice quotation marks around story title). Is the boy distraught at the end of the story simply because he hasn’t gotten a gift for the girl, or does some much larger realization come to him in that moment at the bazaar? Also, where do you see sarcasm or verbal irony in “Araby?” When you revisit the story, please pay special attention to the elegance of the narrator’s voice, as well as to the many significant images of light and darkness.
Hi Evelyn,
I think that expectations not meeting reality is the core message of both their stories, which you pointed out at the end of your response. Of course, the idea that is implied in either text can be interpreted in other ways, but your idea to me feels like it is the most crucial one, as well was being very important to why we as a class is reading the texts.
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Evelyn, I agree with your interpretation of the narrator when you say that he is a creature, driven and derided by vanity because he was angry that he could not get a gift for his crush. But I disagree with your view on the tone in both story’s in salvation its more sarcastic while in araby it seems more somber.
Ariadna, your response is really just an echo of another student’s ideas, one echo of agreement and the other of disagreement. Please try to add or enlarge the discussion in your comments. This suggestion is meant for everyone in the group, as well. Also—this is for everyone too—be sure to enclose titles of stories in quotation marks. Thanks!
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In the story, “Araby,” the narrator tells one of his childhood experiences on a bazaar. He wants to buy a gift for a girl he liked. But surprisingly when he reaches the bazaar, he finds out the bazaar is closing, and he doesn’t want to buy nothing they have left. On my point of view when he said, “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and, derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger”. By these lines the narrator is expressing his frustration because he did not find the perfect gift for the girl he liked and after this he considers himself a “creature driven and derided by vanity” because he believed that somehow the world was on his side but he wasn’t counting whit the reality that life its full of surprises and things don’t always goes our way. The tone on “Araby” it’s more of an adult that learned a painful but true reality when he was a child he uses sadness in his words because It makes you feel bad the way he expressed about himself after what happened in the bazaar. On the other hand, “Salvation” was more of a story that you tell your friends, because the tone is more of a comical story. I feel both stories have in common that they both gain some knowledge from their childhood experience.
Hello professor Conway, I will love to get some feedback on my analysis to see if I’m on the right track,
Thank you.
Estefany, thanks for posting. Forgive me for not commenting right way. I make it a rule to respond to all first posts submitted by Wednesday. You make good observations in your post about the tone of the two stories, as well as about the adult quality of the language in “Araby.” One reason we know it is not a child telling the story is by the diction (vocabulary). There is also an adult sensibility and understanding that comes through in the language. You’re right that the boy is not wracked with anguish not just because he does not get the girl a gift. He comes to a painful realization that he has been living in a fantasy.
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Estefany, I like what you said about the narrator having this idea in his head that everything would work out in his favor. He honestly believed that if he could find the perfect gift, the friend’s sister would return his feelings. It never occured to him that he was carried away in a fantasy, or that anything could get in the way of his plans. He was very naive. It definitely taught him a lesson. I also agree that the reminiscent tone of “Salvation” is a bit more comical than this text.
The story, “Araby.” by James Joyce, is something that resonates somewhat with me, as I had also experienced events that were similar to his. Something that can be considered important to you can also be considered unsubstantial to others. With his “vanity” the narrator implies that he was taken by excess admiration of the woman he liked, and now that the beauty of the bazaar, with it’s lights and wares have been closed down, vanity has looked upon him as a foolish beast driven by it’s emotions that have gotten better of themself. Salvation is similar in the way that both narrators had a rather imaginative nature, with one expecting the arrival of christ and the other the impossible beauty of the woman he or she fancied. The story is different in the narrative story telling, with Hughes looking back in a rather fond matter while the narrator in Araby less s.
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Kexin, thanks for this excellent post. Your interpretation of the final lines is so clear. I think for people who have gone through a similar experience, “Araby” is very powerful and in ways helps us understand ourselves. As the quote on the Home page says, literature is about universal experience; it lets us know we are not alone. Your distinction between “Salvation” and “Araby” is also succinct and insightful.
Reflecting the very last sentence the narrator calls himself a “creature driven and derided by vanity” due to being blinded by the fondness towards the girl along with the way he described and personally interpret the features of the bazaar as well. His plans to bring something home for the girl he loves were all over his mind and was crushed by the closing time of the bazaar. This was the only way he saw to express his feelings towards her. This reveals how the narrator is aware of how his foolishness and excessive thinking of another made him forget reality. I interpret this ending as a lesson to not have your mind wrapped up on one thing, it makes you forget about how reality is and inconveniences can occur and ruin your entire dream badly. The tone in “Araby” is more dark and gloomy than “Salvation” by Langston Hughes with both being related to a childhood let down. “Salvation” had some aspects of humorous/light through the story when he speaks about his family and the people around him being happy the way they live. I see “Salvation” as a less painful childhood experience as it was him losing the belief in someone but “Araby” a more sensitive one to be spoken about since it had to do with the narrator’s emotions towards another person for the first time.
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to add on to “Salvation”, the darker tone mainly comes from how the Hughes family would perceive him after he lost hope in the church.
Brandon, your second post just answered the question I posed in my first response to you.
Brandon,
I just finished writing my discussion post and I see that you also appreciated the imagery of darkness and gloominess in Araby as a symbol of the boys desperation and heartbreak. I think being let down as a child, in a moment where you feel you are experiencing love for the first time can be devastating. I genuinely felt badly for the boy because he created this idea of himself having love with a girl who he hardly knew, and then felt such anguish in the end in the dark at the bazaar.
