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Coming of Age |
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Both Araby by James Joyce, and A&P by John Updike, are similar in that they discuss the coming of age of young men who are infatuated with the opposite sex. Both stories discuss the universal theme of boys entering manhood and the maturity with which each young man leaves the last stage of his adolescence and steps into adulthood. Both of the narrators of James Joyce’s Araby and John Updike’s A&P are young boys who experience disillusionment in their ideals. However, there are many different factors that contribute to their respective struggles with coming of age.
The main character of Araby is a young boy just coming into his middle teens. He comes from a religious upbringing, lives in a quiet neighborhood and is extremely respectful of his elders. He loves to read, as is evident by his liking “The Memoirs of Vidocq” (Joyce 728) and enjoys cherished, passed down literature as “its leaves (have become) yellow (pg. 728)” over time. He is also a good student, except when his thoughts are occupied by his best friend’s sister who also lives in his neighborhood. He is infatuated with her “Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance (pg. 729)” but he is clearly shy because he makes it kn
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Below are additional random excerpts from the paper...
In A & P the protagonist gets a name, Sammy. In Araby the character is nameless and almost ageless as the story only hints to the approximate age of the protagonist. Sammy, on the other hand is named for the obvious reason of showing what kind of a conceited person he really is. He wants people to notice him and to think that he is better than he really is. Sammy also seems not to think much of consequences of his actions. He is not concerned that his boss and his parents are good friends, and that he probably got the job because of that. He also is not concerned with Lengel, an elderly gentleman who probably will have a tough time finishing off the day by himself. He does not realize the significance of the act that he has committed. But, the girls are gone and he is alone. Sammy realizes that the world is going to be hard on him from this point on.
Yet, he is very clear in his actions of being polite. He withstands the “gossip of the tea-table (pg. 731).” instead of leaving for the fair. He nicely asks his uncle to give him money to go to the bazaar and patiently waits until he is excused to go there. He is also very polite to the girl at the bazaar who offers him her wares. More importantly, however, his character is dynamic throughout the story. In the end, he not only realizes that he is a “creature driven and derided by vanity, (pg. 732)” but that he is plagued with “anguish and anger (pg. 732)” for that quality in him. It is this realization that makes him strong in coming to grips with reality and the coming of age.
ncertain of his feelings and his “confused adoration (pg. 729).”
Both of the main characters in the stories are driven by vanity but in a different way. In Araby, the protagonist admires beauty in a positive way. He almost doesn’t want to spoil it by coming too close. In A & P on the
Some topics in this essay:
Vidocq” Joyce,
Sammy Araby,
Unlike Araby,
Updike’s A&P,
John Updike,
pg 736”,
pg 729”,
coming age,
they’ll stop watch,
stop watch unsuspected,
hero pg 736”,
unsuspected hero pg,
pg 733”,
watch unsuspected hero,
they’ll stop,
pg 732”,
protagonist sammy,
watch unsuspected,
protagonist araby,
stop watch,
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Approximate Word count = 1268
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)  |
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