Araby is a pretty dark short story. It starts with a street with a dead end, whose inhabitants seem to stare blankly out the windows. Even the part that describes the children playing on the streets has a gloomy feel to it, containing a sentence that uses the word "dark" three times. The ending mercilessly stamps on the readers' faint hopes that the story might turn out to be at least romantic. Why is Araby so dark, so pessimistic? Is it because the narrator of the story is a particularly grim child? Or does it show the reality of Dublin and even, the adult world in general?
The narrator seems to have quite a negative view of the world of adults. He is first, frustrated with his uncle's attitude of not taking him seriously and breaking the promise to give him money. If it were an important meeting that his uncle had missed, would he still have been so careless and unapologetic? The boy does not think so. When getting to the bazaar late at night, he finds nothing but closed stalls, and the only people there don't seem very welcome. Perhaps the almost closed, empty bazaar is a representation of the boy's idea of the adult world – spoken of as fascinating to the young, but weary and hollow in reality. The gloomy descriptions of the cul-de-sac seem to have been a foreshadow of the depressing truth the boy would find at the end of his journey.
Araby is also one of the short stories in James Joyce's book, Dubliners. In this short story, Joyce seems to focus especially more on the negative aspects of Dublin. Seeing through the lens of Modernism, he rejects the idea that the good are rewarded and the bad are punished by giving Araby a rather tragic end. Joyce was pretty much against the dominating Catholic faith in Irish society – he believed that the Church deprived him of individuality and put too many restrictions on his life overall. If there is another reason why the people in Northern Dublin seemed somehow unhappy and stagnant, it might be because of Joyce's views on the oppression of Catholicism in Ireland.
Furthermore, the disappointment the narrator goes through in Araby could also be interpreted as the result of confusing a different desire with love. In the beginning, the boy seems to be overwhelmed by his feelings for Mangan's sister, thinking of her every minute and even going to the bazaar to get something for her. In the end, however, the boy reaches a deserted bazaar and fails to prove his love. He feels his "eyes [burn] with anguish and anger." Why is it so? The boy wanted to love Mangan's sister because he thought that such emotion would bring some fresh air into his life. He reaches the bazaar, expecting to come across a realization of the change he had hoped for, but finds nothing. That is when feeling he thought of as passionate love quickly extinguishes and leaves him in ashes of frustration.
Dark stories do not necessarily lead to pessimism, though. Moments of darkness exist as a part of life, and people often learn a lot from them. Life would taste like a stale piece of bread if it were not for the light and shadows. Araby captures one of those unhappy but meaningful moments in life, giving a chance for the readers to think about their own past experiences.
The narrator seems to have quite a negative view of the world of adults. He is first, frustrated with his uncle's attitude of not taking him seriously and breaking the promise to give him money. If it were an important meeting that his uncle had missed, would he still have been so careless and unapologetic? The boy does not think so. When getting to the bazaar late at night, he finds nothing but closed stalls, and the only people there don't seem very welcome. Perhaps the almost closed, empty bazaar is a representation of the boy's idea of the adult world – spoken of as fascinating to the young, but weary and hollow in reality. The gloomy descriptions of the cul-de-sac seem to have been a foreshadow of the depressing truth the boy would find at the end of his journey.
Araby is also one of the short stories in James Joyce's book, Dubliners. In this short story, Joyce seems to focus especially more on the negative aspects of Dublin. Seeing through the lens of Modernism, he rejects the idea that the good are rewarded and the bad are punished by giving Araby a rather tragic end. Joyce was pretty much against the dominating Catholic faith in Irish society – he believed that the Church deprived him of individuality and put too many restrictions on his life overall. If there is another reason why the people in Northern Dublin seemed somehow unhappy and stagnant, it might be because of Joyce's views on the oppression of Catholicism in Ireland.
Furthermore, the disappointment the narrator goes through in Araby could also be interpreted as the result of confusing a different desire with love. In the beginning, the boy seems to be overwhelmed by his feelings for Mangan's sister, thinking of her every minute and even going to the bazaar to get something for her. In the end, however, the boy reaches a deserted bazaar and fails to prove his love. He feels his "eyes [burn] with anguish and anger." Why is it so? The boy wanted to love Mangan's sister because he thought that such emotion would bring some fresh air into his life. He reaches the bazaar, expecting to come across a realization of the change he had hoped for, but finds nothing. That is when feeling he thought of as passionate love quickly extinguishes and leaves him in ashes of frustration.
Dark stories do not necessarily lead to pessimism, though. Moments of darkness exist as a part of life, and people often learn a lot from them. Life would taste like a stale piece of bread if it were not for the light and shadows. Araby captures one of those unhappy but meaningful moments in life, giving a chance for the readers to think about their own past experiences.
Great exploration. You touch on the themes and uses of imagery etc. the Joyce is a master of. He creates a mood and a psychological place that is far beyond just a few details in a rather "mundane" story of a boyish crush. As Joyce has been examined and heralded by professors and academicians for well over a century, many would say that the characters in his books are representations of the ID and Superego (in terms of Freud), or even national identity in terms of nation as "mother" or nation as "father" - or a drunken uncle who is hard to love and won't reward your efforts, and will never change or gain independence from a state of paralysis buried in coal dust. That's all "Joycean" and you understand it well in this journal.
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