Brandon, thanks for the good comments. I agree that “Araby” is very much about a young person’s acceptance of reality. I always feel sad about this boy, however, because he is so young and clearly lives a rather bleak life with elderly guardians, not his parents. The tone of “Araby” is definitely more gloomy, as is the dark setting. This darkness highlights the light which the boy always associates with the girl. Who do you feel let down the boy in “Salvation?”
Section 0503: Hello Brandon, I believe you make a very good point about the lesson that is shown within the story. I agree that within the story The Lesson is not to get caught up in one thing / let yourself get lost in an idea or person because it does slowly pull you away from the reality of everything and or the world. In both stories the narrators speak about childhood experiences but i do agree that ¨Araby¨ is darker then ¨Salvation¨ due to the fact of the narrator being driven by obsession.
The Narrator “creature driven and derided by vanity” i would interpret this ending to the story it refers as both the girl and the bazar itself. However, the narrative tone of “Arby” and with that of “Salvation” that they were both similar in both stories, and the both of the narrators are remembering their painful past as children’s. On the other hand, “Arby” tone is more on the serious and more dull meanwhile in Salvation the tone is more as humorous tone and a sacrastic tone.
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Hi Stephanie,
I agree that the tones of the stories were similar because both narrators highlight the pain they felt, and the loss of innocence after being met with harsh truths. “Arbay” was a bit more hopeless in comparison to “Salvation,” yet both narrators indicate sadness and disappointment even though two different stories were being told.
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ENG 201-0505
Araby tells the story of a young boy infatuated with “the girl next door”. He describes his love and obsession for her in very romantic ways, even going as far as to use the harp, which is a romantic instrument played by cupid, when he speaks about his infatuation for her. The anguish he experiences while waiting endlessly for his uncle to arrive home so that he can go to the bazaar to buy a gift for the girl is a great symbol of powerlessness and dependency that a child has on their guardians. Finally his uncle arrives home, but the boy arrives at the bazaar too late. It is dark, dreary, and deserted which I feel can be a symbol for his longing for the girl. He is completely defeated when he realizes there is nothing worth purchasing for the girl that will truly be regarded as a special gift. The quote at the end of the story demonstrates how the boy finally has a feeling of self loathing and despair for having been so infatuated by this girl who even barely has a relationship with. He feels crushed, and angry with himself for the way he feels towards the girl. There is definitely a sadder tone in Araby as compared to Salvation. Salvation gave a more humorous tone of an adult looking back on his childhood and smiling about what had occurred, while Araby had a somber tone. Even the imagery of rain and darkness in Araby was somber.
Giulia, thank you for posting. I am looking for a response to the question about the quote at the end of the story, but I do not see you addressing this. As for a comparison of the two stories, I think we have established in the discussion board that “Salvation” is a bit humorous while “Araby” is more serious. Can you add to the discussion that is already in progress? Also, please be sure to enclose titles of short stories in quotation marks.
Hello Guila,
I agree with everything you said, but I liked it when you refer to “Araby” to a story about a boy who’s infatuated the girl next door because of the narrator reminisces about this specific moment of going to the bazaar to impress the girl he liked so much. But realizes it was just a childish like emotion. I didn’t recognize this story is more serious and sadder while Salvation has more on a humorous.
The narrator comes to a realization after his market experience that his efforts to win the heart of Mangan’s sister were in vain. He was a “creature driven and derided by vanity” because he had hopes of purchasing a gift or trinket from the “splendid bazaar” that is Araby. The narrator’s desire for Mangan’s sister was so strong, his reality was manipulated by his infatuation. I think by the end of the story, the reality of the bazaar was a stark contrast to his imagined fantasy. The reality of the bazaar not being a wonderful market filled with wonderful trinkets he could purchase to win the heart of Mangan’s sister made him sad and angry, I think mostly at himself for allowing his desire to lead him to disappointment. The tone in “Araby” was much more serious than that of “Salvation”. The narrator’s use of humor in “Salvation” leads me to think he has healed and moved on from his experience whereas in “Araby”, his experience had a profound effect on him.
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Kenny, your discussion of the narrator’s epiphany at the end of “Araby” is very cogent. It does seem sad that such a young boy would have his illusions shattered so completely and dramatically. I couldn’t agree more with your final sentence. It is so well expressed and captures the vast difference in the tone of the stories.
I agree with the fact that the impression that the boy had about the Bazaar was totally indispensable for him and the idea that getting Mangan’s sister a gift would make him somehow a different person; the desire and fantasy comes to this boy as his own reality and once he founds out that there is no escaping he found himself feeling infuriated and sad, this can also be the physical representation of the fact that when he got to the bazaar it was being closed down. I agree with salvation being more of a storytelling experience from the author and “Araby” being a part of a person’s life and how it was shaped around this experience.
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Juliana, please address comments to others by name. Thanks!
Kenny, I agree with your point of view on the narrator being vain. When he had the desire to get Mangan’s sister a gift he was doing it for himself. He was so infatuated with her, he did it for his own vanity. Both “Salvation” and “Araby” showed us two different experiences that lead to disappointment. Both experiences had eye opening effects on them.
