Research Paper on Araby: A Boy's Naive Fantasies and Bitter Awakening

Introduction

"Araby" by James Joyce is a short story depicting a boy with naive and youthful idealism fantasies that end in wrecks following the trip to the bazaar as he awakens to the bitter reality. The speaker is an unnamed lad of catholic origin and an elementary school pupil living in a joyless and oppressive environment. He finds a way to detach from the gruesome life by immersing himself in a secret romance with a neighborhood girl. He is completely infatuated with the girl, and his unbridled enthusiasm makes him foolishly adore the girl with intense lust. He is, however, not sure whether he will ever speak with the girl (Maniee, Pedram & Shahriyar Mansouri 203). In reality, the girl is virtually a stranger to the boy, but he foolishly idolizes her as an image worth devotion. The boy feels as if the dull life in Dublin is the reason behind ineffective communication with the girl. The girl finally speaks to the lad, and in their conversation, she reveals how she is restricted to going to the Araby bazaar. The boy takes the opportunity to express her immature romance to the girl by promising to the bazaar and return with the little memento that the girl desired to have. Just like he idolized the girl, the boy becomes obsessed with the idea of Araby. In his mind, the boys see it as an enchanted and exotic destination to bring his desires to life in captivating the girl who attracted him. He sets for the journey and upon arrival is faced by a dark reality of the fantasy as being unreal. The boy realizes that his views on the girl and the full world had been based on lies, facts that contributed to his unhappy life.

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The story uses symbolism and allusion to describe the feelings that filled the mind of the speaker. First, the story is fixated in time and place: the location, year, and age at the event of Araby bazaar. The geographical, historical, and cultural orientations in the story are true to life. The story gives detailed symbolism in romance, orientalism, and the Roman Catholicism at the end of the 19th century. The story depicts various allusions in the time, such as Mercer's Freemasons, Caroline Norton's poem, The Arab Farewell to His Steed, among others. These allusions give the reader an enthusiasm to continue reading the lad's adventure to the end. The story ends with a climax where the writer calls for an epiphany-an insight in psychology or an event of unpredicted revelation. Although not explained to the reader, the epiphany occurs in the mind of the boy when he overhears incomplete and petty conversions at the bazaar. He acknowledges himself as self-misled by putting too much faith a girl, a notion cultivated by his ignorance of human relations and early training in religion.

The surrounding of the boy, as described by the narrator, illustrate a dark and cold atmosphere lacking light and joy. The only light that arises to the boy is the girl's image. The author continues to show symbolism by describing the Richmond Street as "being blind," the houses having "brown importable faces" and the "littering of the house with old unused papers" (Gillian 137)

The Araby's journey foreshadows imminent disappointment. The journey by train surprises the boy by not exposing him to the exotic surroundings. Instead of a comfortable trip, the boy travels in a low-class coach of a deserted train that passes along ruins of houses, dropping him in an improvised wood platform (Rokeya & Ahammed 140).

Nevertheless, the boy shows determination by not being distracted and continues to enter the bazaar, still expecting better results. Unfortunately, he is met with great disappointment in realizing his expectations were based on lies. Instead of achieving the desired exotic, he is met with darkness and silence, not different from that experienced back at home. The final phase of disappointment arises when he meets a disinterested girl in the bazaar and at once realizes the incompetence in the fantasies instilled in his brain. He further realizes the deception in his mind in knowing believing to be in love with a girl whom he barely knew. He identifies his desires as immature and foolish.

The literary style pronounced in the story is that of a first-person narrative. The author communicates the disordered line of thought and visions in the young man's character. Joyce's narration uses the confusion in the boy to evoke the audience with sudden instants of understanding and insight similar to the boy's epiphany.

The theme of the story illustrates the fact that one may not see hind from the realities of life, but the repercussions come in hitting harder than expected. Passion is also depicted in the absolute will of the boy to pursue his beliefs. Fantasy is exhibited by self-deception in the boy's mind about love and bazaar. Although the story illustrates the sadness in the young man's life, the boy in his life sees hope in the ultimate realization of the truth.

Works Cited

Many, Pedram and Shahriyar Mansouri. "A Post-colonial Study of the Short Story "Araby" (1914) by James Joyce." Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 8.2 (2017): 201-208.

Moore, Gillian. "[Un] covering Joyce." The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies 42 (2019): 114-137.

Rokeya, Ms, and AK Zunayet Ahammed. "A Shattering Epiphany in James Joyce's "Araby." Advances in Language and Literary Studies 8.5 (2017): 140-144.