James Joyce's Araby

723 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What are the themes in james joyces araby

Araby: Joycean Romanticism of the Church

Life is filled with loneliness and times when a person feels unsure. When these times arise is when most people turn to their faith in the church or faith in fate. Certain events in one’s life can send them reeling for something that they can find solace in. Security from the turbulent world is given through faith and hope. When times are at there hardest what can you do? Without faith you can get stuck, and slowly dragged down by the world decaying around you. In the story Araby by James Joyce you find what happens when you give up on faith. He also loses faith in romantic love, religious love, and material love. Evidence of this is found in the form of sexual, spiritual, and financial experiences throughout the story. The story is a more modern symbolism of the fall Of the Garden of Eden.
James Joyce speaks of the death of the Church. Joyce grew up in Dublin, Ireland and was raised as a Roman-Catholic. He lost faith in the Church early in his life, which is proved by the beginning of Araby. Araby is a short story from Dubliner’s that tells of a young boy’s revival to move away from the church and to live his life as he chooses. In the beginning of the story Joyce makes a reference to blindness. This refers to his sense of reality. The boys at the Catholic school have been trapped by the church and cannot escape. Joyce longs to be free of the church and wishes that he could relinquish the ties that bind him to it, like the house. The house was formerly own by a priest who has since passed away. The death of the priest signifies the death of the church. The priest also has more significance to the story. He also represents the hypocrisy of the church. Although the priest was thought of as charitable he dies with a substantial sum of money which gives the impression that he had not been as charitable as he possibly could have been.
Joyce also shows the deviance of a young boy as a peeping tom. Mangan’s sister is the object of his affection. He sees in her what most would see in the Virgin Mary. She is illuminated in all of the splendor that would be found in that of a religious icon.

Show More
Related

  • Allusions In Araby Research Paper

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    As soon as “Araby” begins, the religious allusions do also. Joyce immediately puts readers in a religious frame of mind as the narrator speaks of the Christian Brother’s School and the priest who formerly lived in his house. Shortly after a religious mindset is formed, the narrator speaks of “the wild garden behind the house [containing]

    Read More

  • Araby By James Joyce Literary Analysis

    660 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his short story “Araby”, James Joyce tells a story of a young boy’s infatuation with his friend’s sister, Mangan, and the issues that arise which ultimately extinguish his love for her. In his first struggle, the narrator admires Mangan’s outer beauty, however, “her name was like a summons to all his blood,” which made him embarrassed to talk with her (Joyce 318). Every day he would look under a curtain in the room and wait for her to walk outside so he could follow her to school, but then he would simply walk quickly by and never say anything to her (Joyce 318). In addition to his inability to share his feelings with Mangan, the boy allows difficulties to get in the way of his feelings for her. After struggling to get his uncle’s permission

    Read More

  • Arby

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    While the story's concern with religion seems to speak for itself, a few biographical details bout Joyce's own youth and his religious background help inform any reading of "Araby." We know that he was both drawn to and repulsed by the Catholic church in Ireland, and that just before taking orders, he opted to give up a life in the church and chose instead to devote himself to writing fiction. In the end, Joyce saw the church as something confining, something that imposed rules rather than freeing a creative spirit. As a writer radically inclined to break the rules even of fiction, the rules of the church were too severe for him. We also know that Joyce was a very sensual person who wanted nothing to do with celibacy or abstinance; his youthful marauding in the brothels of Dublin suggests that the church's proscriptions of sexual, or even romantic, activity were also too much for him.

    Read More

  • Revenge Is Not The Solution In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    He had asked Victor to create him another monster as a companion and if he doesn’t keep his promise, then he will be miserable. When Victor goes to England with the intention of creating this promised monster, his friend Henry follows him. After several months, Victor destroys the half created creature and this upsets the monster very much so because he wants this companion. When he kills Henry, the monster distinctly planned it so that Victor would be blamed for the murder. Through all this confusion on who killed Henry, Victor knew all along that the monster did it. At this point, Victor knew that he must return to Geneva to protect his family whom he loved very much (Shelley 181). Since this monster killed Henry, Victor knew that his family was now is in danger. The monster is very happy that Victor is having to suffer because, Victor is now feeling the loneliness that he feels all the time. Though the monster’s character is not evil, the pain he feels is what he wants his creator to feel. His revenge only increases throughout the book because he is only longing for a fellow companion that Victor can only give him, but yet he is choosing not to create it. The anger that is within the monster is only growing and this is increasing the possibilities of him hurting more

    Read More

  • James Joyce's Araby - Setting and Theme in Araby

    422 Words  | 1 Pages

    How the Setting Reinforces the Theme and Characters in Araby. The setting in "Araby" reinforces the theme and the characters by using imagery of light and darkness. The experiences of the boy in James Joyce's The "Araby" illustrates how people often expect more than ordinary reality can. provide and then feel disillusioned and disappointed.

