Araby Written by James Joyce

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through the evening.” (453) Joyce uses the darkness to describe the reality, which the boy lives in, where the story starts with the description of the dark, gloomy environment surrounding him; his neighbourhood and his home. The houses in the street where the boy lives have “brown imperturbable faces” (453), and his home has “gloomy rooms.” (455) The boy and his friends would play in the “dark muddy lanes” (453), in “dark dripping gardens” (453), near “dark odours stables.”(453) The author uses a gloomy and depressed setting for the young boy’s home because he wants the readers to see what a dull life the boy lives. From the beginning of the story, the reader can see that it is a dead-end road that leaves no hope for the young boy looking for a better life. The young boy promises her that he will bring her back something very nice from the bazaar, in hopes that she will fall in love with him. When Saturday night comes, the young boy is finally ready to leave for the bazaar; his uncle keeps him from attending the bazaar on time. When the boy arrives at Araby it is already too late and most of the stalls were closing. “The greater part of the hall was in darkness.”(456) The event is closing for the night, and he did not have enough time and money to buy something nice for Mangan’s sister. He hears a voice “call from one end of the gallery that the light was out. The upper part of the hall was now completely dark.” (457) At this point, this is where the boy has the epiphany and has had a moment of insight, he now realizes that Mangan’s sister is just a girl and will most likely not care if he fulfills that promise. As he leaves the bazaar empty-handed, we see the darkness of the bazaar that represents the boy’s disappointment. He is left at the end with his eyes burning “with anguish and anger.” (457) His dreams and imagination about love were completely opposite from what he expected. He learns his life was only based on his infatuation with her and has come to his senses about reality and finally sees what the real world is about. The bright light is used as a symbol of optimism, hope, and a symbol of happiness. Joyce uses the light when describing Mangan’s sister. He starts from seeing darkness and eventually seeing light and ends with understanding of reality. The boy makes a transition in the story from his childish self to the realities of the adult life.

James Joyce uses the setting and theme to symbolize the whole understanding of the story. The dark disappointment the boy experiences are all part of growing up. The boy is no longer young and naïve; he has grown up and has understood the reality of life. “Araby” shows how everyone has expectations of what life will bring us but later to realize that it does not always work out as planned and may lead to disappointments.

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