Things Gained and Lost

In experiences in our lives we always either has something gained or lost from that certain experience. Although sometimes it’s not easy to recognize what we gained or lost it’s still there and can teach us important lessons for the rest of our lives. These lessons can play an important way in which the way we act and react in our lives overall. Some experiences can be an eye opener and take us away from something we had been doing which we now know is a bad thing and should get back on the right track. Either that or the experience could be less of a physical thing and more of a mental thing in which we correct ourselves through our thoughts or opinions about certain things for example. Like being in someone else’s shoes for example or in their brain and learning more about that specific person. Some stories can reveal an important moment or experience in a specific characters life. For example the boy in Araby by James Joyce he has an important experience in life and learns a few things. The young man in Araby by James Joyce both gained and lost something or several things in his experience.

To begin, the young man loses something from his experience to the Bazaar and that was his love for the young lady. The place he attends in bazaar is much different from the place where he lives as does Mangans sister she’s something new from his boring everyday life. The boy in Araby seems as if he wants an escape from his boring everyday life and that’s one reason why he falls in love with the girl. On page 1239 he says, “If I go,” I said, “I will bring you something.” Here was one of the very first times he had even talked to the girl and he was already willing to go to a place and buy her something. Later he explains that all his tho...

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...found out why she couldn’t go and instantly he wanted to please her by going to the bazaar even though he had no idea of what it was he was even willing to buy her something from there. In the end he realizes that he cannot buy the things they are too expensive for him. So he gains more of a sense of practicality.

In conclusion, the boy in Araby does learn a few lessons. He learns that and lost maybe his love for her was ridiculous first of all. He then gained and learned that maybe becoming so invested in something isn’t such a wise idea. The last that the boy gained is that he shouldn’t have to buy something or be rich to impress someone. Hopefully in the end maybe the boy would take a different approach to the girl that he is in ‘love’ with and have her enjoy his company rather than what he has to offer her such as a gift.

Works Cited

Araby by James Joyce