In the last sentence: “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger”, the author basically shames himself for being somewhat of a hopeless romantic for Mangan’s sister. He’s almost embarrassed for allowing himself to be so wrapped up in this image of romanticism and hope he had for the potential relationship. By going to the bazaar under the impression it was going to be a magical place, only to find out it was deserted and closing down, this then reflected upon his initial feelings for Mangan’s sister and resulted in disappointment and embarrassment for having such strong emotions in the first place.
I would compare the narrative tone of “Araby” and Salvation”, considering that both stories are told by adults looking back on a painful childhood experience, as narratives that express a battle with high hopes an expectations, only to be faced with disappointment and uneasiness. Though, both narratives can be slightly humorous when looking from an adult perspective due to the fact that these issues that are faced during childhood become less relevant as someone grows older. For most adults, when you reflect back on disappointment as a child, it tends to be seen as something more comical than it were to be at a child’s age.
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Professor, I am not sure why the time and date say I submitted my comments at 3:42am on Thursday, February 13th (today)… I did actually submit them around 10pm on Tuesday evening.
I apologize, Wednesday evening I mean… but to note: My previous comment said February 14th at 2:17am, when actually it is February 13th at 9:18pm…
As people of wonder we all have beliefs and wish to have everything our way however the higher the hope the bigger the disappointment. The narrator from “Araby” is in love with Mangan’s sister, admiring her from a distance; with his admiration for her he hopes the gift he will purchase will make Mangan’s sister have interest in him but he slowly realizes not every piece will fall in place for him. The quote “creature driven and derided by vanity” is an accurate description of being hopeful and coming to the realization that him and his desires are frivolous. What the narrator hopes for is everything to fall in place. He wants everything in a timely fashion, his uncle to arrive and the trains to come on time so he can get the perfect trinket for his beloved. However, when it was time to get his gift nothing went his way; his uncle came late, the trains ran poorly and nearly all the stalls were closed. What came after was the realization of how his little desire were simply unimportant like himself. As a whole story I thought of it as a love story in which the boy wants nothing more to have the girl of his dreams but can never come close to it. I interpret the ending as a statement to never stray too far from reality otherwise you will get lost and what only comes after is disappointment. The comparison I saw between “Araby” and “Salvation” is the transition between tones of hopeful to sadness in “Araby” while on the other hand “Salvation” portrays a more sarcastic tone to where it can be even told as a joke for friends. (ENG 201 0505) [11615].
Hi Mosheur,
I agree with your ideas that the tone of “Araby” is hopeful to sadness and I like what you said “the higher the hope the bigger the disappointment” because in the story “Araby”, the narrator has hope of going to Bazaar and buy gifts for Mangan’s sister who he likes. The disappointment is from the uncle forgets about the narrator going to Bazaar and the train running late. After arriving Bazaar, it is different than what the narrator imagines. Also, most of the store is closed so he unable to buy gifts for the girl that he likes.
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The narrator appears to be a “creature driven and derided by vanity” because he allowed his lust and obsession to take him to a place that really metaphorically did not exist. I interpreted the bazaar as a symbol of a care or love he hoped he could share with Mangin’s sister. Yet, when he showed up and it was pretty much empty, it left him in anger and anguish because what he wanted to be a reality so badly in his mind, truly was not. And the emptiness of the place was a reminder of his false hope. The lady at the bazaar who offered to help him, also symbolized a part of him that knew he had a choice to continue having faith in a feeling that was not sustainable, or to take the loss. “Observing me, the young lady came over and asked me did I wish to buy anything. The tone of her voice was not encouraging; she seemed to have spoken to me out of a sense of duty. I looked humbly at the great jars that stood like eastern guards at either side of the dark entrance to the stall and murmured:’No, thank you.’” (4th to last paragraph.) The tone of the lady’s voice indicates the part of him that had to smell the roses and the truth he did not want to face, possibly why he ended up not getting anything at all.
In “Araby” I definitely get a better sense of the tone than I did in “Salvation.” The narrative tone appears more hopeless in a sense. The ending indicates no justice or any thought of hope, and pretty much a loss of innocence. In “Salvation,” I originally thought the narrative tone was ambiguous, however in comparison to “Araby” the tones do share similarities. Both were let down and had to deal with harsh truths of realities they did not want to face, and overall dealt with situations that changed them.
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Samantha, I agree with you that the protagonist did not want to face the reality of his false hope. However, you have given me a completely different perspective of the scene of the young lady approaching him at the bazaar, as another symbolic moment that would lead to him to except his reality.
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In this story “Araby” by James Joyce, the narrator tells his childhood experience, which is going to the bazaar and get a gift to a person that he likes. At the same time, the narrator tells the emotions of love in the beginning and anger in the end. At the end of the story, the narrator state, “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger” refers disappointment and anger what he experiences in the bazaar. Also, he is unable to buy a gift for who he loved. I think the narrative tone of “Araby” and “Salvation” is different because “Salvation” is a more like humorous tone way of an adult looking back. And the experience in “Salvation” is not much influence after growing up, and “Araby” is a more serious tone than “Salvation” and might have some life lessons.
In this particular story, the main character seems to develop a particular interest in a girl that lives across the street from him, at the Bazaar, an event organized to raise money for charity. Once he finds out that Mangan’s sister is unable to attend the bazaar he promised to buy her something in return. Even though he barely knows the girl and has never attended this event it seems this is the only thing he cares about, maybe to escape the reality of living in a town a place that is described as dark and a bit melancholic; “short days of winter came, dusk fell before we had well eaten our dinners. When we met in the street the houses had grown somber.” The narrator gives this aspect of vanity since he is just reaching adulthood with little guidance from a family or a community, “if my uncle was seen turning the corner, we hid in the shadow until we had seen him safely housed.”
