James Joyce's "Araby- is about a young boy who becomes infatuated with a neighbor's sister. The boy begins to engage in foolish acts and he becomes somewhat selfish as well. Because of the young lady whom his mind is devoted to, the protagonist fails to realize that his actions are nave and selfish, and that he is not acting freely. Not until the very end of the story does he even begin to comprehend his thoughtless behavior.
The final line of the story completely exemplifies the narrator's realization about his foolish behavior - "Gazing up into the darkness, I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; my eyes burned with anguish and anger."" It is this line that allows the reader to understand the true selfishness and naiveté of the protagonist. His infatuation with Mangan's sister drove him to think and act irrationally. It is because of this that he violated the "Social Contract."".
In the story the narrator consciously takes part in seemingly free acts. He watches her, follows her, thinks about her, and even proceeds to buy her a gift. Although he may think that these acts are free and with no influence, is it not his infatuation with the young girl that sort of predetermined these actions? Sure he could have turned the other way and proceeded not to follow her, but it was his obsession that drove him to do otherwise. Make no mistake about it, in no way was the freedom of the narrator increased. His selfishness only caused him to lose freedom. He was now without a free mind and his lack of regard for others caused him to infringe upon the freedom of others.
For example, Joyce shows the reader just how preoccupied the mind of the narrator is- "I could not call my wandering thoughts together. I had hardly any patience with the serious work of life which, now that it stood between me and my desire, seemed to be child's play, ugly monotonous child's play."" The protagonist was so engulfed in his fantasies that is keeps him from doing his school work.
