James Joyce s Araby - The Truth Of Adulthood - 882 Words

The truth of adulthood in â€Å"Araby† â€Å"Araby,† a complex short story by James Joyce is narrated by a mature man who reflects upon an adolescent boy’s transition into adulthood. The story focuses on the events that brought the main character to face his disconnect from reality. Love plays a distinct role in the boy’s delusion of reality, which Joyce relays from the beginning of the story. Minor characters, such as Mangan’s sister, the priest, Mrs. Mercer, and his uncle hold a vital role in the boy’s shattered innocence. Joyce uses these characters to introduce to the boy the hypocrisy, vanity and illusion of adulthood by highlighting their faults and later linking them to his reality. Joyce places an emphasis on the boy’s infatuation with Mangan’s sister, his love for her marks the beginning and the end of his journey. The boy’s desire to possess Mangan’s sister drives him to an isolated state, away from childhood friends and the luxuries of being young. He becomes obsessed with his love for her: â€Å"From the front window I saw my companions playing below in the street. Their cries reached me weakened and indistinct and, leaning my forehead against the cool glass, I looked over at the dark house where she lived† (305). The boy’s companions are distant both spatially and emotionally, which explains why their cries are weak and indistinct. Not only does Joyce separate the boy from his friends, he also turns his love into an object that he must go on a quest to retrieve. Like aShow MoreRelatedComparing Adolescence And Maturity During The Short Stories Sucker And Araby 2084 Words   |  9 PagesComparing Adolescence and Maturity in the Short Stories â€Å"Sucker† and â€Å"Araby† Adolescence emanates from the Latin verb adolescere which means to grow into maturity. In other words, it is the period in which an individual must establish a sense of personal identity. In the Carson McCullers’s story â€Å"Sucker† two young characters struggle with their transition to adulthood. The narrator Pete, is 16, and the older of the two boys by about three years. The stories action covers an extended flashback inRead MoreSucker By James Joyce Analysis2089 Words   |  9 Pagesverb adolescere which means to grow into maturity. In other words, it is the period in which an individual must establish a sense of personal identity. In the Carson McCullers’s story â€Å"Sucker† two young characters struggle with their transition to adulthood. The narrator Pete, is 16, and the older of the two boys by about three years. The stories action covers an extended flashback in which Pete reflects on his relationship with his cousin Sucker, who has lived with him since his â€Å"folks were killedRead MoreJames Joyces Story Araby, By Carson Mccullers2068 Words   |  9 Pagesadolescence is the period in which an individual develops an identity and personal autonomy in the pursuit of comfortable affiliations, goals and convictions. In the Carson McCullers’s story â€Å"Sucker† two young characters struggle with their transition to adulthood. The narrator Pete, is 16, and the older of the two boys by about three years. The stories action covers an extended flashback in which Pete reflects on his relationship with his cousin Sucker, who has lived with him since his â€Å"folks were killedRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesturning point of the narrative actually occurs. Nor is there any special reason that the crisis should occur at or near the middle of the plot. It can, in fact, occur at any moment. In James Joyce’s â€Å"Araby† and in a number of the other companion stories in â€Å"Dubliners† the crisis – in the form of a sudden illumination that Joyce called an epiphany – occurs at the very end of the story, and the falling action and the resolution are dispensed with altogether. Exposition and complication can also be omitted