James Joyce's Araby

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Araby

Even under the best of circumstances the transition from childhood into adulthood is a long and dreary journey that all young men must encounter in life. A road that involves many hardships and sacrifices along the way; and when that road is a lonely one, with only oneself to rely upon, the hardship intensifies to become destructive to those involved. This is particularly true in the story “Araby,” where James Joyce portrays the trials and tribulations of a young boy’s initiation into adulthood. Many of the boy’s problems lie in not being able to come to grips with the harsh reality that no matter how much he wants to be, he is not an adult. His lonely quest ends in failure but result in an inner awareness and a first step into manhood.
We see in the beginning of the story that the boy is faced with a challenge that most boys must encounter one day: girls. He has a crush on his friend’s sister which eventually transforms into an obsession; “Her image accompanied me in places the most hostile to romance.” All he can do is think about her wherever he goes; and at last when she speaks to him, he becomes confused and doesn’t know what to say to her. And after telling her that he will attend the bazaar and bring her something, all he does is dream about it; “I wished to annihilate the tedious intervening days”… “The syllables...

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