Critical Analysis Of Araby

Lydia Pak Professor Gussow

English 1302

February 1, 2018

Critical Analysis of “Araby” By James Joyce Rough Draft The short story “Araby” written by James Joyce and published in 1914. The short stories in the collection called Dubliner James Joyce draw out the limits in the life of the protagonist while leading them towards an epiphany at the end. This story is about a young boy around the age of twelve as he lives his normal everyday life and his crush on his friend’s sister who he idolizes. While he is feeling love for her he finds out there is an Araby Bazaar coming into town. He wants to buy the “perfect gift” for the girl he loves, but he gets to the bazaar to late as he had to wait for his uncle to come home to ask for

He starts to distance himself away from playing with the other boys and he starts to feel that he is greater than his peers. He seemingly feels that everyday activities that he once enjoyed seems less important now these show that he is coming to age and growing up. When he reminds his uncle about going to the bazaar that evening and his uncle brushes him aside barely acknowledges him saying he knows. He is still childlike when he is getting irate that his uncle is late, but he is starting to notice adult issues around him when his uncle comes staggering and late into the house that his uncle is drunk which he interrupts to alcoholism. He gets money from his uncle and finally get to go to the bazaar when he gets there he sees the magical lights with the name of the bazaar on it. He walks in and he sees that most of the stalls are closed and he walks up to one of the stalls that is still open but finds teas sets and porcelain vases there but the young woman there does not take him seriously. Araby Bazaar is a symbol of false hope and anticipation. He assumes the best and he expected greatness from the bazaar but when he finally gets there he is disappointed that its not as he imagined it and he is disappointed with the place but also with himself. “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.” The last sentence in the story is the most important sentence in the whole story where the reader finally sees that the narrator has completely loses his innocence. At this point, he has an epiphany that the little world he had for himself did not exist, but a harsh, cruel, and corrupted world existed instead. He is angry that he believed in his perfect world whole heartedly and for not questioning it