By James Joyce

Cultural Context: In the years between the Great Famine of the 1840s and World War I, Ireland experienced a severe decline in living standards, and the resulting emigration led to a reduction in population by almost one third. It is against the background of these harsh economic conditions that Joyce juxtaposes a young boy’s idealism with the bleakness of his day-to-day life in “Araby.”

The 3rd story in Dubliners published in 1914

The use of epiphany (a sudden revelation of truth about life inspired by a seemingly trivial incident )

Critical interest in the story

In Joyce’s pervasively influential theory of the short story we remember, the fiction turned upon an epiphany, a moment of revelation in which, in [critic] Harry Levin’s words, “amid the most encumbered circumstances it suddenly happens that the veil is lifted, the …mystery laid bare, and the ultimate secret of things made manifest.” The epiphany, then, became a technique for jelling the narrative and locking the story’s import into place…. What made this method revolutionary was the shifting of the focal point of the story from its end…to a spot within the body of the text, usually near (but not at) the end.

A young boy living with his aunt and uncle in a dark, untidy home in Dublin that was once the residence of a priest. The boy is in love with his friend's older sister, never having the courage to talk to her. Finally she speaks to him, asking him if he is going to attend a visiting bazaar,--“Araby.” where she cannot attend, he offers to bring her something from the bazaar. On the night he is to attend, his uncle is late coming home from work. when he makes his way to the bazaar, most of the people have left and many of the stalls are closed. As he looks for something to buy, he overhears a banal young salesgirl flirt with two young men. When the disinterested salesgirl asks him if he needs help, he declines, and he walks through the dark, empty halls, disillusioned with himself and the world around him.

Blind (The North Richard Street was “blind”, and “I” used a blind to hide myself from being seen by Mangan’s sister. )

Mangan’s sister The North Richmond Street Araby The priest, etc.

The vanity and falsity of ideal, romantic love.

Disillusionment with religion and love. The growing alienation from family,

religion, and the world.

Themes

Conflict between the emotions of an adolescent lover and the objective condition of that surrounded him.

Adolescence is the period when biological changes begin to occur in young boys and girls. As they start their journey to wards adulthood, their emotional behavior is redefined and they are attracted towards the opposite sex.

Under the influence of new changes in his body, the young boy of Araby was drawn towards the sister of his friend who lived in his neighbors.

Her figure, the features of which were once highlighted by the same light when he was fortunate enough to be addressed by her, bewitched him. He followed her but had no heart to speak to her because he was shy by nature.

Though he loved her with all the passion and innocence of adolescence he never had courage to tell her of his feelings, nor he ever appear to be aware of them. This state is what can be called "subjective".

On the other occasion when she talked to him he promised that he would bring something for her from the exotic shopping center, known as Araby.

He had a small amount of money which was gifted to him by his uncle. Some of it had been spent on the railway and entrance fee. The remained was not sufficient to buy anything worthwhile. To top it he had reached there quite late in the evening. Nearly all stalls had closed and only one which was still open displayed wares which were beyond his pocket.

He was rudely shocked and came face to face with reality. He could love with all his being but he could not buy a gift for his beloved. He was dependant on others who would not understand his passion.

The objective world, the real world, could and would not sympathize with him. He was pained and frustrated but he knew that he could not alter reality.