...John Updike and “Araby” by James Joyce the protagonists make important life decisions. Both stories are about young men, leading dull lives, who go through a major change, while trying to escape from their lives. In both stories this change takes place while trying to please a female who triggers something inside them, causing them to act. “Araby” is different from “A&P” because it has religious elements as well as a connection through alienation. In “Araby” the narrator is closely following the crush that he has on Mangan’s sister. The narrator makes a kind of gesture to take Mangan’s sister to the bazaar, but she turns it down because of previous plans. Sammy and the narrator are similar in the sense that they both follow their desire for change. ‘Araby’ and ‘A&P’ are stories of unsuccessful attempts to escape from ordinary lives, only in different ways. Both stories end in darkness to prove that alienation can change the way people react to different situations and both show how the characters react towards change. The fate of Sammy from “A&P” surrounds the ideas of self-identity, desire for change and emerging adulthood, whereas “Araby” outlines alienation, desire for change and the dangers of idealization. The reader gets caught by the setting first in both stories. The protagonists describe the neighborhoods and the daily life in the cities that they live in, in detail. Sammy is stuck in the daily routine of the policy of A&P, while the boy in ‘Araby’ uses negativity...
Words: 1878 - Pages: 8
...Although the short stories "A&P" by John Updike and "Araby" by James Joyce are written in different countries and time periods both short stories have many similarities. The protagonists of each narrative have an immense interest in young women due to them being both adolescent males dealing with their hormones. This is apparent in "A&P" when Sammy sees the three girls walk into the grocery store in their bathing suits and reacts by doing the following, "[Sammy] stood here with my hand of HiHo crackers trying to remember if I rang it up or not" (Updike 1). The protagonist, Sammy, is being controlled by his urges to stare at the three girls and forgets about reality. Similarly, the protagonist of "Araby" develops an infatuation with Mangan's sister by displaying how he follows her and knows her schedule. His obsession originates from his ignorance...
Words: 432 - Pages: 2
...In the story James Joyce uses various literary techniques, like auditory imagery, symbolism, and especially an epiphany to represent the narrator's obsession and eventual disillusionment with his longing for change. Joyce uses a large dose of imagery in "Araby" in order to truly bring the reader into both the mind of the narrator and the lives of the Dubliners. One specific type of imagery Joyce applies in particular is auditory imagery. He uses auditory imagery in such a way as to make the reader understand that even the sounds in "Araby" reflect the boredom and routineness of the lives of the Dubliners. Examples of this are: "a silence like that which pervades a church after a church service" (paragraph 16, lines 6-8) and "fine incessant...
Words: 918 - Pages: 4
...Araby All my senses seemed to desire to veil themselves and, feeling that I was about to slip from them, I pressed the palms of my hands together until they trembled, murmuring: "O love! O love!" many times." (92) Most human beings have experienced their first love or crush in many profound ways. In James Joyce's Araby, a young preteen boy in the dreary neighborhood of Dublin in the late nineteenth century narrates his ongoing infatuation for his best friend's sister and the mystique of Araby; the exotic bazaar. With the boy's great expectations and a quest for love comes the revelation of disenchantment and a loss of innocence. The many symbols of Araby paint a rich picture of meaning. "North Richmond Street being blind", is a real street that is a dead end which symbolizes the boys hopelessness as to be going no where.(91) Being blind also foreshadows being blinded by the light. The light vs. dark symbolism is prevalent throughout the boy's quest. “The street light from the kitchen windows had filled the areas”.(91) The dark, blind street also represents as a symbol for Ireland. So here the light becomes a symbol for the country’s future. The boys neighborhood is dark and "brown" drawing attention to the plainness and dreariness of Dublin. (91)He also uses brown to describe the figure of his crush. The "bicycle pump", rusting in the backyard is the decay of Roman Catholicism.(91) The dead priest's home lingers a restraint on the boy. The priest is a symbol of Roman...
