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Araby by James Joyce

            James Joyce's "Araby" is a short story drawn from Joyce's childhood in Dublin. Within this short story, the unnamed narrator tells the story of a seemingly short incident in a boy's life. This incident has actually brought about a realization or an epiphany of a truth about life that is more of realism than of a warm and fuzzy moment within the boy's young existence. The themes of "Araby" are those of paralysis of anticipation of a joyous trip to a Dublin bazaar, which includes an Oriental motif, Araby. The entire story builds emotionally from the narrator's infatuation with his friend's sister to the allure of going to an exotic retreat from the dingy streets of his dismal neighborhood. Joyce's "Araby" explores the hopes and dreams of a young boy and how those hopes are dashed by the stark realities of inescapable challenges in everyday life.
             The mood of the story is created with the narrator's description of the boy's home and neighborhood. The narrator describes the neighborhood with scenes at dusk, or when the light is withdrawing from the streets. When describing his surroundings, the narrator uses words like "feeble lanterns" (Joyce, 1) as well using the word 'dark' repeatedly to reiterate the depletion of light within the neighborhood: "dark muddy lanes" (1); "dark dripping gardens (1); and "dark odorous stables" (1). Only when the "light from the kitchen windows filled the areas" (1) where the characters able to visualize the activities of the boy's uncle and the 'dark form' of Mangan's sister. .
             It is Mangan's sister with whom the boy is completely enamored; "Her figure defined by the light of the half-opened door" (Joyce, 1). The boy did not want his passion for her detected so he would lie at his parlor window with the blind slightly raised so he could watch for her movements at her door and he could 'accidentally' follow her on his way to school.


Essays Related to Araby by James Joyce

1. Araby

Pilgrimage to Clarity After a close examination of the short story "Araby" by James Joyce, several instances of religious symbolism seem to be intertwined throughout the story. ... Through the use of symbolism, James Joyce raises many questions concerning his childhood, while also telling the story of a young boy's journey from romance to despair and disillusionment brought about by a young girl's unintentional taunts. ... Joyce often describes many things in the boy's life as being dark. ... As the boy arrives at Araby, he finds that it is deserted. To him, the ideas of wha...

  • Word Count: 1286
  • Approx Pages: 5

2. Analysis of Araby by James Joyce

In James Joyce' short story "Araby" he describes a young boy's first experience with love and obsession. ... James Joyce wrote this story to reflect on the irrational complexities of a young man's first love. ... James Joyce chose to write "Araby" in the first person narrative point of view. ... James Joyce uses this point of view effectively by leaving many of the characters with no name what so ever. ... In conclusion, James Joyce has written a story that reflects everybody's struggles between their childhood and their adolescence. ...

  • Word Count: 691
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Araby

*Although "Araby" was a very short story, the author James Joyce did an impressive job of discussing very deep issues through his skills in using light, vision, and beauty. ... *With the very first line of "Araby," Joyce is being critical of the church during his time. ... "(404) Interestingly, James Joyce describes the street in terms of vision. ... *Although James Joyce's "Araby" ended with a somewhat negative or gloomy mood, the message was powerful. ... References to light, vision and beauty are extremely powerful, especially when it comes to discussing the issues that James Joyc...

  • Word Count: 1425
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Explication of Araby by James Joyce

"Araby," a short story written by James Joyce, is about the life of a sexually frustrated boy and his obsession with a young girl. ... James Joyce uses religious imagery and sexual implications to make us understand how the boy's religious background impacts the way he handles the challenges he faces and how it is very hard for him to find his true self. ... From the beginning of the story, especially in paragraph five, Joyce explains how the protagonist's "eyes were often full of tears.... " (pg. 87) This is where Joyce uses the religious symbols and connects it...

  • Word Count: 701
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Araby James Joyce

In James Joyce's short story Araby he is successful in creating an intense narrative. ... James writes Araby from a first person narrative and in doing so he may have taken the opportunity to make a long awaited confession that is so deeply embedded in his mind he is able to remember it as it had happened only but a day prior. ... In the first paragraph of Araby, Joyce presents the Catholic Church in an unfavorable manor. ... We see this is true because the girl initiates the conversation between the two, asking if he is going to Araby. ... People reading James Joyce's Araby at th...

  • Word Count: 2168
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. Araby James Joyce

In James Joyce's short story Araby he is successful in creating an intense narrative. ... James writes Araby from a first person narrative and in doing so he may have taken the opportunity to make a long awaited confession that is so deeply embedded in his mind he is able to remember it as it had happened only but a day prior. ... In the first paragraph of Araby, Joyce presents the Catholic Church in an unfavorable manor. ... We see this is true because the girl initiates the conversation between the two, asking if he is going to Araby. ... People reading James Joyce's Araby at ...

  • Word Count: 2168
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. John Updike's Araby And James Joyce's A&P

Both Updike's A&P and Joyce's Araby provide a similar theme that conveys a boy's infatuation for a girl and the hardships he has to go through, in order to acquire more experience in the complicated area of love. ... One example of specific detail that is present in A &P, as well, is the "whiteness of the girl's skin" ("John Updike A&P and James Joyce's Araby.") In Araby, the male protagonist focuses on the "milky softness and "the white curve of her neck,"" ("John Updike A&P and James Joyce's Araby.") which demonstrates the boy's interest in slight feature...

  • Word Count: 985
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. araby analysis

Araby is a story by James Joyce which takes place in Dublin in the late 1800's told to us in a first-person narrative point of view. ... The boy in "Araby", like Joyce as a youth, must begin to free himself from his dreams and see reality (Stone 375-410). ... James Joyce carefully creates a plot with events and happenings throughout the story. ... James Joyce does a good job of giving one solid theme of the story through his very descriptive perceptions of life and society in middle class Dublin in the 1890's. Joyce's usage of the methods of fic...

  • Word Count: 422
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Araby

"araby's" setting reinforces the theme and the characters by using the imagery of light and darkness. ... James Joyce's story begins at dusk and continues throught the eveing during the winter. ... James Joyce uses the bright light when describing Mangan's sister, in order to give her a heavenly presence. ... James Joyce uses the light at the bazaar to be bright and open, but it is dark and closed. ... James Joyce uses the setting to symbolize a key concept of the story. ...

  • Word Count: 365
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

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