Araby

When reading the story of “Araby” it is easy to notice the struggles of the times in Ireland. From the way Joyce describes the main character it is clear that he knows what it is like to grow up in those conditions. Where these conditions identical though and did he use himself as the narrator? When reading “Araby” it is hard not to ask these questions, because Joyce uses such specific imagery and certain characteristics within his characters to show these things so clearly. These events that form “Araby” make it a twisted love story with even greater twists inside the story. The narrator keeps the reader tagging along to find out more and then just ends the story with a slight epiphany, with no real answers, and a sense of failure. Are these pessimistic solutions in consistency with the author’s life and attitudes? The complexity of the narrator in “Araby” can be attributed to his connection to his author, James Joyce.

Secrecy from the narrator of Araby is apparent from the beginning when he is said to be looking at Mangan’s sister on the ground though, “the blind was pulled down to within an inch of the sash so that I could not be seen” (Joyce). His love for her is secret to her and is only made apparent to himself and no one else. He never tells his aunt and uncle why he wants to go to the Araby although it is to get a gift for Mangan’s sister. There is never any dialogue between him and a friend or anything except his constant thinking of her. This can be directly related to James Joyce and his adoration of a little known poet named James Clarence Mangan. It is ironic that a central character of one of his stories in “Araby” is related to this name. Now it is known that Joyce has spoken about the poet Mangan on several occasions. But why use his name in this situation? It shows that Joyce adored James Mangan the way the narrator of Araby adored Mangan’s sister. To him it is a very symbolic meaning of appreciation for the poet. One of Joyce’s favorite poems by Mangan is a love story about a girl who represents Ireland (Stone). This can also show how Joyce’s thoughts of Ireland affect his literature. In Araby the narrator is made to seem innocent because he is a boy in a difficult setting with difficult problems, to one opinioned author, “the opening paragraphs prevent us from believing that the fault is solely in the boy and not, to some extent at the least, in the world that surrounds him, and still more fundamentally, in the nature of the man himself” (Stone). So to this author although the boy is a product of a negative environment, it is still up to him to make the most out of his situation.

Growing up Joyce moved many, many times and was also in a rather huge family, by the time his parents topped having kids there were four boys and six girls. Not only was there a family of twelve to feed but at one point one of his uncles and one of his aunts lived with him. With that many people in the house it wasn’t a problem to get lost, and have to find a way to occupy him. With the always constant adaptations that had to be made from moving and changing schools, he very seldom got a chance to focus on something he truly enjoyed. So when a beautiful older girl comes along what better way to occupy yourself in thought and actions. Just like the narrator in Araby who hides from his uncle and prey’s on Mangan’s sister. When the times were the hardest Joyce could not have been thinking much of what was to come and if he was the thoughts were probably negative. Like the narrator of Araby, “I thought little