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Araby
The major idea behind the short story "Araby" is that a real world experience causes the narrator to become disheartened towards holding his formerly idealistic views towards romance. When the story begins it is found that the young male narrator has secretly developed romantic feelings towards his friend's sister. The narrator's feelings towards the girl become so intense that he begins forming an ideal picture of her, which prevents him from regarding her as an actual human being.
When she notifies him about the upcoming Araby bazaar and her regret at not being able to attend it, he ecstatically offers to go to there and procure a gift that he hopes will endear her to him. During the days leading up to the bazaar the narrator constantly begins imagining it as the perfect place to pursue one's romantic dreams. He thus impatiently waits for the day when he will finally be able to attend it and make those dreams come true. In the meantime he stops fulfilling his obligations both at home and at school, which cause some of the adults in his life to become concerned about him.
When the day of the bazaar finally arrives the narrator begins experiencing one disappointment after another, which slowly chip away at his idealistic notions towards romance. First, he is unable to spy on his beloved from his window like he always used to. Second, he starts having uneasy feelings about the day as he walks to school that morning. Third, his uncle's late return home significantly delays him from attending the bazaar at its busiest moment. Finally, when he reaches the bazaar he finds that its shops are on the verge of closing down and there is nothing magical and exciting about it. This major disappointment prevents him from purchasing his beloved's gift, thereby making the trip altogether useless. As the story ends the narrator is found to be predictably bitter and disappointed towards the intrusion of reality into his dreams for love and romance.
I chafed against the work of school." These "follies" are also seen by the boy's school master as "idleness," which juxtaposes the perceived importance of the feeling for the boy with the more rational views of outsiders. This rational view is also represented by the boy's uncle, who is reminded more than once that the boy plans to go to the bazaar. The climax of the story occurs with the boy's
"I had never spoken to her," he admits (30). When finally he does he is at a loss for words. "When she addressed the first words to me I was so confused that I did not know what to answer," (31). He communicates better in a fantasy world, just as he sees better in his fantasy world: "Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and
Importance of the setting in understanding the story A successful story needs to have several components linked together in order to help the reader build up the story in their minds. The setting of a story is one of the powerful elements that are often used as a link of symbolism between the character and his life. It sets the mood for the story as well as depicts the mental state
John Updike's "A&P" and James Joyce's "Araby" are very alike. The theme of the two stories centers on a young men who are concerned over thinking out the dissimilarity between reality and the imaginations of romance that dance in their heads. They also examine their mistaken thoughts on their respective world, the girls they encounter, and most importantly, themselves. One of the main comparable aspects of the two stories is
Araby," by James Joyce, "The Aeneid," by Virgil, and "Candide," by Voltaire. Specifically, it will look at love as a common theme in literature, but more often than not, it does not live up to the romantic ideal of love. Various authors employ this emotion as a theme that allows them to demonstrate some truth about the human condition that lies outside of the terrain of love. ARABY" The third story
The following quotation, in which he leaves the bazaar empty-handed, emphasizes the fact that the narrator had egregiously deluded himself about his perceived romance. "Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger" (Joyce). The "anger" the narrator experiences is understandable and is in reaction to this dearth of money and inability to produce