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Recommended: Reading comprehension Essay

Araby by James Joyce and A&P by John Updike are short stories, which were written in different times and countries; but with similarities. Both stories deal with young men who are not quite satisfied with their ordinary lives, and end up encountering a major change by the conclusion of the story. They encounter these changes, by trying to escape their miseries in their lives.
Araby discusses the life of a young boy who is attracted to a girl. He tries his best to see her every morning and then eventually gets the chance to talk to her. She talks about how she would like to go to the bazaar but she is unable to because she has to go on a trip. The boy wants to try his best to impress her so he goes to the bazaar and tries to get her something. The boy's uncle comes home late and the boy ends up paying more to go to the bazaar. He ends ups going there without buying anything because the bazaar is starting to close for the night.
A&P is about a boy named Sammy who works in a super market. He notices three girls with swimsuits on as they walk into the store. He is attracted to one of the girls and nicknames her "queenie." When Sammy's manager Lengel notices the girls, he comments them about their attire. Sammy wants to be the "knight in shining armor" so he decides to quit. Sammy doesn’t care when his boss says he is making a mistake. Soon afterwards, reality kicks in for Sammy.
When you first read both stories, the protagonists talk about the neighborhoods that they live in and their daily lives. They discuss their views on the cities that they live in. The boy in Araby uses negative words like ‘‘uninhabited...blind end...detached...imperturbable...dark...muddy" (Joyce). As readers, we can see this city in Ireland as a place that ...

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...er and will be a difficult time to pass. Both stories show how two boys try different ways of being hopeful of breaking free from the environments that they are in but they were born into them and realize that they have to try harder if they want to escape.
After comparing the two stories there are also differences between the two. The differences between the two stories are the narratives. The boy in araby seems like he is looking at a flashback since the narrative is a much older version of the protagonist. Sammy is just in the present moment. Another difference is the whole idea of having an epiphany. The boy in araby found out his epiphany when he goes on the quest to buy something for the girl and then realizes the hardships of it afterwards. While Sammy realizes his ephianny when he makes a bad decision when quitting his job Both learned a valuable lesson.

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