    Read More

  • The Power and Vision of Leadership

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    Leadership is not a role which should be readily appointed to someone nor can it be successfully thrust upon the shoulders of just any individual. It is a characteristic that is acquired, developed and honed through a varying multitude of life experiences and lessons learned. This includes personal and professional experiences, forethought and vision and the ability to aptly conceptualize and value the necessary ingredients of positive leadership.

    Read More

  • Religion In James Joyce's Dubliners

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    A collection of short stories published in 1907, Dubliners, by James Joyce, revolves around the everyday lives of ordinary citizens in Dublin, Ireland (Freidrich 166). According to Joyce himself, his intention was to "write a chapter of the moral history of [his] country and [he] chose Dublin for the scene because the city seemed to [b]e the centre of paralysis" (Friedrich 166). True to his goal, each of the fifteen stories are tales of disappointment, darkness, captivity, frustration, and flaw. The book is divided into four sections: childhood, adolescence, maturity, and public life (Levin 159). The structure of the book shows that gradually, citizens become trapped in Dublin society (Stone 140). The stories portray Joyce's feeling that Dublin is the epitome of paralysis and all of the citizens are victims (Levin 159). Although each story from Dubliners is a unique and separate depiction, they all have similarities with each other. In addition, because the first three stories -- The Sisters, An Encounter, and Araby parallel each other in many ways, they can be seen as a set in and of themselves. The purpose of this essay is to explore one particular similarity in order to prove that the childhood stories can be seen as specific section of Dubliners. By examining the characters of Father Flynn in The Sisters, Father Butler in An Encounter, and Mangan's sister in Araby, I will demonstrate that the idea of being held captive by religion is felt by the protagonist of each story. In this paper, I argue that because religion played such a significant role in the lives of the middle class, it was something that many citizens felt was suffocating and from which it was impossible to get away. Each of the three childhood stories uses religion to keep the protagonist captive. In The Sisters, Father Flynn plays an important role in making the narrator feel like a prisoner. Mr. Cotter's comment that "… a young lad [should] run about and play with young lads of his own age…" suggests that the narrator has spent a great deal of time with the priest. Even in death, the boy can not free himself from the presence of Father Flynn (Stone 169) as is illustrated in the following passage: "But the grey face still followed me. It murmured; and I understood that it desired to confess something.

    Read More

  • What Is Body Image

    1188 Words  | 3 Pages

    Having a lack of self acceptance can cause men and women to spend a meaningless amount of time loathing on their imperfections, which can also degrade their self-perception on their bodies. Women who have a hard time looking at themselves in the mirror are in a constant battle with their inner demons, telling themselves that they are not beautiful enough. For example, in the article, "Out-of-Body Image" by Caroline Heldman, she says how, "[Women] are more likely to engage in "habitual body monitoring"-constantly thinking about how their bodies appear to the outside world . . ." (65). Women can spend a futile amount of time feeding negative comments to themselves about their appearance, which can heighten their chances of becoming bulimic and anorexic. Once women start to over-analyze their bodies, it can become difficult to reverse their mindset to generate positive feedback about themselves. Likewise, when men lose their confidence in their self-image, their self-perception can get misconstrued and suddenly they can only recognize their flaws. For example, in the article, "How Men Really Feel About Their Bodies," the author mentions how in general, men are in a constant competition against other males to improve their bodies so that they can survive in the male society ( Spiker, 73). Men are always under intense scrutiny regarding their bodies because they are engendered to be physically strong and built, and that is where the stigma begins in the male society. In order to sustain in the male domination, men are constantly trying to rebuild their bodies to match perfection. When men see others that are more built, their self-perception slowly starts to degrade their confidence, and that is when they have the difficulty of accepting themselves. As a result, men and women who lack self acceptance start to obsess over their

    Read More

  • General Criticism of Araby by James Joyce

    1439 Words  | 3 Pages

    Joyce was born in 1882 in Dublin, Ireland and lived through reformations, wars, and trials until he died in Zürich in 1941. He was a man much in politics and was much interested in how a country was being led. In the year 1914, James wrote 15 short stories known as Dubliners, which also includes the short story “Araby” (Thomas). “Araby” is a short story in which he writes describing a young lad’s curiosity and nave experience with love and in which he describes his personal life as a boy. Ireland was not always free and independent as it is now.

