Araby

In "Araby" by James Joyce, this was a short story in which the protagonists gained a consciousness that was beyond him. Joyce uses the imagery of visualization to enhance the reader's view, "It was the winter season and street lamps were weak which gave additional images of darkness. The setting in Araby took place in Dublin, in a conventional, quiet neighborhood. The boy lived in an old house with the air being musty and nothing was taken care of. The gardens were growing wild, the books in his house were in a state of ruin and a priest, the former tenant of the house, had died in one of the rooms. The atmosphere was dark, dismal and depressing. The character lived in a run down district where street gangs existed. The main character is initiated into new realities and truths of which he was not previously aware of.

Bust of James Joyce in St. Stephen's Green, Dublin

James Joyce in 1888 at age six. Possibly in Bray, ...

James Joyce statue next to O'Connell street in Dub...

"Araby" will be examined with reflections according to the type of initiation that was experienced, the nature of the narrator, the similar and dissimilar aspects of both characters and various components of the short story. In "Araby", both characters were experiencing an initiation or awareness of new actualities that were outside of themselves. The main character painfully learned that this initiation was beyond his control. It was impossible for him to ignore the new realities of which he came to understand. The new found awareness was so powerful that it changed the boy's entire outlook, thus he began to see the world through new eyes.

The type of initiation that the character had was a distressing journey from innocence to knowledge and experience. The narrator had a different attitude and reaction to the initiation experience. In Araby, the reader learns of the boy's initiation...