History Of Digging Into Araby

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

"Araby," is arguably the most famous and well known of all short stories ever written. However with its controversial content, the story was actually banned in many places. In the United States alone, it took a Supreme Court ruling to get the story published to be available to the public. The story was published in a collection of stories entitled "Dubliners."

Throughout the story hidden beneath the shallow plot lies the main theme about his efforts to escape an unfriendly environment through his interest in a local young girl who turns out to be his spark of light in an otherwise dark world. When explored in its simplest level, Araby comes across as a simple story of a boy’s first love; however, once you peel back the layers and evaluate the story in a deeper level, you find it is a story analyzing the boy’s newfound emotions and the anatomy of the world that the boy lives in; a world that frowns upon and obstructs personal ideals and dreams.

The "deeper level" is unveiled and described in multiple scenes: the first description of the boy’s street alongside his home, his personal relationship between him and his guardians (aunt and uncle), the information given about the priest that previously lived in the house, the boy’s venture to the marketplace and his ride into the marketplace. The author, James Joyce, vividly describes North Richmond Street with some interesting details. The homes in a sense mirror the attitudes/character of their occupants. One could argue that Joyce uses situational

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irony here because anyone who is aware or "normal" would feel eerie or uncomfortable on North Richmond Street. Shockingly, the occupants of North Richmond Street are not threatened in anyway (as shown by the boy’s aunt and uncle). On the contrary, they are pleased with their lives and put on a façade as a religious family who is secretly but deeply self-satisfied.

In the story, the boy’s friend Mangan has an older sister in which the boy becomes obsessed with. The boy becomes physically attracted to her however he isn’t quite sure how to feel or react so naturally he begins to admire her from a distance. However one day without warning the girl approaches him and speaks to him for the very first time. This event will change the boy’s outlook on life for the time being until he later see’s how immaturely he handles the situation. In their first run-in, the young girl brings up her desire to go to the marketplace or, "Araby." Without thinking the boy tries to impress the girl by saying he will bring her a gift if he does end up going. This shows us how emotionally invested the boy is in the girl. Before the girl suggested it, the boy had absolutely no interest in going, yet afterwards, the boy wishes for nothing but to travel to the marketplace. Isn’t this something ever young boy goes through at some point in his life? Araby is seen as a coming of age story to many because of the simple love story it resembles as well as showing the actions of the boy as he tries to woo a girl for the very first time. Growing from the innocence of adolesance to the trials and tribulations of becoming a young man and dealing with his newfound emotions.

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Highlighting the boy’s first crush was a smart move for Joyce because it widens the spectrum for content that the author can put in.

In regards to the boy, Araby has many important moments in which the boy reveals to the reader the type of person that he is. In particular the last paragraph is critical to the story because it explains the lesson that the boy learns. The first thing we learn by his journey to the Bazaar is that he hates his Neighborhood. In fact, the narrator states that the terrible view of the neighborhood he gets on his way to the Bazaar reminds him of why he is going in the first place, the girl. However, does he really want to experience something fresh and new for himself or to please the girl? One could argue that his run-in with the girl was healthy for him because it was the catalyst that caused him to go experience something new in life while at the same time caused him to cross that barrier into that age where he is interested in girls.

After his long, miserable, "intolerable" train ride, the boy arrives at the marketplace and is exited by something that is truly different and mystical. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving. Upon entering the building, excitement turns to disappointment when he realizes that the Bazaar is nearing its closure. For a while it seems like his temporary escape from his dark community was slipping through his grasp like sand through fingertips. From the reading we can infer that the boy wants to leave desperately, but forces himself to stay as if he went on a mission and a purpose. Then, as if he was hit with a bitch slap of life, the boy shows signs that he is finally realizing exactly how naïve and immaturely he reacted to his experience with the

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girl, and understands that with this new curiosity with the young girl, he has to keep his mind in control of his emotions.

Although the visit to the Bazaar was supposed to help the boy emotionally, it in turn ends up resembling the dark community from which he was trying to escape for a time. Joyce describes the Bazaar as being "dark" four times during the duration of the boys visit. The "darkness" reflects the same feelings that the boy gets in the alley way back home.

Araby, although sad and controversial in nature, can have a helpful message hidden inside if you decide to take it that way. The audience will feel for the boy, they will be angry with the boy. It is designed to describe the complex array of emotions that come with the feelings that develop for "a first crush." That is why Araby is such a great story. However this is also why Araby can be hard for some people to understand. Joyce’s technique of writing involves connecting certain emotions with events or places that were mentioned earlier. For example he repeatedly uses the word darkness to describe the marketplace while at the same time using that to compare show how it had the same effect on the boy as the place he wanted to get away from. Along with this, I believe the most important message in Araby is hope. Even when life comes at you from all angles, it can take an event as small and insignificant as meeting a new friend (the girl) to change your outlook on life.