Children are dreamers; their imaginations allow them to play out fantasies in their minds. Unfortunately, with maturation of an individual, the whimsy of youth is crushed by the contrasting realities of the world. James Joyce's story "Araby" focuses on this paradox between fantasy and reality.
             The boy in the story lived in a Dublin, a place plagued by bitter reality. Portions of the city are described as blind musty, dark, and muddy. Despite the air of stagnancy, the children played and enjoyed themselves. "The cold air stung us [the children] and we played till our bodies glowed" (Joyce 844). Childish dreams obscure the reality of the situation. The boy dreams of starting a relationship with his friend's sister. The girl is several years older than him and really hardly even knows he exists. The boy shows no knowledge of her personality; he only comments on her beauty. The boy has a crush, but he perceives it as love. The relationship is impossible, yet he thinks that he can kindle it by merely buying the girl a present. The boy is swathed in his dreams and sheltered from the reality of the situation with them. The paradox between dreams and reality became clear to the boy after he visited the Araby fair. The boy envisioned the Araby as an exotic place filled with excitement and mystery. When he made it there, the fair was closing. The glamorous aspects of the fair were being taken down and were being replaced by the doldrums of everyday of everyday Dublin life. The boy handed his money to a "weary-looking man", people were chatting about unimportant matters, and there was a definite lack of the exotic. The boy came to realize that all his dreams were fanciful and vain, not just his preconception of the Araby. He was confronted with reality.
             James Joyce's "Araby" was the story of a boy who dreamed of a girl and a fair. He came to realize his dreams were not compatible with reality. In doing so, he passed out of childhood. Th
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