Araby: Why Does the Speaker Say That His "Eyes Burned With Anguish and Anger?"
James Joyce's short story "Araby" is a tale about thwarted desire. The romantic young narrator is enamored with a young, seemingly pure woman whom he promises to bring something from the exotically named Araby fair. He believes, because of the name and reputation of the fair, that wonderful things are to be won within its confines. Also, the young woman's expression of enthusiasm for the fair drives him on. Thus, the young man goes forth on a quest. But then, in the actual realiz
Worse yet, for this Irish lad, the people of the fair are English. ation of his dream, his illusions are shattered. He feels out of place, and his fantasy of bringing back something wonderful to a fair damsel, waiting back for him, slips away. The woman's lack of a sense of occasion makes the boy feel foolish, and he grows to hate Araby. Rather than a place of romance, the fair is a place where goods are sold and bought. First, his uncle is late and reluctant to give the boy enough money, which makes the boy feel anxious and disregarded, in terms of the seriousness of his efforts. And also, by extension, the young woman he wanted to buy something for also seems cheapened in his estimation, because she asked for something from the Araby fair. The last image of the story is the boy trying to buy and then refusing to buy some cheap goods from a disinterested vendor, who is so casual, she does not even care if she makes a sale. The eyes burn with anguish, because the boy realizes that nothing, not the fair, not women, not the realization of desire, is ever as good as the anticipation of actually possessing the object of desire. Then, the fair itself is cheap and tawdry. He realizes that there is nothing good at Araby.
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