Araby Analysis Essay

In the short story “Araby”, James Joyce centers the main focus of the story on the main character’s loss of innocence and mental development through his epiphany at the end of the story. “Araby” is the story of a young boy who develops a crush on his friend Mangan’s sister. Throughout the story, the narrator tries to come to terms with his obvious attraction to her. In the end, he is left distraught and feeling useless. The narrator starts the story off by diving right into his secret affection for his neighbor’s sister. He describes his confused feelings toward her, unsure of how to process them and what he would actually do if he did confront her. The narrator thinks about Mangan’s sister so often and with such intense feelings that he fears he will never be able to tell her how he feels about her. One morning, he finally speaks to Mangan’s sister when she asks him if he plans to visit Araby, a bazaar in Dublin. Because she cannot attend, the

This is an example of growing up because sometimes in life you’ll do all you can do make something happen, but you’ll end up empty handed. It’s a vicious life circle that the narrator experiences for the first time. This event also goes hand-in-hand with life’s many disappointments. The narrator grows mentally and emotionally as he experiences these life altering events for the first time. The narrator’s epiphany at the end of the story is not a happy one. Instead of re-evaluating his feelings for Mangan’s sister or accepting the fact that love doesn’t need to be proven with gifts, he simply shuts down. He watches in anger as the lights go off and he feels emotionally distraught that the bazaar did not live up to his expectations. He looks to the darkening bazaar as a life lesson with Mangan’s sister: his infatuation was misinterpreted and his hopes for a relationship were just wishful