Araby, by James Joyce

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Recommended: use of Symbolism

The story, "Araby" by James Joyce, is a short story about a young boy's life and his quest to impress the young girl for whom he has feelings. The protagonists to the young boy, including the young girl, are the boy's uncle, and the people at the Bazaar booth. The initial point of conflict occurs when the girl informs the boy that she cannot attend the bazaar, as she has every other year. "She could not go, she said, because there would be a retreat that week in her convent" (Joyce 106). The plot becomes more complicated when the boy offers to bring her a momentum from the bazaar. The night in which he is to attend, his uncle returns from work at a later hour than usual which causes the boy to have less time at the bazaar. Then, when he approaches one of the booths at the bazaar, there are people having a conversation inside. This complicates things because he wishes not to disturb them. "Then I turned away slowly and walked down the middle of the bazaar" (Joyce 108). The climax occurs at this point because he decides to walk away, without purchasing anything for the girl, and it is too late to go to another booth, fore the bazaar is closed. So in the end, the boy is left with anger and emptiness because he has not kept his promise to the girl. In a story such as "Araby;" by James Joyce, theme, plot, setting, and characterization can be perceived in several different ways according to each reader. The critics Deer and Deer, Litz, ...

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