The search of a gift for the girl becomes something precious to the boy as he is trying to find not only an object but himself due being “lost”, and with few guidance or authority in his life.
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In the story “Araby”, by James Joyce the narrator revisits a childhood memory about traveling to the bazaar with intentions to buy something for the girl who he likes. But in the end, we realize he didn’t get to buy anything for his crush due to the fact that the bazaar was closing and his uncle forgot to take him earlier. The narrator is a “creature driven and derided by vanity” because he was driven by the emotion of lust, infatuation and wanting to impress by doing a cute gesture for her. The narrator is derided by vanity, meaning that his expectations made him have a certain outcome about the bazaar and when his reality didn’t match up with his expectations, the narrator ended disappointing himself and became angry with his experience at the bazaar. I would say the narrator’s tone of “Salvation” is similar to the narrator’s tone of “Araby” because in both stories, the tone of disappointment, confusion and hurt when both of the narrators realize that their expectations didn’t turn into their reality.
The stories of “Araby” and “Salvation” have similar themes throughout of childhood and coming of age. The narrators of these two stories though, seem to take different approaches in my opinion. I believe that throughout Araby the narrator’s tone is used to detail the innocence of the child. The boy in “Araby” is excited about his crush and buying her a gift. It isn’t until the end, where his innocence is seemingly shattered by reality and disappointment at the empty bazaar. The way the adults had treated the boy like a child at the bazaar only further added to his “anguish and anger”. He describes himself as a “creature driven and derided by vanity” at the point where he realizes his childlike innocence. His ambitions of pursuing his crush had led him to believe he was something he was not. Langston Hughes’ tone in “Salvation” is sarcastic and borders on comical throughout. He speaks from the perspective of someone who is already aware of how this situation will end. He comments on the theatrics of his church experience from the beginning, so that the disappointment at the end is not much of a surprise.
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Like many stories written by James Joyce, the story “Araby” takes place in gloomy Dublin, Ireland in the 1900s. The setting of the story automatically affects the tone to be more on the serious, sad side, especially when compared to the humorous tone of “Salvation” by Langston Hughs. Hugh seems to have healed from his story as an adult and can repeat it without taking himself too seriously. However, the narrator in “Araby”, seems to still be pained by his loss of innocence described in the story. The narrator “wakes up” from his childlike fantasy when after traveling to the Araby market to find the lights almost turned off and adults casually flirting. He then realized that his “love affair”, and the market were not as grandeous nor as significant as he made it out to be, “I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.” The author uses light (for example, when the nearrator describes his crush), becoming darker and darker the closer the narator gets to his loss of innocence until he is “gazing up into the darkness”.
sec 0505. *I meant to write grandiose
Sima, I don’t usually respond in writing to posts submitted after Wednesday, but your comments are excellent, and I hope others will read them too.
Hi Sima!
Your observations cannot be argued with. I especially appreciate how you point out the “loss of innocence” with the characters and the outcomes of their stories. I believe that observation has been easily overlooked (this also applies to myself) and definitely deserves some recognition. It is amazing how both characters end up giving up a piece of themselves once they face the reality of their situations… as if a hole had formed in their soul as a result of their disappointment.
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The narrator feels like a creature driven and derided by vanity because he lets himself get consumed with making himself look good and get caught up in material things rather than following his own heart. Due to the fact that the narrator craved approval, admiration, and or love he did not allow themselves to think straight and try to go to whatever means to get or do something that in his eyes would be worthy, which in the end ended up failing anyway. I interpret this ending of the story as a lesson that when in love or even just liking someone to try to not get caught up in the material aspects of things and or put so much pressure on oneself / romanticize things so much because by doing so it could lead to a quicker and most likely more painful downfall of the relationship. I could compare Araby and Salvation by speaking about how in both stories the narrators are talking about how naive they were as children and the mistakes that they made and or believe that have taught them lessons and molded them into the people that they are today.
Hi Alexis,
I completely agree with your observation of the character’s role in Araby. He most definitely got caught up in this superficial idea that he would be able to satisfy the need of this woman he was longing for through materialism, yet was met with disappointment when he realized that was not of any importance after coming upon the bazaar while it was closing. The author not only was faced with a harsh reality, but also experienced a learning opportunity that taught him the difference between what was important in earning someone’s affection and what was not important in earning someone’s affection. But it is amazing that the author took the time to recognize his own fault in the matter, rather than taking the blame and putting it on someone else (his uncle per say?).
