Araby

Araby

There seems to be a great deal of controversy surrounding the short story, "Araby" by James Joyce. This isn't controversy dealing with various political issues or controversy involving issues of free speech or anything related to these things. It is of a more simple matter: whether the young boy in this story is capable of having a deep emotional realization at the conclusion of the story. It is obvious to me via the final sentence, (Araby, 398), that he does not make a startling realization, rather, the narrator, as the boy many years later, looks back on how foolish he was.

During most of the story, the boy comes off as extremely immature. So much so that it would be difficult for such a person to appreciate true love and/or have an emotional breakthrough. The first example of his immaturity that struck me was when he would watch Managan's sister. He would go so far as to peer between the blind and windowsill to catch a glimpse of his crush. When he caught sight of her, he would bolt outside to follow her. This seems to be very immature activity, which would be fitting for a boy his age. He is self-absorbed (Crane, 398). He doesn't even seem to know his crushes name. To be in love with someone you hardly know, to me, is very irrational and juvenile.

For one to make even a remotely sound opinion on this subject, one must examine the point of view of the narrator. The story is narrated by a mature man reflection upon his adolescence and the events that forced him to face the disillusioning realities of adulthood (Ratinov, 403). If you take a look at the language used throughout the story, you can tell the young boy himself does most certainly not narrate it. An example of such language lies after Mangan's sister asks him if he is going to the bazaar: "I wished to annihilate the tedious intervening days" (Araby 396). Clearly that is not the vocabulary of an adolescent boy. I feel that if it was narrated by a young child he might have said something as simple as Ð''I can't wait'; straight and to the point, just like a child.

The controversy that I referred to in my opening is centered on the last sentence. "Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger" (Araby, 398). Some people