Minor Characters In Araby By James Joyce

The short story “Araby” by James Joyce is a story about initiation from the perspective of a young boy into adulthood. The story is narrated by a man who is revisiting an experience he had as a young boy when he realized that not everything in life was carefree. When a special girl entered into the young man’s life, he had a rude awakening to the realty of adulthood. The minor characters in the play played a very important role in the young man becoming aware of what it means to become an adult and to become responsible. The story shows the young boy and his initiation into adulthood when he sees how different and harsh adults can be in comparison to a kid’s personality when he observes his self-centered uncle who says one thing and then does the opposite. The young boy learns the hardest lesson on becoming an adult when he falls for a pretty girl who lives in his neighborhood, and his short-lived love ends in letdown. Joyce uses this first example of heartbreak for the young boy as a metaphor for disillusionment with life. From the very beginning of the story, the boy misleads himself about the girl next door and the signs he believes he sees when he is trying to get her attention. Once

At first the woman does not see the boy, but when she does she gets an annoyed reaction because he is taking time away from her pleasure instead of doing her job. As he is observing this women with her friends he notices that her conversation is flirtatious, much like the conversation between the boy and his girl when she asks him if he is going to the bazaar and as she asks she “…turned a silver bracelet round and round her wrist” (2280). It is very common for girls to play with their hair, their clothing, or a piece of jewelry when they are flirting with a boy because it is a playful