In the story “Araby” the narrator describes himself as a creature driven and deride by vanity because he realizes that the world doesn’t work the way you want it to and that ,just because you imagine things a certain way doesn’t mean that it will be that way reality doesn’t always match your dreams and sometimes you have to learn this the hard way in order to, understand that the narrator had a idealization of what the bazar would be and he also had fixation on his friends sister who is someone he never talked to yet is quick to offer to purchase her something when ,she tells him about the bazar and how she cannot go because he hopes that it could help him with her and then when things do not work his way, he start to get agitated like when his uncle was late coming home “When she had gone I began to walk up and down the room, clenching my fists.” or when the train was delayed ” After an intolerable delay the train moved out of the station slowly. It crept onward among ruinous houses and over the twinkling river.” and finally when he reached the bazar “my eyes burned with anguish and anger.” this is why he calls himself a creature driven and derided by vanity he was driven by his fantasy of the bazar, his vanity was that the bazar was some great place and he would be able to purchase ,something that could help him with his crush so everything could be what he had imagined and more and he was deride by the, reality that hit him when he saw the bazar for what it truly was and also realized that he could not purchase something extravagant for his friends sister. I would interpret the ending of the story as a loss of innocence I say this because in the end he it hit with the reality that the bazar wasn’t what he imagined and the his friends sister most likely, wont care that he was not able to get her something from there because they have, no relation to one another they are neither friends nor acquaintances and the one conversation they did have was only meaningless small talk so from there he transform from a young boy with a big imagination of ,how the world works and how life will be to a young adult who understands that no matter how much you dream, plan or imagine it wont always turn out the way you want it too. In both “Salvation” and “Araby” both authors experience a loss of something in one its a loss of innocence the other a loss of faith and they both are hit with let downs and a harsh reality, but they look back on it in different ways while in salvation the authors tone is ironic and more humorous the tone of araby is more somber. 0503
Ariadna, I love your comment because it made me think about the bazaar as so much more than a destination. When I had initially read the last line of the story, I had interpreted the vanity as his view of the girl he was infatuated with. However now after reading your comment I realize that his fantastical view was not only for the girl but for this bazaar where his problems would seem to be solved. His fantasy falls apart when he arrives which breaks the illusion of his affection and instead leaves him bitter because he realizes that he was mistaken in his trip. In this way the bazaar was the most important part of the story
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The narrator is “a creature driven and derided by vanity” in the way that in the reading, he travels all the way to the bazaar for a girl he does not truly know. He knows that this girl is beautiful and he always thinks about her, but when it is time for him to choose something to buy at the bazaar he doesn’t want to buy anything because he knows that his choice would be irrelevant for a girl who he does not know. In this way he is driven by vanity and nothing else. This line provides an abrupt end to his fantasy with the girl which is fitting in an ironic way because his thoughts about this girl were constant and prolonged the entire time leading up to his trip to the bazaar only for his this line to stop his dreaming in its tracks. In “Salvation”, Langston Hughes has a very suspenseful tone to it, where we are given the situation but as it goes on we continue to wonder what will happen to Hughes as he sits there waiting and waiting. In contrast to “Salvation”, James Joyce writes in an optimistic tone as we are made to believe that this relationship he has with the girl in his mind is happy and right, but in reality we find out that it is a shallow appreciation that he has for her.
Justin,
I agree with most of your statements; however, I believe some of them are not backed by anything in the story. You mentioned that the narrator’s choice was irrelevant for the girl, but there isn’t any evidence to prove that. I think you missed the mark slightly with your comments about the tone. I do agree that he told some parts of it in a childishly optimistic tone, but I do believe that there is a different overall tone in this story. I also think you should address the differences between Salvation and Araby by stating what you think of how each narrator views their past experience, and how they would retell it. Reading the professor’s and our peers’ comments definitely helped me answer the prompts!
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The narrator is considered a “creature driven and derided by vanity” because of his odd obsession with Mangan’s sister. He figured it was a foolish crush because he focused excessively on the young lady’s appearance rather than her personality or anything beyond superficial, as well as a fair obsession of a place he’s never been too but dreamt of going to. He painted these images in his head where the young lady and the bazaar were both fantasies that he would love to be a part of, but he sadly realized that it was certainly not the case and he was disappointed by such high expectations. Both Araby and Salvation were told with irony, Salvation being both verbal and situational, and Araby being just situational. Araby is incredibly different from Salvation, in a way that Araby is told in a more somber tone with the narrator telling his experience with infatuation; while Salvation was told in more of a humorous tone with the narrator looking back at a foolish misunderstanding of religion.
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Hi Gwyneth,
I think the notion of love, or the belief that someone is in love, is relatable to many. I think the narrator believed he was in love with Mangan’s sister, so he was willing to do anything to win her heart. He saw the bazaar as his chance so his imagination romanticized what his experience would be. I agree with your statement that ‘he was disappointed by such high expectations’. His expectations were high is putting it mildly.
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Hi Gwyneth,
Your interpretation of the reading is not one I thought of when he wrote “creature driven and derided by vanity”. You write, “He figured it was a foolish crush because he focused excessively on the young lady’s appearance rather than her personality”. Although that is an interesting point, I do not see any place where it mentions that idea. That also is a thought process you might expect of someone much more mature than the young boy in the story. In addition the “inside is what counts”, maybe a bit more of a modern way of thinking, but an extremely important way of thinking none the less.
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This story, ”Araby” by James Joyce, has a comparable tone to “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. In both of these stories, the narrator goes through a horrific experience that is taken in two separate ways in the final paragraphs. By the story “Salvation” the narrator figures out that this is no way Jesus will come to him and has to lie to leave the church. When the narrator is describing the event he mentions it was wonderous waiting in anticipation for him. Just as in the story ”Araby” as the narrator in that story is quite ecstatic that he will be able to win over the girl he likes with a gift from the marvelous bazaar Araby. Unfortunately in the end just as in the story, “Salvation” Araby ends off the same but that is where the similarity ends. These two stories take two different views on disappointments in life the first one ”Salvation” accepts with sadness as he was crying in his pillow because of the event, However in this Story ”Araby” the story ends off with the anger that had followed the disappointment in his life we see this in the sentence “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.” it is because of this critical sentence the narrator believed themselves to be an animal as seen in “creature driven and derided by vanity?” the narrator chose to surrender themselves to their more basic instinct of anger.
