"Araby" is a wonderful short story by James Joyce. It is designated as a semi-autobiography of the writer. In this story, the writer describes the passionate feelings of a teenage boy for a girl. This story shows the contrast between his passionate feelings and reality. The boy lives north of Dublin. He is isolated in this story because he thinks playing with neighborhood kids is a waste of time. The boy begins his journey so that he is experiencing affection for Mangan's sister. This is the time when he is feeling attracted to her and trying to express his feelings to her but he cannot. Even the simple act of watching her brings up emotions in the boy. The boy used to follow her from a distance regularly. He feels a deep attraction to her. He is also used to thinking of her all-time, especially in the dark environment of his home. When Mangan's sister talks to him he is so overcome that he does not know how he answered her. She asks him if he is going to Araby which is actually an oriental bazaar.
The boy was expecting her to go with him. But she says there will be a retreat this week in her convent. The boy says he will go there and bring a gift for her but all that he says unconsciously is because he has no intention to go to Araby before. His mother asks his uncle and he gives him money to go on his way. From the local rail station he boards a special train goes to Araby and when he arrived it was ten minutes to ten. The bazaar closes at ten so he had a very short time. He goes through the shilling entrance instead of the six penny entrance. The boys go to a booth that sells porcelain vases and tea sets. Then he notices a shop where a female shopkeeper was talking with two men in English. Actually, they were flirting with the female. Then the boy realizes exactly what they were doing and also realized that he was doing as same as them with Mangan's sister. He realizes it to be very trivial. He feels that all he did thinking that he was in love was not real. It was his temporary emotions and passion. He was acting in a way he never thought before. He becomes angry at himself. It is through the boy losses his innocence. He realizes himself being mature. This is how the story "Araby" deals with the process of maturity from immaturity.
tags:
The Process of Maturity from Immaturity in Araby
the epiphany in Araby
the ultimate realization in Araby