Araby †James Joyce Essay

One of the most intriguing works by Irish author James Joyce is Araby in which a young boy, who is the narrator, leads a c atomic number 18free life in a Dublin neighborhood before falling in get it on with his friends sister. He is always watching her steps, every single morning. When they finally speak, the girl mentions the existence of an exotic bazaar in town, send ford Araby. The narrator then(prenominal) becomes obssessed with the idea of going to the bazaar to bring the girl a present.Nevertheless, disap tear downment is an important theme of the novel. The young boy is ultimately faced with reality when he goes to Araby and realizes that he cannot afford the things that are sold there. In others words, Joyce deals with the dichotomy of fantasy versus reality in Araby, giving it a rather pessimistic approach, where reality and its negativeness prevail. In order to better comprehend Joyces Araby, it is important to understand the authors biography and the time in history in which Dubliners was written.Joyce was born(p) in a poor family in February of 1884. His father had several jobs and his mother was a devout Catholic. A young Joyce eventually moved to Paris, where he worked as a teacher and journalist, and later, during World War I, he took refuge in Zurich, Switzerland. Since Joyce spent great part of his adult life outside of Ireland, Dubliners is written through with(predicate) the eyes of a refugee, as a member of Dublins society who is also an outsider.Through Dubliners and its short stories, including Araby, Joyce describes life in Dublin, how religion influenced and predominate Irish society and how a national identity came to be. At that time, Ireland, a country that had suffered the horrors of the Great Famine in the past along with the death and emigration of millions of its people was now struggling culturally and politi gossipy to create its own identity and breakaway from British political control and cultural influence. The conf lict among Catholics and Protestants was at its peak, as the entire island was under United Kingdoms rule.In other words, Ireland and its society were going through a turbulent limit in history, which affected Joyces use of language in Dubliners as tumefy as the themes cointained in his works, such as religion, the hardships of reality and Anglo-Irish relations. Dubliners is a laugh suitable compilation of stories because it follows a chronological pattern. Araby falls in the category of childhood, because its narrator is a young boy and also due to the fact that maven of its central themes is growth and maturity.In order for such growth to take place, Araby follows a clear sequence of events, which is described by William York Tindall in A proofreaders Guide to James Joyce as illusion, disillusionment and advance to awareness (19). These three elements that result in the characters growth are well defined in the story. Mangans sister and the bazaar both represent illusion. D isillusionment is present when the narrator goes to Araby and realizes that it is not what he had expected.Finally, disillusionment is shown in the end, when he comes to the conclusion that he is not able to buy Mangans sister a gift, which in turn, leads to the final moment of epiphany, a concept that will be further discussed. Another essential aspect to Araby is the presence of images and symbols throughout the story, in particular those with religious conotations. Since religion and the church played an important role in Irish society and Joyce was Irish himself, religious themes are abundant in some of Joyces works, Araby being one of them.Religious imagery is present in the very beginning of the story, when the narrator mentions that the former tenant of the house where he lives was a priest. The house itself also contains religious symbol, in this case, in the garden The frenzied garden behind the house contained a central apple-tree and a few struggling bushes under one of which I found the late tenants rusty bicycle-pump (373). It is evident that the apple-tree in the story evokes images of the Adam and Eve passage in the Bible, where they were tempted to eat the forbidden fruit which was an apple.Mangans sister, the object of the narrator affection, is mayhap the most significant religious symbol in the story. The narrator is devoted to her much like a religious person is devoted to God or a Saint. The connection between Mangans sister and religious worship is shown in the passage where the narrator goes marketing with his aunt, while passing through the move and disorganized streets I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through the throng of foes.Her Mangans sister name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and at times a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself out into my warmheartedness (179). The narrators feelings to Mangans sister are so intense to the point of being compared to a religious experience. When he mentions Mangans sister name in strange prayers he is describing the powerful exertion that she has on him, like the power of a prayer to a religious person.To the narrator, her name in the strange prayers has the same force as the name of Jesus or Mary in a traditional Catholic prayer. Cleanth Brooks, Jr. and Robert Penn Warren reinforce the tie-in between the narrators desire and religion in their work, titled The Chalice Bearer by affirming that ( ) when he the narrator speaks of his confused adoration, we see that the love of the girls takes on, for him, something of the character of a mystic, religious experience. The use of the very word confused hints of the fact that romantic love and religious love are mixed up in his mind (95).The narrator, thus, is yet to discover reality. He is still trapped in a world of illusion where the lines of pure, religious love and physical desire are somew hat blurred. The bazaar, called Araby, furthers the narrator into illusionment. The name of the bazaar evokes images of a far and exotic place The syllables of the word Araby were called to me through the silence in which my soul luxuriated and cast an easterly enchantment over me (375). It can be argued that the bazaar also represents a religious symbol in the story.Such view is supported by William York Tindall The Church, afterwards all, is a more or less Oriental foundation, and the ecclesiastical suggestion of Araby (not some Freemason affair) is supported by metaphor (20). In other words, Araby can be regarded as a religious institution that takes over the life of the narrator. His anticipation of the visit to the bazaar becomes a focal point of his life, interfering with his everyday activities I answered few questions in class. I watched my masters face pass from amiability to sternness I could not call my wandering thoughts together (375).The story ends with dissapointment and frustration when the boy arrives at the bazaar and realizes that most mof the stalls are closed, and even if they were open, he would not be able to buy Mangans sister a gift. The narrator finally understands that life is harsh. In other words, Araby presents a moment of epiphany. Nevertheless, Joyce goes against the traditional concept of epiphany in Araby. Epiphany is usually associated with enlightment and positive growth whereas in Araby epiphany is linked with negativity.Such idea is supported by Florence L. Walzl in A Companion to Joyces Studies. She argues that His the narrator inability to buy even a trinket for the girl and his perception of the inanity of the flirtation he has just witnessed climax in an epiphanic vison, not of light, but of darkness (175). With such statement, Walzl acknowledges that the pattern of illusion, disillutionment and coming to awareness in the story comes full circle. Instead of enlightment, the narrators epiphany causes him to become b itter Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity and my eyes burned with anguish and anger (377).Since religious symbols are a constant presence in the story, it has been argued that the narrators disappointment is, in reality, disappointment with the Church and the values that it represents. This position is shared by Florence Walzl in her conclusion of her analysis At the tale level, Araby manifests disillusionment in young love at a symbolic level, it represents disillusionment in the theological virtue of charity. Faith, hope and love are emaciated in this maiden triad of tales of childhood (176). In conclusion, Araby is a story of a young love.As such, it presents moments of illusion throughout most of the story. However, illusion is tatterdemalion by the narrators dark epiphany. A closer analysis of Araby reveals that there is more to the story than a young boys first love. The abundance of religious imagery shows the readers that the story is very much about criticism of the Churchs role in the lives of the Irish people and its effect on a nation that was struggling politically to be free from the United Kingdoms influence and ideologically, with the animosity between Catholics and Protestants.