Hey Josef, i agree with you when you said that both narrator goes through a horrific experience. i also think with similars endings. Both at the end found deception and frustration, because on the “salvation” he couldn’t see jesus and in the “Araby” he couldn’t buy the present for his beloved. Is sad at the same time because the both went through a lot to find what they were looking for.
Hello Yosef, it was interesting reading your response but I do have a different point of view from yours. I do not agree “the narrator believed himself to be an animal’; in fact, I believe it is because the narrator is seeing his own shadow since the bazaar has shuts off the light. The exposition of the store was based on how the narrator follows Mangan’s sister’ shadow in the dark through the curtains, I do believe the lighting and shadow plays a big role in the story.
Please don’t hesitate to let me know what you think about the background of the story.
In the story ”Araby” by James Joyce, the narrator struggles with his crush on his friend’s sister. He doesn’t talk to her for quite some time. After finally talking to her he thinks he could impress her with a gift from this place she brings up in their conversation. He goes to the bazaar only to be disappointed about it. This leads to him to not getting a gift in the end, as things aren’t as all as he imagined. The narrator faces the truth of how he feels about the place he went to all because of this crush of his that he felt he had no control over. By this the narrator realizes he’s “creature driven and the derided by vanity”, as he feels he wasted his time and efforts for this crush of his.
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Carly, thanks for posting. Have you addressed the question about the tone of the stories?
In the closing line of the text, the narrator says “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and
derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.” He had become fixated on the older sister of one of his friends who lived on his street. Despite her being older than him, and the two of them never speaking, he became obsessed with her and found her to be beautiful. He would watch her from his window ans think of her. One day, in passing, she asked him if he would be attending an upcoming bazaar. He took this to mean much more than it really did, and was set on going and finding the perfect gift to present to her to symbolize his feelings. She was clearly just being nice, and not interested, but he was totally oblivious to this. He had been blinded by her beauty and appeal, his own thoughts. Her asking him if he would be at the bazaar only fueled his obsession. He headed there late at night, on the the train all alone. When he did not find a gift, he realized all his efforts were in vain and that maybe he did not think things through so well.
The story of “Araby” is comparable to Langston Hughes’ “Salvation” because both tell the story of a yooung boy whos wild expectations are met with disappointment, ultimately resulting in a dark realization and confrontation with reality.
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Hey Bryanna. I found it really interesting how you said the narrator took her question about the bazaar too seriously. Were you able to relate to the girl in the story? I have a lot of female friends and it’s interesting to look at it from the female perspective. It must be hard to be nice to anyone of the opposite gender without them catching feelings and I can see how the girl was possibly doing just that. The possibility that the girl is not interested in the narrator at all really reinforces the fact that the narrator was really derided by vanity. Really sucks for the poor fella doesn’t it ?
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Bryanna, this is a good discussion of “Araby.” You compare themes of the two stories in question, but have you addressed the question about tone?
The story “Araby”, by James Joyce sends a very meaningful message to readers. It really reminds me of the old aphorism, “All that glitters is not gold”. The narrator is determined to prove himself a worthy man in the eyes of his love. He is enthralled by the allure of the seemingly mystical bazaar, Araby. In his mind it would be quite a feat for him to venture into the deep and return with a gift from this magical place. This would solidify his masculinity and bravery, which would win the heart of his love. He is relentless in his pursuit of this “golden egg” so to to speak. Nothing will stop him; neither his uncle’s drunken tardiness nor the fact that it had gotten dark outside. However, when the narrator arrives he is disappointed at the lack of hustle and bustle. This shows how the narrator was derided by his drive for vanity. He spends the days prior fantasizing the possibilities between him and his love if he were to return from Araby with a gift. However, it was all for naught because not only did he not find a proper gift, he also realized he was foolish to think it would be so easy.
The tone of this story is more of a regretful one. It seemed to me that if the narrator had some hindsight, he would never have journeyed through the night in search of something he would not find. In comparison to “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, the narrator in “Araby” seems less sarcastic and more serious and passionate about the whole situation. Whereas Hughes was able to laugh at his past, the narrator of “Araby” regarded it as a regretful memory and one that made him grow from his mistake.
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Syed, I usually don’t respond personally to posts submitted after Wednesday, but yours is excellent and I hope others will read it!
Thanks Professor Conway! I really enjoyed the story so I had a lot to say. I’ll try and post earlier next time because I do enjoy the feedback.
Syed, I like the comparison in the beginning because it is true. You can not just look at something by first sight and make the assumption that it will benefit you. That is what the narrator did with his lover and this eventually lead to him getting disappointing because of the thoughts that were in his head. He was not able to buy her a gift and the feelings her had for her spiraled out of control and he lost sight. Although, I do agree the two tones of the stories are very different.
