James Joyce's Araby

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James Joyce's Araby

The story “Araby,” by James Joyce, shows how people often expect more than that which ordinary reality can provide and consequently feel disappointed when they do not receive what they expect. Another fascinating piece of literature is the poetry collection The Black Riders and Other Lines by Stephen Crane. What, if anything, does one have to do with the other? This paper will compare one of Crane’s poems to Joyce’s story.

“Araby” tells the story of a young boy’s disillusionment with life as he experiences his first adult feelings of love for a girl, but is then denied expression of his feelings for her by the adult world. The key theme is frustration, as the boy deals with the limits forced on him by his situation. He has a succession of romantic ideas about a girl and an event to which he attributes magnificent qualities, a common bazaar called “Araby,” that he will attend on her behalf. On the night when he waits for his uncle to return home so that he can go to the bazaar, the reader witnesses the boy's frustration increasing and building. By the time he finally gets to go to the bazaar, it is more or less over. His fantasies about the bazaar and about buying a special gift for the girl of his dreams are revealed as being ridiculous. The boy’s anticipation of the event, and of pleasing the object of his affections with a gift from the event, provided him with nice fantasies. However, reality turns out to be much harsher than fantasy.

Crane’...

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