Words: 1153 - Pages: 5
...March 2013 The Dark and Dreary Colors of Araby Araby appears as the third story in the Dubliners, a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce set in Dublin, Ireland. Each of the stories in Dubliners contributes to the degrading experience of existence. Robert Fuhrel points out that Joyce's story reflects his urban upbringing, education, and the purposes expressed in letters Joyce wrote attempting to get Dubliners published. Araby is set in the Dublin of Joyce's youth, and the setting and plot are based on the author’s experiences (173). The story is told through the eyes of a young and innocent boy who is stuck in a world of darkness. Araby is about a young boy who falls in love with his neighbor, Mangan’s sister. The boy spends all of his time watching, or thinking about Mangan’s sister. When the boy and Mangan’s sister finally talk, the character suggests the boy go visit a bazaar called Araby. Since Mangan’s sister cannot attend, the boy plans to go and buy Mangan’s sister a gift. On the night the boy is to attend, the uncle is late coming home and by the time the young boy borrows money and makes his way to the bazaar, most of the people have left and many of the stalls are closed. The boy buys nothing and walks through the dark, empty halls. The character is disappointed in himself and the surrounding world. The author plays with light, shadow, and color throughout the story. Joyce utilizes color in Araby to show imagery of the neighborhood, Mangan’s...
Words: 1286 - Pages: 6
...English 1020 01 October 13 "From Boy to Darkness" In "Araby" by James Joyce, we look into the quest of an un-named boy as he holds onto his last bit of hope while taking the relentless step into adulthood. Instantly, the boy has a sense of unimportance, for he is unnamed. He is desperately searching for a sense of purpose, and change. The boy progresses from an innocent child, to an adult riddled with anguish as a result of his journey to the bazaar. His complications run anywhere from lost religion, and infatuation with a girl, to becoming ecstatic for a bazaar, only to experience his "first bitter taste of reality"(Coulthard97) when he arrives. The story begins by taking the character down a blind street, which foreshadows that the upcoming pursuit is doomed for an abrupt end that leads nowhere. Also, at the blind end of the street is an uninhabited house that was once occupied by a priest who has passed on to the grave, leaving his earthly possessions to the educational system. The priest is a representation of the church and religion, which is now deceased and, "detached from its neighbours in a square ground" (Joyce213). Behind the house is an overgrown, unmanaged garden that revolves around a lonely tree. Some could see that this represents the Garden of Eden, and it is obviously being neglected after it's caretaker (the priest) has died. Therefore, the boy starts the story with already questionable faith to religion before his encounters with Mangan's...
Words: 1448 - Pages: 6
...Araby James Joyce was born in Dublin. James Joyce was considered to be one of the most influential writers in the early 20th century Summary: The sister often comes to the front of their house to call the brother, a moment that the narrator savors. Every day begins for this narrator with such glimpses of Mangan’s sister. He places himself in the front room of his house so he can see her leave her house, and then he rushes out to walk behind her quietly until finally passing her. The narrator and Mangan’s sister talk little, but she is always in his thoughts. The narrator’s infatuation is so intense that he fears he will never gather the courage to speak with the girl and express his feelings. One morning, Mangan’s sister asks the narrator if he plans to go to Araby, a Dublin bazaar. She notes that she cannot attend, as she has already committed to attend a retreat with her school. Having recovered from the shock of the conversation, the narrator offers to bring her something from the bazaar. This brief meeting launches the narrator into a period of eager, restless waiting and fidgety tension in anticipation of the bazaar. He cannot focus in school. He finds the lessons tedious, and they distract him from thinking about Mangan’s sister. Dinner passes and a guest visits, but the uncle does not return. The narrator impatiently endures the time passing, until at 9 P.M. the uncle finally returns, unbothered that he has forgotten about the narrator’s plans. the uncle gives the...
