Imagery In Dubliners

An Analysis of James Joyce’s “Araby”

A love sick, or obsessed, boy? Or a little bit of both? Either way, James Joyce’'s story, “Araby”, is about growing up, and how things do not always turn out how we would like, or expect them to. The main character, a young boy, seems to be about twelve or thirteen years of age. He lives on a dead end street with his aunt and uncle in the Irish city of Dublin. The author is constantly using imagery to convey how mundane the young boy’s life is, and how dark it is living in Dublin. An example of Joyce’s word choice to create a dull image would be the line “…through the dark muddy lanes behind the houses, where we ran the gauntlet of the rough tribes from the cottages, to the back doors of the dark dripping gardens…” In “Araby”, the young boy is in love with his friend’s older sister. In a way, he stalks her. He secretly watches and waits for her to leave for school, just so he can walk a short distance behind her. The author also contrasts his use of dark imagery with a lighter, happier one. A great example of Joyce’s pleasant imagery was the line, “But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like the fingers running upon the wires.” Angels are often depicted playing harps, so Joyce is trying to say that the young boy probably thinks his friend’s sister is as beautiful

She explained that she would not be home, so the boy said that he would go and bring back something for her. The boy patiently waited until nine in the evening for his uncle to come home and give him money to go. Upon arriving at Araby, the boy realized that it would soon be closing. He entered to find almost all of the stalls closed and “the greater part of the hall in darkness.” He approached a stall being tended by a young woman who was flirting with two men. Out of duty, the woman asked if he needed anything, and the young boy said “No, Thank