In “Araby” James Joyce explores the theme that adulthood is not always what it seems. The narrator in the story is the main character and he demonstrates this theme when he falls in love with the girl in his neighborhood. In the beginning the young boy is too shy to express his feeling towards her. Later in the story he tells her of a present that he is going to bring her from the bazzar. Lastly he realizes that he has failed and now has lost his chance with this girl and is “driven by anguish and derided by vanity” (Joyce).
From the beginning of the story we can notice the affection that this young boy has for the girl. He is so moved by her that he notices every little detail, such as how “her dress swung as she moved her body”. This girl is the only thing on his mind, and her image persues him wherever he is. He has begun to experience strong feeling of love, and he is just too shy to speak to her and let her know how he feels. When the boy sees her he becomes so shy, and “when she came out on the doorsteps my heart leaped” is what he said as soon as he saw her in front of him (Joyce).
In the article entitled “Dream Versus Reality” the author states that this story is about a boy’s first love. On a deeper level, this story is also about the the world in which this boy lives with his ideals and dreams. North Richmond Street is described metaphorically and presents the reader with the boy’s first view of the world. He has found this perfect girl and has entered a what seems like dream where he pictures him with her, however that is not a reality(“Dream”).
Later in the story the girl approaches him and asks “Are you going to bazaar?” and the boy replies “If I go, I will bring you something”. The boy is now excited about this chance to impress her by bringing her a gift. He runs back home and patiently awaits his uncle to give him money. He knows that this is the only chance he has to get this girl to like him and he is getting nervous because its getting late and his uncle is not yet back (Joyce).
In the article entitled “Analysis” the author states this story deals with longing for adventure and escape. The boy is becoming a man and he is going through the changes from childhood to adulthood. He is now faced with a problem of first the girl and now the bazaar to which he has to go to in order to get her a present. One os the other themes that the author implies is frustration which can be seen on the boy as he tries to deal with the problems imposed on him by the situation (“Analysis”)
At the end of the story the boy finally gets to bazaar, however he is late because he had waited on his uncle. The boy looks at the almost shut off lights at the bazaar as he realizes that he had missed his chance. He came late and everything was closed and he couldn’t buy anything. The author uses the setting of lighs shutting off to illustrate how the boy is feeling deep inside. His whole idea was just so bright and full of excitement, but now he has a sense of reality and its like everything shut down inside of him (Joyce).
In the article “Joyce’s Araby” the author interpets that “Araby” is a story recounting a young romantic’s first bitter taste of rality and most important love. The author goes on to state that the climatic memory of the boy’s childhood experience is anguish. This boy just became a man and faced his first problem in adulthood. He is full anger and sadness. He awakens to find himself standing at the closed bazaar having promised this girl that he would get her a gift. He realizes that he has failed and is now well into his adulthood (Coulthard).
This story has shown the reader that it is hard to get what you always want and that there are many obstacles on any quest. The story is a good example of life, where we are all faced with changes and problems that we have to deal with.