    Read More

  • Themes in James Joyce's Araby

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story of, "Araby" James Joyce concentrated on three main themes that will explain the purpose of the narrative. The story unfolded on North Richmond Street, which is a street composed of two rows of houses, in a desolated neighborhood. Despite the dreary surroundings of "dark muddy lanes" and "ash pits" the boy tried to find evidence of love and beauty in his surroundings. Throughout the story, the boy went through a variety of changes that will pose as different themes of the story including alienation, transformation, and the meaning of religion (Borey).

    Read More

  • Comparison of Araby and The Garden Party

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    The theme of light and darkness is apparent throughout Joyce's Araby. The dark, sombre setting of the story creates a sense of hopelessness within the narrator, an unnamed young boy. The negative connotations associated with the city of Dublin are used to illustrate the narrator's state of hopelessness. It is only through his illusions that he is able to catch a glimpse of light amidst the darkness.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Araby And The Dead By James Joyce

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    James Joyce began his writing career in 1914 with a series of realistic stories published in a collection called The Dubliners. These short literary pieces are a glimpse into the ‘paralysis’ that those who lived in the turn of the century Ireland and its capital experienced at various points in life (Greenblatt, 2277). Two of the selections, “Araby” and “The Dead” are examples of Joyce’s ability to tell a story with precise details while remaining a detached third person narrator. “Araby” is centered on the main character experiencing an epiphany while “The Dead” is Joyce’s experiment with trying to remain objective. One might assume Joyce had trouble with objectivity when it concerned the setting of Ireland because Dublin would prove to be his only topic. According the editors of the Norton Anthology of Literature, “No writer has ever been more soaked in Dublin, its atmosphere, its history, its topography. He devised ways of expanding his account of the Irish capital, however, so that they became microcosms of human history, geography, and experience.” (Greenblatt, 2277) In both “Araby” and “The Dead” the climax reveals an epiphany of sorts that the main characters experience and each realize his actual position in life and its ultimate permanency.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Superpowers

    1475 Words  | 3 Pages

    The one thing that sticks out to me even today, is that when we would walk to school, He would never let me walk close to traffic. He would always make sure that I was walking away from the traffic and he would walk on the sidewalk that was close to the cars. I didn 't realize what he was doing right away, but when I realized it, I thought it was the sweetest thing that any man can do. It taught me that one day I will teach this to my son. I will teach him to open doors for girls, pull out chairs, and be the one to walk near the traffic so that the girl won 't have to.

    Read More

  • James Joyce's Araby - An Analysis of Araby

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    I believe Araby employs many themes; the two most apparent to me are escape and fantasy though I see signs of religion and a boy's first love. Araby is an attempt by the boy to escape the bleak darkness of North Richmond Street. Joyce orchestrates an attempt to escape the "short days of winter", "where night falls early" and streetlights are but "feeble lanterns" failing miserably to light the somberness of the "dark muddy lanes"(Joyce 38). Metaphorically, Joyce calls the street blind, a dead end; much like Dublin itself in the mid 1890s when Joyce lived on North Richmond Street as a young boy. A recurrent theme of darkness weaves itself through the story; the boy hides in shadows from his uncle or to coyly catch a glimpse of his friend Mangan's sister who obliviously is his first love.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis of Joyce's Araby

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    Joyce’s character development is intentionally minimalist. There are very few “voices” in this story. The dialogue in the story is limited to minimal interaction between family members and a few minor characters. In his description of their time playing in the street, there is little or no differentiation between the narrator and his friends. He offers very little information about his characters, with one very important exception, that being Mangan’s sister. Although we never learn he...

    Read More

More about James Joyce's Araby

Open Document