A & P And Araby's Epiphany

Short stories written by authors like John Updike and James Joyce can put so much depth and insight in just a few pages. The characters they create in their short stories experience an epiphany after their quest. “A&P” by John Updike and “Araby” by James Joyce provide the most textual evidence for the true significance of an epiphany. In each story by James Joyce and John Updike combine the challenges of desire, quests, and the true significance of an epiphany.

In “A&P” the main character Sammy is a typical teenager with a mundane job. When three girl’s in bathing suits walk into the store he is gazing upon them the entire time. Furthermore, Sammy’s initial quest was to defend the girl’s honor from his managers blunt embarrassing remarks,

which leads Sammy to quit. For example, Sammy makes a bold choice to resign from his job, but nevertheless Sammy knows his manager’s mortifying remarks were not necessary.

“You’ll feel this for the rest of your life […] I know that’s true, too, but remembering how he made that pretty girl blush makes me so scrunchy inside” (Updike, 30). Once Sammy’s manager embarrasses the three girls in bathing suits, Sammy views this as a quest to defend the girls. Even though, Sammy genuinely thinks his quest has value, it does not. The girls in bathing suits are not worth defending for Sammy because his gesture goes unnoticed. Also, Sammy is not the best example of a hero type character with a righteous quest, “ […] the plump one in plaid, that I liked better from the back—a really sweet can—pipes up[…]” (Updike, 15). Sammy’s intentions to defend the girls in bathing suits are not honorable. Therefore Sammy wants to defend the girls for his own sexual purpose. Unfortunately, the girls in bathing suits are undermining Sammy’s confidence. In addition, Sammy then undergoes his own epiphany, “[…] and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter” (Updike, 26). To explain, Sammy is realizing he is making an impulsive decision to quit his job for three girls he barely knows. Sammy’s

epiphany still has meaning even although it is not the best cause. This one event in his life that is causing him to make this decision, he alone has to endure the consequence which is a lost job, confidence, but he gains clarity on life. In this case Sammy understands life is going to be much harder here on after and Sammy is now in the process of adulthood. Furthermore, Sammy’s day-to-day experiences still has significance even though his life is not very exciting. Also, Sammy’s life is ordinary which is relatable to the readers, “[…] trying to remember if I rang it up or not. I ring it up again and the customer starts giving me hell” (Updike, 1). Overall up until the point the girls in bathing suits walked in, Sammy’s life was like any other hormonal teenagers, but the girls changed his perspective on reality. In conclusion, although we do not have our “classic hero” Sammy still experiences his personal epiphany after completing his own version of a quest.
In a like manner “Araby” by James Joyce focuses on the main character’s quest and the epiphany.

Here, the narrator of the story is an adolescent boy in love. The narrator’s quest was to buy a gift for a girl named Mangan that he deeply loves. This quest had an obvious meaning in his perspective. With this idea in mind, he is even imagining himself as a type of hero, “I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes” (Joyce, 5). The author sees himself as a sort of hero who must complete his quest. Like in every quest, he is determined, but that does not guarantee victory. Another key point, when he arrives at the bazaar, “Nearly all the stalls were closed and the greater part of the hall was in darkness. I recognized a silence like that which pervades a church after a service” (Joyce, 25). This was the boy’s biggest opportunity to show his love for Mangan. This is going to cause a heavy burden on the narrator. Also, in a moment of clarity he now understands the meaning of his epiphany. To emphasize, in darkness he realizes his love cannot be returned, “[…] I knew my stay was useless […] Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger” (Joyce, 37). This shows the change in the character from a boy with a childish vision to him facing the harsh realities. Also, the narrator is even crying because he now realizes Mangan will never love him whether or not he bought a token of his

love for her. In addition, Mangan does not love him in the first place because she is just not aware of him. To demonstrate, Mangan has more important issues to worry about than a boy, “She could not go, she said, because there would be a retreat that week in her convent” (Joyce, 9). To clarify, Mangan is not selfish, but she is simply living her life. This is important for the narrator’s epiphany because he now comprehends Mangan’s feelings. Even though she is completely blind for the love the boy has for her. Also, there is significance in the day-to-day experiences of this character. In addition, seeing Mangan completely took over his life, “From the front window I saw my companions playing below the street. Their cries reached me weakened and indistinct […]” (Joyce, 16). In fact, his everyday life had a purpose of him being a normal boy playing with his friends. Until he fell in love, he never had to put his life on hold for a girl that does not even notice him. As a conclusion the main character faced a tragic epiphany of unrequited love after his failed quest.
Similarly, John Updike and James Joyce had the same concept of a hero tale that undergoes an epiphany. Whether losing a job or a broken heart, epiphanies have their significance. The authors do a successful job of illustrating the story so their characters quest leads to their epiphanies. Both main characters from “Araby” and “A&P” want to win over a girl. When in fact the reader knows it is a lost cause. Especially in “A&P” Sammy cannot see the girls are not the type worth rescuing. It is in a way the same for “Araby” Mangan will never have the same feelings towards him. In other words they both experience unrequited love and get a reality check. Also both characters epiphanies are important because it shows the change of perspective of their realties. The quests they are subjected to ultimately lead to their epiphanies and provide the reader more depth to the character.
As a final point since Updike and Joyce write with intention everything has it is own significance. Whether the quest the character has to undergo or the failure they have to come to terms with. Epiphanies alter the story and the character at the same time. In conclusion “Araby” and “A&P” are good examples of literary texts on experiences of epiphanies through a character.