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Similarities between araby and a&p theme
Comparison between a&p by John Updike and araby by James Joyce
Compare john updike’s “a&p” (links to an external site). to james joyce’s “araby”
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Araby and A & P are both interesting short stories written by authors who were famous in their own ways. A & P was written by John Updike in 1961, while Araby was written by James Joyce in 1914. There are many obvious similarities between the two stories, however, there are many subtle differences also. Some of the clear differences that was emphasized includes the young boys overall introduction in the story and personality, the setting of the story, and of course the epiphanies of the young boys. Even though the main characters of the story A&P and Araby are two young boys, they are different in age, personality, and the way they were introduced to the readers. For instance, we all knew the boy from A&P’s name was Sammy, however, there …show more content…
was nowhere in Araby where the boy’s name was mentioned. Also, we did not know the names of the girls in any of the stories, but in A&P nicknames or specific description was given to the girls “…when Queenie’s white shoulders dawned on them…” (Updike 143), whereas in Araby, no introduction or specific description was given about the girl. There was also an age and personality difference between the two boys, Sammy is believe to be in his late teens and also to be more outspoken and direct , while the boy from Araby should be in his early teens and he is more reserved. Another obvious difference between the stories is the settings.
A&P happened during the summer in New England. A lot of sunlight and sunshine was talked about in A&P, the story talks about lightness, and half naked girls in the supermarket, and sexuality. Sammy’s love for Queenie was lustful and infatuated, Sammy is drawn to the girls nakedness, and my not have noticed them if they were not half naked. In addition, the theme of A&P seemed to be centered on the girls’ half naked body. In contrast, Araby happened during the winter “…when the short days of winter came…” (Joyce 251) in North Richmond street, Dublin. The story about Araby talked about the death of the priest…a priest, had died in the back drawing room… (Joyce 251), the description of the story is in a sort of way heavier than that of A&P. In Araby, there was no nudity, and the boy’s expression of love for the girl was more or less agonized and sounds like an obsession. Unlike A&P, the story about the Araby boy was not a sexual story, but was very sensual and he was very descriptive of the girl’s movement and behavior “…she was waiting… her figure defined by light. Her dress swung as she moved her body, and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side…” (Joyce 252) or when he said …while she spoke she turned her bracelet round and round her wrist…she held one of her spikes bowing her head towards me… (Joyce 253). Also, the boy in Araby’s character is drawn to the purity of the girl rather than her female
form. He was very sensual about her hair, her hands and the back of her neck unlike Sammy who talked about Queenie’s breast as he compare it to “scoops of ice cream” (Updike 144). The final difference is between the two stories is their epiphanies at the end. Even though they both could not accomplish their mission, their epiphanies were different. Sammy came to the rescue of the girl, after they were being told to leave the supermarket because of the wat they were dressed, by quitting his job, which was a horrible decision because he ended up realizing that he could not win a girl’s heart by quitting his job. Whereas, the Araby boy promised the girl that he was going to get her an ornament from the bazaar after she told him she could not go “…if I go… I will buy you something…”(Joyce 253), however, he arrived too late at the bazaar, so he failed to achieve his goal and then he realized he could not win the girl’s heart because he broke his covenant. In conclusion, both stories have a lot in common, so also do they have a lot of differences which include the young boys’ personalities, the setting of the stories, and their epiphanies. Also both authors were born in different decades which contributed to the differences of both stories, they were also born in different countries. Updike was born in Shillington, Pennsylvania, while Joyce was born in a small town called Rathgar in Dublin, Ireland. Moreover, they also grow up facing different life experiences.
A person’s life is often a journey of study and learning from errors and mistakes made in the past. In both James Joyce’s Araby and John Updike’s A&P, the main characters, subjected to the events of their respective stories, are forced to reflect upon their actions which failed to accomplish their original goal in impressing another character. Evidently, there is a similar thematic element that emerges from incidents in both short stories, which show maturity as an arduous process of learning from failures and a loss of innocence. By analyzing the consequences of the interaction of each main character; the Narrator in Araby and Sammy in A&P; and their persons of infatuation, Mangan’s sister
John Updike's A & P and James Joyce's Araby share many of the same literary traits. The primary focus of the two stories revolves around a young man who is compelled to decipher the difference between cruel reality and the fantasies of romance that play in his head. That the man does, indeed, discover the difference is what sets him off into emotional collapse. One of the main similarities between the two stories is the fact that the main character, who is also the protagonist, has built up incredible, yet unrealistic, expectations of women, having focused upon one in particular towards which he places all his unrequited affection. The expectation these men hold when finally "face to face with their object of worship" (Wells, 1993, p. 127) is what sends the final and crushing blow of reality: The rejection they suffer is far too great for them to bear.
In this essay I will discuss the short stories A&P by John Updike and Araby by James Joyce which share several similarities as well as distinct differences between the themes and the main characters. I will compare or contrast two or more significant literary elements from each of the stories and discuss how those elements contribute to each story’s theme.
