Diction In Araby

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In the short story “Araby” by James Joyce, the protagonist reflects over his adolescent years of when he was infatuated with his best friend’s sister. Through the narrator’s journey of showing his admiration towards her, he goes through an epiphany. Joyce establishes a shift from a dreamy tone to a depressing one as well as establishing the narrator’s discovery of the realities of adulthood. Joyce’s Araby begins with the narrator describing his home as “musty from having been long enclosed” and to also belong to the late priest who “had died in the back drawing room”. With the use of diction such as “musty” and “enclosed” in addition to including the fact that the previous tenant has died creates a tone of depression. However, the tone quickly …show more content…

The narrator on his quest experiences many obstacles. Even though it has been brought to the uncle’s attention the night before of what the narrator desires to do that does not prevent the narrator’s uncle from coming home late because “He had forgotten” and having no problem trying to further delay the narrator by reciting “The Arab’s Farwell to his Steed”. Furthermore, the narrator is once again is succumbed to “an intolerable delay” from the train to leave the station to which had an unbearably slow start. Once the narrator has finally reached his destination he has come to find that the bazaar is closed. Despite this, there is still one shop that is open which is an English china shop. The narrator is asked by the shop lady, who spoke with a “not encouraging tone” if he “wishes to buy anything”. Shockingly the narrator replies no and precedes to eventually leave. The narrator discovers that is quest was in vain as he gazed “up into the darkness” to which he realizes that he was “a creature driven and derided by vanity” this ultimate moment of when he full feels defeated and fooled. The epiphany of the narrator coming to the realization that this is the reality. The bazaar was nothing more than a commercialized version of something exotic and exciting. He knows that he doesn’t want her but the idea of her; this idea of something exotic and foreign. Leaving the bazaar with the feelings of shame and anger thus returning to the tone of depression once the narrator states his final lines “my eyes burned with anguish and

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