The tone of this story is VERY different from Salvation. While Salvation was light, airy, humorous, a bar story perhaps, Araby feels very heavy and laborious. I ponder the monotony that fills the boy’s life such as the dull street, the room in the back, the overpower darkness (although maybe not darkness just lackluster and lifeless). The girl provides him a bit of hope and understandably he leads down into obsession. He CRAVES something different, his favorite house is the one with the yellow leaves! The girl provides that difference. This may be a bit of a risky interpretation, but I almost feel like the obsession of the girl is borderline drug and alcohol abuse and addiction. The adult telling the story of Araby may be lamenting over a wasted life while he chased a substance (if it is drugs/addiction), but it could also be a wasted life of chasing after someone that will NEVER desire him. To be fair, I’m not entirely certain she knows his name although I imagine she knows he’s her brother’s friend. Here he is willing to give up his life (we can infer he’s a good student at least he was before his addiction) for a bit of immediate satisfaction. If I’m right and interpreting it as a drug addiction, the lights turning off in the Bazaar may occur when his addiction has already taken all that he has from him.
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I find myself agreeing with your interpretation because you brought out different ideas I haven’t thought about. But I am not sure about the drug addiction but I do see where you’re coming from. Its a memory he had when he was younger. I think this situation could have made him a better person.
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Curtis, I appreciate your emphasis on how different the tones of the two stories are. One of the things I hope we’ll develop in this class is an ability to discern meaning through the way in which language is used—to be alert and sensitive to the nuance of words, choice of vocabulary, and use of verbal irony. “Salvation” is a good introduction to verbal irony, which we see again the dark humor of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” in Week 8. But please use italics instead of caps. I’m not offended by the use of capital letters, but some think of them as visual shouting (smiley face).
The narrator spends his time hoping to go to the bazaar as soon as his crush spills a word of it. As this event is spoken of by his crush, he believes that because it is she who speaks of the bazaar, then it must be extravagant and magical. He holds high regards because of his expectations of this bazaar but he struggles in getting there, making his day drag on. He gets there and is incredibly disappointed because it is nowhere near magical, but instead is very dry and quiet. The narrator calls himself a “creature driven and derided by vanity” as he had one view upon this bazaar and it did not fit his expectations. He was not open minded and only looked to find something for his crush which would make her like him back. This would explain why he believes he was ridiculed by vanity.
The tone of this story feels much more satirical and sarcastic whereas Hughes’ “Salvation” was somber and saddening, but has a lot of energy. This story leaves a sour taste in your mouth, and it is also dull.
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From my interpretation in the story “Araby”, the character becomes frustrated at the end because he could not find a present for his love. In this particular situation, he is obsessed with Mangan’s sister. He promises her to get a gift for her at Araby because she couldn’t go. In a way that he was trying to prove his love to her and for it to fail. Araby and salvation are completely different except for the flashback. Salvation was more about hope and being lied to. In the end, we come to find out that his experience made him become uncertain of the state of his faith. Araby was based on this character’s obsession with this girl. He ended up making a promise which he couldn’t keep. But both stories show the ending pain that might reflect on the guy they are now. In similarity, both stories use a personal and desperate because in a way both characters are searching for something like hope or love back. Araby uses a tense tone starting from waiting for his uncle to not finding a gift. Salvation uses a confused and disappointing tone because he lost hope and he did not know how to tell his aunt.
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Patricia, I just want to urge you to revisit “Araby.” Is the face that the boy doesn’t get a gift for the girl what causes his anguish, or does he come to realize something much larger about his life?
In the story “Araby”, the narrator tells us about his obsession with one of his friend’s sister . During the story we see how he was satisfied just by seeing the silhouette of this woman from his window. He had never had a conversation with her, yet just the sound her name made him shiver. The idea of speaking to her never crossed his mind. But one day he talked to her, and she asked him if he was going to go to Araby. this was a bazaar because, she would loved to go but she couldn’t. He didn’t know what to say he just said, “if I go”, “I’ll bring you something.” When the day of the bazaar finally arrives, his nerves and anguish increased. He was anxiously waiting for his uncle’s arrival to give him money. His hopes of buying something from his beloved fade away, until his uncle arrived. Then he rushed to his trip and encountered some obstacles such as the delay of the train, this made his journey become stressful and distressing . When he arrived at the place he realized that some of the business were already closing and the desire to buy something from his beloved vanished. He left frustrated and disenchanted, because after so much effort he could not get what he might have been a hope with his beloved. This is why at the end of the story his words were “Gazing up into the darkness and saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity.” because he thought that with a gift he was going to get what he wanted so much, but on the contrary he was ridiculed for having been directed by his feelings and perhaps the hope of speaking again with his beloved.
The story of “Araby” can be compared to “Salvation” because in both stories the ending is disappointing, although we see that Langston Hughes had a bit of humor and sarcasm in “Araby” the whole story was more serious and passionate.
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Virgen, thanks for posting. Do you think the fact that the boy in “Araby” did not purchase a gift for the girl is the reason for his anguish at the end, or is there a larger realization in play?
Professor Conway, i really think that he didn’t purchase a gift for the girl, because he heard the way the people were talking in the store and also with the tone that the lady asked him if he needed anything, just added more frustration on top of what he had. Also he was feeling disenchanted since earlier when the uncle came late and the train was delayed.
I believe both “Araby” and “Salvation” are stories that begin with a joyful as a young child should be, however it does transition to a somber tone towards the ending. Both young boys have something to look forward to, but reality gets the best of their expectations.
The ending of “Araby” in which James Joyce says, “creature driven and derided by vanity”, can be interpreted as a persistent young man who will go too far lengths just to make it to the Bazaar to purchase something, for the one he obsessively loves but fails, due to arriving too late to the event. Many can relate to both characters with the feeling of failure at a young age.
