It has been such a joy reading “The Norton Introduction to Literature” by Kelly J. Mays. Of all the stories that I was assigned to read, one story in particular stood out to me because of how the author used words to create a vivid image in my mind. The story I’m talking about is “Araby” by James Joyce. James Joyce does a great job creating vivid images in the readers mind and creates a theme that most of us can relate. In this paper I will be discussing five scholarly peer reviewed journals that also discusses the use of image and theme that James Joyce created in his short story “Araby”. Before I start diving into discussing these five scholarly peer review journals, I would like to just write a little bit about “Araby” by James Joyce. James Joyce is an Irish writer, mostly known for modernist writing and his short story “Araby” is one of fifteen short stories from his first book that was published called “Dubliners”. Lastly, “Araby” is the third story in Dubliners. Now I will be transitioning to discussing the scholarly peer review journals. In the article, “Blind streets and seeing houses: Araby's dim glass revisited” by Margot Norris describes James Joyce's "Araby" as a piece of work that uses conspicuous poetic language that performatively offers the beauty of its art as compensation to the thematized frustrations of the story (304). In “Araby”, the theme was clearly seen in the sentence when James Joyce said "Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity,”. Margot Norris also agrees that the theme was found in the sentence that I just mentioned as she also points it out in her article. For example, in one passage, Margot Norris writes: "Gazing up into the darkness I saw mys... ... middle of paper ... ... In Teaching Short Fiction 9.2 (2009): 102-108. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. Hunter, Cheryl. "The Coming Of Age Archetype In James Joyce's "Araby.." Eureka Studies In Teaching Short Fiction 7.2 (2007): 102-104. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Norris, Margot. "Blind Streets And Seeing Houses: Araby's Dim Glass Revisited." Studies In Short Fiction 32.3 (1995): 309. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. Snart, Jason. "In Aid Of Teaching James Joyce's "Araby." Eureka Studies In Teaching Short Fiction 9.2 (2009): 89-101. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. 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.
Doloff, Steven. "Rousseau and the confessions of 'Araby'.," James Joyce Quarterly, vol.33, (1996) : Winter, pp. 255(4). Joyce, James. Dubliners. (New York : Penguin, 1967).
Meyer, Michael, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999.
Joyce, James. “Araby.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter Eighth Edition. Eds. Jerome Beaty, Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. New York: W.W.Norton.
In the short story “Araby,” James Joyce uses religious and biblical allusions to portray a young narrator’s feelings about a girl. Through these allusions, readers gather an image of the narrator’s adoration of his friend’s, Mangan’s, sister. James Joyce’s allusions to the Bible and religion relate to the idolized image the narrator has of a girl.
Consequently, Pete reverts to his mistreatment of his cousin, causing their relationship to deteriorate. On the other hand, James Joyce’s short story “Araby,” is about a young Catholic boy who becomes infatuated with a girl living across the street. When the young girl mentions her desire to attend a certain bazaar called Araby, he sees this as an opportunity to prove his love; by attending the bazaar himself and bringing her back a gift. Araby to the narrator represents excitement and a chance to prove his love, however, it fills neither of these expectations and instead the boy finds himself in utter disillusionment and despair. Similarly, both “Araby” and “Sucker” are narrated by a mature man reflecting on, how as a child he transitioned to adulthood. Both Joyce and McCullers portray a confused adolescent who struggles to discover their identity as they assimilate into the adult world. The adolescent is incapable of having an adult relationship yet desires one, idolizes others, and completes their transition to adulthood through an epiphany. The aforementioned conflicts are found in the adolescents of both
Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia, eds. Literature: An Introduction to Fictions, Poetry and Drama. 9th ed. New York, Pearson, 2005.
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.
Joyce, James. "Araby." 1914. Literature and Ourselves. Henderson, Gloria, ed. Boston, Longman Press. 2009. 984-988.
The theme of light and darkness is apparent throughout Joyce's Araby. The dark, sombre setting of the story creates a sense of hopelessness within the narrator, an unnamed young boy. The negative connotations associated with the city of Dublin are used to illustrate the narrator's state of hopelessness. It is only through his illusions that he is able to catch a glimpse of light amidst the darkness.
Sight is constantly referenced in “Araby.” The opening sentence of the story describes the street as blind not a cul-de-sac. Joyce focuses on the idea the sight leads to the disillusionment the boy feels over Mangan's sister. Many comments reference the image of the girl in the mind of the narrator. Without speaking to the girl, the speaker has already established his idea of how she is and what she will be to him. The narrator states, "But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires" (Joyce). He builds up imaginative ideas of the girl rather than physical reality of his situation. . Just as h...
Miller, Arthur. Literature an Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005.
In the story of, "Araby" James Joyce concentrated on three main themes that will explain the purpose of the narrative. The story unfolded on North Richmond Street, which is a street composed of two rows of houses, in a desolated neighborhood. Despite the dreary surroundings of "dark muddy lanes" and "ash pits" the boy tried to find evidence of love and beauty in his surroundings. Throughout the story, the boy went through a variety of changes that will pose as different themes of the story including alienation, transformation, and the meaning of religion (Borey).
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.
In the opening paragraphs of James Joyce's short story, "Araby," the setting takes center stage to the narrator. Joyce tends carefully to the exquisite detail of personifying his setting, so that the narrator's emotions may be enhanced. To create a genuine sense of mood, and reality, Joyce uses many techniques such as first person narration, style of prose, imagery, and most of all setting. The setting of a short story is vital to the development of character.