Words: 720 - Pages: 3
...2015 September 17 Araby: In James Joyce’s short story, “Araby,” an anonymous young boy narrates his attempt at abandoning an austere existence in exchange for a more exciting lifestyle; his opportunity arrives in the form of Mangan’s sister, whose charm persuades the narrator into traveling to the bazaar. Throughout the story, Joyce incorporates contrast in his setting to display polarizing moods. The intricate descriptions of the setting emphasize the narrator’s monotonous life in his neighborhood, the change in perspective caused by his love, and the heavy symbolism behind the closing bazaar. Joyce begins his story with descriptions of the lifeless street on which the narrator lives, creating a despondent mood. In the opening sentence, the narrator states that the street is quiet, “except at the hour when the Christian Brother’s School set the boys free” (1). This depiction not only asserts the generally desolate atmosphere of the setting, but also suggests the narrator’s mundane life in his neighborhood. He goes on to note the uninhabited house at the end of the street, along with other houses that “gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces” (1). The portrayal of the houses as having “imperturbable faces” conveys the uneventfulness of the narrator’s life. Everyday, the narrator and his friends run through the “dark muddy lanes behind the houses,” to the “dark dripping gardens,” into the “dark odorous stables” (1). Here, the repetition of “dark” depicts the...
Words: 881 - Pages: 4
...campers go on the canoe trip. The similarities Lucy and Mrs. Das share with each other is that they are both female who lives in US. As the story begins to grow more intense we find out that these two females aren’t honest. For example, Mrs. Das lied about her affair that happened eight years ago that she cheated on her husband with his friend. Mrs. Das became pregnant with a child and hide this secret from her husband. Setting Araby Setting and story are closely integrated in "Araby." The alleyway, the busy commercial street, the open door of Mangan’s house, the room in back where the priest died, the way to school—all are parts of the locations which shape the life and consciousness of the narrator. Before the narrator goes to Araby, it is his thoughts about this exotic, mysterious location that crystallize for him his adoration of Mangan’s sister, who is somehow locked into his "Eastern enchantment" (paragraph 12) of devotion and unfulfilled love. At the end the lights are out, the place is closing down for the night, and the narrator recognizes Araby as a symbol of his own lack of reality and unreachable hopes. Seemingly, all his aims are dashed by his adolescent lack of power and by the drunken and passive-aggressive uncle. Ireland Dublin Plot The year is 1894. The place is North Richmond Street in Ireland's largest city, Dublin. The street dead-ends at an empty house of two stories, says the unidentified narrator, a boy of about twelve who lives on the street with his...
Words: 1760 - Pages: 8
...Brittany Charpentier 18 October 2011 Reader Response Criticism of James Joyce’s “Araby” Though there are many different theories to interpret the short story “Araby” I have chosen a reader response theory known as transactional reader response. In doing so I hope to show the connection between text and reader and how our emotions and state of mind directly reflect on how we interpret works of literature. In transactional reader response theory, presented by both Louise Rosenblatt and Wolfgang Iser, I will be using the text of “Araby” as my blueprint to guide me to my conclusions and how I interpret the text. According to Iser the text provides readers with two kinds of meanings determinate and indeterminate: “Determinate meaning refers to what might be called the facts of the text, certain events in the plot or physical descriptions clearly provided by the words on the page. In indeterminate meaning or indeterminacy, refers to “gaps” in the text – such as actions that are not clearly explained or seem to have multiple explanations…” (Tyson 174) By using both indeterminate and determinate meanings within the blueprint of “Araby” I will construct and describe the reading process I undertake. In the beginning of the blueprint we are introduced to the narrator’s surroundings in which he lives. He describes the street he lives on as isolated and goes on to include telling of the previous owner of the house being a deceased priest. The surroundings of the narrator and the...
Words: 1482 - Pages: 6
...In Araby, James Joyce depicts the narrator as a typical preadolescent boy. Outwardly, he acts as most young boys would, venturing through muddy lanes and nearby stables as the narrator describes. Internally, he is self-deceptive, which is shown in his false idea of the adult world and willingness to pursue it. The young narrator is introverted but does not look at himself introspectively, and so he often seems to act irrationally. The narrator’s actions are a result of his naïveté, emotional confusion, and obsessive tendencies. The narrator is naïve in his view of the world and other people. He sees the priest, a former resident of his house, as very charitable for leaving all his money to others in his will, completely overlooking the fact that possessions do not matter to a person after death. He does not understand what the adult world is really like but desires a “grown-up” life. He emulates his own idea of a “grown-up” life in his...
