Character Analysis in Araby by James Joyce - 904 Words

Character Analysis of the Narrator in â€Å"Araby† by James Joyce While â€Å"growing up† is generally associated with age, the transition from adolescence to adulthood in particular comes with more subtlety, in the form of experience. James Joyce’s short story â€Å"Araby† describes the emotional rollercoaster of its protagonist and narrator - a young boy in love with his best friend’s sister - caused by the prospects of a potential future with his crush. The narrator of James Joyce’s â€Å"Araby† is an innocent, emotionally sensitive character, who takes his first step into adulthood through his heart-wrenching experience with first love. The conflicts of â€Å"Araby† occur in the narrator’s mind, and they revolve around the narrator’s first crush, his†¦show more content†¦Although adolescent years can be those of confusion, frustration, and emotional imbalance, the narrator of â€Å"Araby† is particularly sensitive. Towards the beginning of the story, the narratorâ₠¬â„¢s introduces his admiration for Mangan’s sister with much deeper emotion than those of most teenage crushes: â€Å"Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand. My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and at times a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself into my bosom.† (Joyce, 108) The narrator is so overwhelmed by the incomprehensible love he feels for Mangan’s sister that it drove him to tears! As the story continues, the narrator’s emotions grow more consuming. Following his first encounter with Mangan’s sister, the narrator describes the powerful emotions he experiences during the days preceding the night of the bazaar: â€Å"I wished to annihilate the tedious intervening days. I chafed against the work of school... I had hardly any patience with the serious work of life which, now that it stood between me and my desire, seemed to me child’s play, ugly mo notonous child’s play.† (Joyce, 109) In retrospect, the narrator’s anticipation would end up setting himself up for a greater disappointment, however it was his sensitive nature that let these emotions consume every moment of his life. After finally overcoming the adverse obstacles of the journey to the bazaar, the narrator enters Araby ten minutesShow MoreRelatedEveline1643 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Eveline,† James Joyce uses the juxtaposition of the ever-changing setting and the unchanging stoic character of Eveline in order to exemplify the character’s reluctance and inability to move forward. James Joyce is known for his juxtaposition of light and dark throughout his short stories, specifically in his story â€Å"Araby.† I would argue that Joyce is using the contrast of opposing forces described above between the setting and the character in a similar way as he was light and dark. â€Å"Araby† andRead MoreAnalysis Of James Joyce s Araby 1246 Words   |  5 Pages16 October 2014 Araby – James Joyce – Critical Analysis - Revision The visual and emblematic details established throughout the story are highly concentrated, with Araby culminating, largely, in the epiphany of the young unnamed narrator. To Joyce, an epiphany occurs at the instant when the spirit and essence of a character is revealed, when all the forces that endure and influence his life converge, and when we can, in that moment, comprehend and appreciate him. As follows, Araby is a story of anRead More The Decline of Chivalry Explored in Araby and AP Essay1211 Words   |  5 Pageschivalrous acts has diminished. In James Joyce’s â€Å"Araby† and John Updike’s â€Å"AP†, this theory is explored, both telling the story of a boy whose efforts to impress the girl of their desires fail. As said by Well’s in his critical analysis of these stories, â€Å"Both the protagonists have come to realize that romantic gestures—in fact, that the whole chivalric view [sic] --- are, in modern times, counterproductiveâ € . These stories, despite the differences between the two characters, clearly show that the character’sRead MoreJames Joyces Araby Essay736 Words   |  3 Pages Araby by James Joyce nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In quot;Arabyquot; James Joyce explores the theme that adulthood is not always what it seems. The narrator in the story is the main character and he demonstrates this theme when he falls in love with the girl in his neighborhood. In the beginning the young boy is too shy to express his feeling towards her. Later in the story he tells her of a present that he is going to bring her from the bazzar. Lastly he realizes that he has failed and nowRead More James Joyce Essay1100 Words   |  5 Pages In selecting James Joyces Ulysses as the best novel of the twentieth century, Time magazine affirmed Joyces lasting legacy in the realm of English literature. James Joyce (1882-1941), the twentieth century Irish novelist, short story writer and poet is a major literary figure of the twentieth-century. Regarded as quot;the most international of writers in English ¡K[with] a global reputation (Attridge, pix), Joyces stature in literature stems from his experimentation with English prose. InfluencedRead MoreChange: The Seed of Evolution2514 Words   |  11 Pagessomething simple and, sometimes, unassociated (â€Å"Epiphany†). Authors often use this device not only to convey a realization on the part of their character, but also to allude to an internal message (â€Å"Epiphany†). James Joyce employed this device in many of his works in hopes of revealing to his Irish peers the low esteem of their conduct (Bulson 33). James Joyce was born in Ireland to a borderline destitute/middle-class family. After his graduation from the University College, he moved to Paris to studyRead MoreAnalysis Of James Joyce s Dubliners1668 Words   |  7 Pagesrole in how the characters and events in a given story are analyzed. The readers response to the literature depends greatly on the position of the author and/or narrator; whether he is on the outside looking in, or vise versa. The use of point of view also allows the author to convey a certain message or belief by allowing for other literary elements such as irony and sympathy . The point of view in literature is one of the central focuses for interpretation. Dubliners, by James Joyce is an outstandingRead MoreEssay on Araby and Cask of Amontillado: a Comparison1002 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Araby† and â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†: A Comparison I found the stories â€Å"Araby,† by James Joyce and â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado,† by Edgar Allan Poe to have a similar idea behind them. They both seem to be stories involving someone manipulating the actions of another person. I will be talking about and comparing the different elements of each story and their relevance. Both stories take place in different countries. In â€Å"Araby† the story is about a boy from Ireland. The country itself doesn’tRead More Youthful Experience in James Joyces Araby Essay1607 Words   |  7 PagesYouthful Experience in James Joyces Araby James Joyces, Araby is a simple tale of youthful passion set in the midst of a harsh economic era. The main character of the story is a young boy living in a bleak environment who becomes entangled in the passions, frustrations, and realizations of youth. The bleak setting of the era is enhanced by the narrators descriptions of the young boys surroundings. Araby is a story of the loneliness of youth, the joy of youthful passion, and the realizationRead MoreComparative Analysis Of Epiphany, From James Joyce s Araby And The Dead1758 Words   |  8 PagesComparative Analysis of Epiphany, from James Joyce’s â€Å"Araby† and â€Å"The Dead† James Joyce elaborately portrays the complexity of the human male psyche through his protagonists in â€Å"Araby† and â€Å"The Dead.† Through the use of first person perspective, each protagonists’ true motivations and perceptions of reality are betrayed by Joyce, therefore allowing the reader to fully understand the fallacies and complexities within each character. Through the depictions of such complexities, Joyce is able to leverage