John Updike’s “A & P,” Richard Wright’s “The Man Who Was Almost a Man,” and James Joyce’s “Araby”
“Araby” tells the story of a young boy who romanticizes over his friend’s older sister. He spends a lot of time admiring the girl from a distance. When the girl finally talks to him, she reveals she cannot go to the bazaar taking place that weekend, he sees it as a chance to impress her. He tells her that he is going and will buy her something. The boy becomes overwhelmed by the opportunity to perform this chivalrous act for her, surely allowing him to win the affections of the girl. The night of the bazaar, he is forced to wait for his drunken uncle to return home to give him money to go. Unfortunately, this causes the boy to arrive at the bazaar as it is closing. Of the stalls that remained open, he visited one where the owner, and English woman, “seemed to have spoken to me out of a sense of duty” (Joyce 89) and he knows he will not be able to buy anything for her. He decides to just go home, realizing he is “a creature driven and derided with vanity” (Joyce 90). He is angry with himself and embarrassed as he...
John Updike's “A & P” and James Joyce's “Araby” are very similar. The theme of the two stories is about a young man who is interested in figuring out the difference between reality and the fantasies of romance that play in his head and of the mistaken thoughts each has about their world, the girls, and themselves. One of the main similarities between the two stories is the fact that the main character has built up unrealistic expectations of women. Both characters have focused upon one girl in which they place all their affection. Both Sammy and the boy suffer rejection in the end. Both stories also dive into the unstable mind of a young man who is faced with one of life's most difficult lessons. The lesson learned is that things are not always as they appear to be.
Wells, Walter. "John Updike's 'A & P': A Return Visit to Araby." Studies in Short Fiction 30.2 (Spring 1993): 127-133. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Anna J. Sheets. Vol. 27. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. Literature Resource Center. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.
The story “Araby” opens with a description of North Richmond Street. This gives reader the first view of the young boy's world. The Richmond Street “was a quiet street except.....the boys free” (Joyce 345). The young boy in “Araby” lives with his aunt a...
Although “Araby” is a fairly short story, author James Joyce does a remarkable job of discussing some very deep issues within it. On the surface it appears to be a story of a boy's trip to the market to get a gift for the girl he has a crush on. Yet deeper down it is about a lonely boy who makes a pilgrimage to an eastern-styled bazaar in hopes that it will somehow alleviate his miserable life. James Joyce’s uses the boy in “Araby” to expose a story of isolation and lack of control. These themes of alienation and control are ultimately linked because it will be seen that the source of the boy's emotional distance is his lack of control over his life.
In “Araby”, author James Joyce presents a male adolescent who becomes infatuated with an idealized version of a schoolgirl, and explores the consequences which result from the disillusionment of his dreams. While living with his uncle and aunt, the main character acts a joyous presence in an otherwise depressing neighborhood. In Katherine Mansfield’s, The Garden Party, Mansfield’s depicts a young woman, Laura Sherridan, as she struggles through confusion, enlightenment, and the complication of class distinctions on her path to adulthood. Both James Joyce and Katherine Mansfield expertly use the literary elements of characterization to illustrate the journey of self-discovery while both main characters recognize that reality is not what they previously conceptualized it as.
The short story “Araby” by James Joyce is told by what seems to be the first person point of view of a boy who lives just north of Dublin. As events unfold the boy struggles with dreams versus reality. From the descriptions of his street and neighbors who live close by, the reader gets an image of what the boy’s life is like. His love interest also plays an important role in his quest from boyhood to manhood. The final trip to the bazaar is what pushes him over the edge into a foreshadowed realization. The reader gets the impression that the narrator is the boy looking back on his epiphany as a matured man. The narrator of “Araby” looses his innocence because of the place he lives, his love interest, and his trip to the bazaar.
The visual and emblematic details established throughout the story are highly concentrated, with Araby culminating, largely, in the epiphany of the young unnamed narrator. To Joyce, an epiphany occurs at the instant when the essence of a character is revealed, when all the forces that endure and influence his life converge, and when we can, in that moment, comprehend and appreciate him. As follows, Araby is a story of an epiphany that is centered on a principal deception or failure, a fundamental imperfection that results in an ultimate realization of life, spirit, and disillusionment. The significance is exposed in the boy’s intellectual and emotional journey from first love to first dejection,
Araby is about escaping into the world of fantasy. The narrator is infatuated with his friend's sister; he hides in the shadows, peering secluded from a distance trying to spy her "brown figure"(Joyce 38). She is the light in his fantasy, someone who will lift him out of darkness. I see many parallels to my life as a boy growing up in the inner city of Jersey City. We looked for escape also, a trip uptown to Lincoln Park, or take a train ride to New York City where we would gaze at the beauties on 7th Ave.
In many cultures, childhood is considered a carefree time, with none of the worries and constraints of the “real world.” In “Araby,” Joyce presents a story in which the central themes are frustration, the longing for adventure and escape, and the awakening and confusing passion experienced by a boy on the brink of adulthood. The author uses a single narrator, a somber setting, and symbolism, in a minimalist style, to remind the reader of the struggles and disappointments we all face, even during a time that is supposed to be carefree.