Araby: An Analysis into the Evolution of the Narrator

Araby is a short story about a young man’s coming-of-age and unrequited love. Although the story takes place on a dead-end street in London, which might imply that the characters are trapped, we follow the narrator through a period of growth and extreme change.

In 1914, author James Joyce published his first book, Dubliners, which included the short work of fiction, Araby (“James Joyce biography”). The story begins with the narrator’s reflections on a former tenant in their house, a priest, who passed away in the backroom of the home (Joyce 15). The narrator describes rummaging through the priest’s belongings, including old books (Joyce 15). His favorite, we learn, is The Memoirs of Vidocq, because its’ “leaves were yellow” (Joyce 15). Joyce’s description of the yellow pages of the book is telling, because yellow leaves call to mind autumn when we later learn that this story takes place in deep winter (Joyce 15). It leads the reader to believe that the narrator preferred that season to this one, and is moving through life from season to season. The audience moves along with the narrator into the present.

As described in the next paragraphs, the narrator spends his evenings playing outside through the neighborhood with his friends, much like most young boys do (Joyce 15-16). Based on the reading, the boys were only concerned with avoiding anyone who might make them go inside (Joyce 16). Soon thereafter, the narrator reveals a crush on his friend Mangan’s sister (Joyce 16). The narrator moves from the innocence of childhood and outdoor play to the confines of his front parlor, where he watches secretly watches the sister’s door every morning (Joyce 16). He follows Mangan’s sister to school each day, but they do not really speak to one another (Joyce 16). We read as the narrator enters the room where the priest died and, in desperation, calls on God (or perhaps even the priest) for relief of his pain (Joyce 16). The narrator’s grief is overwhelming, and the change in him is already evident to the reader.

Another change comes when, at long last, Mangan’s sister speaks to the narrator. The pair discussed going to a bazaar named Araby (Joyce 17). While Mangan’s sister cannot go to the bazaar, the narrator says that if he goes, he will bring her something (Joyce 17). Now, instead of dreaming of talking to her, the narrator dreams of going to the bazaar (Joyce 17). He reflects on the daily routine of his life as “ugly monotonous child’s play” (Joyce 17). This implies that the narrator has moved on from childhood into adolescence.

Later that evening, the narrator waited for his uncle to arrive home from work so that he could ask for money for the bazaar. After some discussion, his uncle asked the narrator whether he knew the poem, The Arab’s Farewell to his Horse (Joyce 18). In the poem, a young horse is encouraged to “roam the desert,” as it had recently been “sold” (Norton 591). The reference to The Arab’s Farewell seems to confirm that the narrator has moved into adulthood.

The journey to get into the bazaar was difficult – fraught with delays, challenges, and the reality of consequences -- and may serve as a metaphor for the real-life journey into true adulthood (Joyce 18). Once the narrator arrives, the bazaar is not anything like what he had expected. The narrator describes “great jars… stood like eastern guards at either side of the dark entrance” and later, describes how “the upper part of the hall [became] completely dark.”(Joyce 18). This language reflected the narrator’s mood as it changed from excitement to disappointment.

Instead of eyes that “filled with tears” and “a flood from [his] heart [that] seemed to pour itself out,” the narrator now describes eyes that “burned with anguish and anger” (Joyce 19). The narrator is no longer the same person we met at the beginning of the story.

Works Cited

“James Joyce biography.” Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://www.biography.com/people/james-joyce-9358676>.

Joyce, James. “Araby.” Dubliners. New York: Dover Publications, 1991. 15-19. Print

Norton, Caroline. “The Arab’s Farewell to his Horse.” The best loved poems of the American people. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1936. 591-592. Print.