Words: 660 - Pages: 3
...In James Joyce’s Araby, a young boy becomes strife with strong love for a girl, Magnan’s sister that his friend knows after seeing her countless times while he lies wait in the shadow behind the curtains of his room silently watching until she comes out so he could chase after her. This urgent lust has begun to cast a darkness upon the narrator, causing a shift in behavior all towards the achievement of being with Magnan’s sister. Throughout James Joyce’s Araby, an image appears of contrasting black and white where an object is surrounded by a blinding light that the subject is only outlined and what lies within is unknown, and this obsessive secrecy has caused the narrator to become flawed by the belief that Magnan’s sister is real to which in the end he is casted down by his own inner imaginative evil. An image of a blackened figure caused by the flooding exterior light gives the aspect of how that all is seen or known is this outlined exterior and nothing can be said about what lies inside the lines cast between worlds. The narrator, a young boy, is hiding amongst the shadows for a glimpse of a girl that lives across the street. It is never told why the narrator has found a sudden interest in this girl other than her looks have given thought, which gives it all the more a sense of peculiarity as the narrator continues to seek her out every night when she comes home and every morning “…watching her door. The blinds was pulled down…so that I could not be seen. When she came...
Words: 1307 - Pages: 6
...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 literary components; characteristic of both writers' works, each rendition offers its own unique perspective upon the young man's romantic infatuation. Not only are descriptive phrases shared by both stories, but parallels occur with...
Words: 7200 - Pages: 29
...Star Ann Smith English 101 A Truth of the Human Spirit The fantasy of escape is something that has excited and interested people in uncomfortable situations for thousands of years. Uncontrollable forces like family, the church and politics can make you feel like you are trapped within a place where growing intellectually, spirtually and emotionally may seem smootherd or unattainable. The human spirit, however, still craves greater knowledge and spirtual awareness. In James Joyce's collection of short storys known as the Dubliners, one of which is called "Araby", we are witnesses to a boys fall from grace. The boys efforts were to no avail but, through the failure of his journey, we recognize through this allegory, that the human spirit's loss of hope comes the loss of ambition tward the pursuit of enlightenment. Our first allegory comes from his surroundings being used a description for that trapped feeling he's having. " being blind, it was a quiet street except at the hour the Christian brothers school set the boys free." (430) North Richmond street is described as a wasteland of the spirit. A wasteland that the boy feels trapped in, but not yet hopeless to escape. Joyce uses words like blind and uninhabited to illustrate Dublin and refers to the people of Dublin as shadows. As discouraging as his surroundings are we are reminded of the boys innocence and naiveness with joyce's use of the words to describe the children's skin as "glowing". In comparison to the...
Words: 759 - Pages: 4
...Tommy Campbell Fr. Williams Eng 241 26 February 2011 Symbolism Symbolism is a powerful tool used by people every day to force people to look past the obvious and find the deeper meaning. Symbolism is used by authors, musicians, priests, and many others. James Joyce, a well-known Irish author, uses symbolism repeatedly throughout his collection of short stories published in 1916. In these stories, titled Dubliners, Joyce uses symbolism not only to enhance the stories, but to also show the hidden, underlying message of each story without coming out and saying it directly. Joyce’s stories are centered on the problems of Dublin and through his use of symbolism Joyce is able to focus attention on what problem each story is addressing. James Joyce, author of Dubliners, uses symbolism effectively to enhance the stories. The first story in Dubliners deals with the problems of the Catholic Church. “The Sisters” is about a priest, Father Flynn, who goes crazy because of the incredible stress placed on him by the rule-centered church. A note publicly announcing the priest’s death read “July 1st, 1895 The Rev. James Flynn (Formerly of S. Catherine’s Church, Meath Street), aged sixty-five years. R.I.P.” (Joyce 4). Joyce associates Father Flynn with S. Catherine’s Church because St. Catherine was torn apart physically and Father Flynn was torn apart mentally, because of the rules and strict guidelines he was expected to uphold. Making this connection enhances the story because it...
Words: 2140 - Pages: 9
