A&P and Araby
John Updike's A & P and James Joyce's Araby share many of the same literary traits. The primary focus of the two stories revolves around a young man who is compelled to decipher the different between cruel reality and the fantasies of romance that play in his head. That the man does, indeed, discover the difference is what sets him off into emotional collapse. One of the main similarities between the two stories is the fact that the main character, who is also the protagonist, has built up incredible,yet unrealistic, expectations of women, having focused upon one in particular towards which he places all his unrequited affection. The expectation these men hold when finally "face to face with their object of worship" (Wells, 1993, p. 127) is what sends the final and crushing blow of reality: The rejection they suffer is far too great for them to bear. Updike is famous for taking other author's works and twisting them so that they reflect a more contemporary flavor. While the story remains the same, the climate is singular only to Updike. This is the reason why there are similarities as well as deviations from Joyce's original piece. Plot, theme and detail are three of the most resembling aspects of the two stories over all other li
To one, offering something tangible is far more worthwhile than anything else he could present; to the other, however, extending his manliness far better suits his attempts to win the girl's heart. Despite their best efforts, neither young man ultimately wins the heart -- or the attention -- of his respective love interest, which Updike's character asserts to be "the sad part of the story" (192). Both have lost sight of what is important within their lives, "with the serious work of life" (Joyce 32), to see what havoc their passion is wreaking. One considerable difference between Updike's A & P and Joyce's Araby is the gap between the young men's ages, with Updike's embarking upon his twenties while Joyce's is of a significantly more tender age. The theme of A & P and Araby are so close to each other that the subtle differences might be somewhat imperceptible to the untrained eye. Not only are descriptive phrases shared by both stories, but parallels occur with each ending, as well (Doloff 113). This explicit detail is not to be taken lightly in either piece, for the implication is integral to the other important story elements, particularly as they deal with female obsession. No matter their efforts, both young men fail miserably in their attempts to woo their respective ladies. With images of chivalry and romance notwithstanding, both Updike's A & P and Joyce's Araby set forth to impart the many trials and tribulations associated with love. Telling the tale as a way of looking back on his life, the protagonist allows the reader to follow his life's lessons as they are learned, imparting upon the audience all the emotional pain and suffering endured for each one. It is not important that everyone around them notices the way they have withdrawn from reality; rather, they have both come under a spell of infatuation that pays no mind to anything but their fixations (Wells, 1993). The reader is more readily able to accept the fact that the younger man has not yet gained the ability to ascertain the complex differences between love's reality; on the other hand, it is not as easy to apply this same understanding to Updike's older character, who should by all rights be significantly more familiar with the ways of the world by that age. Updike's character has found himself holding a dollar bill that he obtained from his lady love, to which he inwardly acknowledges "it just having come from between the two smoothest scoops of vanilla I had ever known" (193-94).
Common topics in this essay:
Joyce's Araby,
Updike's American,
Joyce's Irish,
joyce's araby,
updike's character,
1993 127,
updike's joyce's araby,
updike's joyce's,
life's lessons,
joyce's original,
similarities stories,
Updike's Joyce's,
norris 309,
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Acceptance Essays
