Literary Analysis of James Joyce

             James Joyce's Araby is a story about the difficulties that must be faced when transitioning from youth into adulthood. The story is told using first person point of view by the protagonist, a young adolescent boy whose name is never mentioned. The boy tells his story using the past tense, so it is assumed that he is now a mature adult, and is reflecting back upon this particular event in his adolescence. We learn that the story takes place during a chilly winter in Dublin, Ireland, and we can also conclude that the time setting is sometime in the late nineteenth century by analyzing the relationships between the Irish and English characters in the story. The protagonist is actually on two separate quests which ultimately parallel one another. The first is a physical quest to the bazaar called Araby to purchase a gift for his playmate's sister, which he hopes will result in her attention and affection. What the boy is not aware of when he sets out on this quest, is that he is also on a psychological journey; an attempt to break out of his youth and enter into a more adult world. The word "Araby" means "Arabia", so journeying to Araby is not only a chance to browse and shop for a gift for a girl, it also represents the chance to experience something foreign, exotic, and new.
             It does not seem that the boy has a very close relationship with his relatives, and although he often plays outside with other neighborhood children, he appears to be very lonely. He entertains himself by reading some of the books left behind by a priest who lived in his home before passing away. The three books that the protagonist mentions are very interesting because each one portrays a different side of the boy's character. The first book, The Abbot is a romance novel, which corresponds with the boy's romantic side, and the intense emotions he feels for his friend Mangan's sister. The boy is guilty whenever he thinks about Mangan's sister in "places the mos...

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Literary Analysis of James Joyce. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 17:30, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/10813.html