Reading “Araby” a second time gave me a better understanding of how the protagonist was feeling towards his neighbor. Especially during his brief conversation that he had with the young lady regarding the Bazaar; at first it gave me the thought that he could have been daydreaming the conversation, because he doesn’t approach her during the morning walk and just follows in her shadows. The second read it gave more of an adoration conversation as he’s presently speaking to her but doesn’t remember what he has said. I believe the turning point in his emotional journey in this story, was when his uncle kept delaying his plans to the Bazaar, and his motivation to get the item was destroy when the lights were called, that made him feel like a failure in which he becomes a “creature driven and derided by vanity”.
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Stephanie,
I really like your comment about how you feel like he could have dreamt up the conversation with his neighbor. I had never thought of it, but I am starting to believe you. I disagree that the narrator in “Araby” was joyful. Many of his imagery was pointedly dull and focused on the negative. This gives me the impression that as he tells it now in his adulthood he makes a forced point to bring out all the awful in the memory to make his listener believe that his life was much worse than what it may have been. I can’t help but wonder when the lights were called if the narrator finally realized that what he was doing was silly and pointless. The girl would never actually fall in love with him even if he presented her with a gift… And… if we were to take your point of view that he imagined his conversation; the gift wouldn’t give the narrator the confidence to even talk to the girl. Why bother trying?
As I was listening to “Araby” by James Joyce, I noticed how this narrator had many internal thoughts that caused him to act accordingly. When talking about his friend’s sister he was very laid back towards her but at the same time he was very persistent. He was in awe every time he seen her and he did not want to do anything that would stop him from getting her attention. The narrators hope for love, turns out to be something that he did not expect because of his failure to get her a gift leads to a great amount of dread and almost sadness. Love is something that people feel like they must do whatever to find this for themselves or their significant other. He fails to find this and through that lens we can see where the “vanity”and futility comes from. I would argue that the tone of “Salvation” and this short story are two completely different because the setting is different and where everything is happening causes the contrast. One story is in a church and the other is in a small town during the winter.
In the story, Araby, by James Joyce, the narrator interprets the ending using hyperbole to described himself as a “creature driven and derided by vanity.” The exposition of the story is based on his single-minded love for Mangan’s sister, and how the narrator follows her shadow and admire her body shape in the dark through windows and curtains. As the bazaar shut off the light, all he could see was his own shadow where he describes himself as a “creature.” The protagonist became frustrated and embarrassed that he failed to impress the girl he loved unconditionally.
The narrative tone of “Araby” and “Salvation” are relatively similar with situational irony. Both narrator experienced extreme disturbance with embarrassment and disappointment that leads to their empty promises. However, the two narrators reacted differently at the end. The narrator in “Salvation” faced the ending with calmness despite having pressure to meet with Jesus. The narrator of “Araby” ended the story with resentment where he has lost his pride, from his uncle’s lateness to being unappreciative by the stall’s salesperson; these were the key factors that leads to his failure.
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Hey Ellen,
I absolutely agree that both narrators handled their situations differently in the end. I did not even think about the uncle’s tardiness and the salesperson’s poor customer service as things that could contribute to how the narrator felt in the end. That was a great observation.
In the short story, “Araby,” by James Joyce, the narrator tells us about a childhood memory about his first love. He is enamored by her so much that he plans a trip to the bazzaar. The narrator has it in his mind he will by his crush a gift from a place she really wanted to visit and she will fall in love with him. In the end he makes it to the bazaar and it is not at all what he expects. The market is practically empty and the people left are not exactly enthused to be there. As the narrator leaves the bazaar he says he is a “creature driven and derided by vanity.” He thinks of himself this way because he felt the need to come to a bazaar to get a crush a material item in hopes they will love him back. This realization is the true coming of age moment. When we are young we believe these material items are how you keep people in your life. As you become older you realize that effort and love are enough to keep the right ones around. This story differs from Langston Huges “Salvation,” in the sense that this was more of a darker tone and “Salvation” had some comedic relief.
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The narrator is “creature driven and derided by vanity”. He is obsessed with Mangan’s sisters who he barely knows. The narrator becomes infatuated with going to the bazaar to get his “crush” a gift. He expresses vanity because he barely knows Mangan’s sister, but somehow believed going to the bazaar and getting her a gift is going to make things work out for him. He finally makes it to the bazaar after waiting for his uncle for hours. By the time he gets to the bazaar, everything is closing. At this point he is overcome with anger. The narrator realizes that he cannot fulfill his goal. The ending of this story shows me that we cannot always accomplish things for other people no matter how much we may care about them. We have to take care of our problems and desires first. “Salvation” and “Araby” both can teach us a similar lesson. In “Salvation”, the narrator waits and waits to only be let down when he does not see Jesus. Both stories show disappointment in each narrator. The more we do for ourselves the happier with the results we will be to get us where we want.
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In the short story “Araby” the narrator is infactuated with a girl across the street from him , and tries to go out his way to impress her, in which in his case was traveling to a Bazzar to buy her something. At the end of the story, he ends up very disappointed when he reaches the bazzar to only find out its almost closing and is empty. Then describes him self as a “creature driven and derided by vanity” because he failed to find a gift that wouldve impressed her to win her love. He then learns at the end that things cant always go his way so he felt foolished.
I would compare the narrative tone of “Araby” with that of “Salvation,” considering that both stories are told by adults looking back on a painful childhood experience, that in the beginning they both had high expectations to only to be disappointed at the end with what is called reality.