Araby - Analysis PDF

Preview

Summary

Analysis...

Description

Araby James Joyce 1914

-

show four aspects of Irish life of the late nineteenth century: childhood, adolescence, maturity, and public life. recognized worldwide now for its innovations in content and technique, reflecting part of the critical spirit of the twentieth century.

Main Character descriptions (1-2 paras) Describe values, relationships, basic info Protagonist: male, adolescent - Selfish, deluded - Awakening to infatuation and desire, still a child Manges: love interest of the protagonist

Plot Summary (1-2 paras) What happens to whom and why? The protagonist waits for Manges to leave her house each day and he follows her, always keeping her in mind but barely ever speaking to her. However, he convinces himself that she returns his love. One day she speaks to him and asks if he is going to Araby, a bazaar in Dublin she would like to attend. He promises to go and bring her something, a promise that consumes his thoughts. Anxious to go, he reminds his uncle of his plans, but his uncle forgets and arrives home late. He asks for money for the bazaar and after a short delay is on his way. Upon arrival, he pays a high entrance fee but many of the stalls are closed. He finds a stall where a woman is speaking with two men with English accents. Dutifully, she asks if he would like to buy something, to which he answers no. He realizes he has been foolish in his thoughts and endeavours. Setting (1-2 paras) Location, locations of particular significance to the protagonist. Describe the social conditions. Poor neighbourhood, street Dublin, Ireland Poverty, run down

Describe the narrator & POV. Might this limit the perspective of the events in the story? How much knowledge does the narrator provide? First person: depicts people’s actions, some dialogue, few personal thoughts Theme: -

Romance and sexual awakening Selfishness Coming of age

Questions: Describe the setting in the first three paragraphs, and explain what effect it might have on the protagonist and his character. The setting is poor, cramped, dark, dingy. This setting might be why he creates illusions of love and excitement as a mental escape or reprieve. Araby is exotic and a reprieve from the dingy surroundings of his life Explain why the bazaar becomes so significant for the protagonist, and why his actions become single-minded as the story develops. He becomes obsessed with the bazaar because Manges would like to go but can’t. He becomes fixated on going, becoming absent-minded throughout the week because he promises to get her something. He fantasizes that this will endear him to her. Interpret the last sentence and explain why the young man is “derided by vanity” and why he feels both anguish and anger. He has deluded himself into thinking that Manges loves him and has been fixated on the bazaar. His foolishness has cost him money with nothing to show for it. His feelings are common and childish, an escape. Explain whether or not the young man has learned anything, and if so, what that might be. Comment too, on whether the young man has lost anything, and what that might be. The protagonist has learned that he has been selfish and foolish. He has lost money, patience, his grand plans for the bazaar, and eventually his delusions about Manges.

The narrator has an epiphany as he is plunged into darkness, realizing that his feelings were not actually love, that his desires and the market itself were not special or exotic at all, and that he was motivated by vanity and the desire for approval....