James Joyces Araby - Loss of Innocence in Araby Essay

Loss of Innocence in Arabynbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp; In her story, Araby, James Joyce concentrates on character rather than on plot to reveal the ironies inherent in self-deception. On one level Araby is a story of initiation, of a boy’s quest for the ideal. The quest ends in failure but results in an inner awareness and a first step into manhood. On another level the story consists of a grown mans remembered experience, for the story is told in retrospect by a man who looks back to a particular moment of intense meaning and insight. As such, the boys experience is not restricted to youths encounter with first love. Rather, it is a portrayal of a continuing problem all through life: the incompatibility of the ideal, of the dream†¦show more content†¦Although the young boy cannot apprehend it intellectually, he feels that the street, the town, and Ireland itself have become ingrown, self-satisfied, and unimaginative. It is a world of spiritual stagnation, and as a result, the boys outlook is severely limited. He is ignorant and therefore innocent. Lonely, imaginative, and isolated, he lacks the understanding necessary for evaluation and perspective. He is at first as blind as his world, but Joyce prepares us for his eventual perceptive awakening by tempering his blindness with an unconscious rejection of the spiritual stagnation of his world. The boys manner of thought is also made clear in the opening scenes. Religion controls the lives of the inhabitants of North Richmond Street, but it is a dying religion and receives only lip service. The boy, however, entering the new experience of first love, finds his vocabulary within the experiences of his religious training and the romantic novels he has read. The result is an idealistic and confused interpretation of love based on quasireligious terms and the imagery of romance. This convergence of two great myths, the Christian with its symbols of hope and sacrifice and the Oriental or romantic with its fragile symbols of heroism and escape, merge to form in his mind an illusory world of mystical and ideal beauty. This convergence, which creates an epiphany for theShow MoreRelatedCompare and Contrast: Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre and James Joyces Araby830 Words   |  4 PagesJane Eyre and James Joyce’s Araby James Joyce’s Dubliners is a collection of short stories developed chronologically from his youth to adulthood. Joyce attempts to tell a coming of age story through Dubliners. In particular, Araby is about a young boy who is separated from his youth by realizing the falsity of love. James Joyce’s Araby is a tale of a boy in Dublin, Ireland that is overly infatuated with his friend’s older sister and because of his love, travels to the bazaar, Araby, where he finallyRead MoreEssay on Araby(loss Of Innocence)640 Words   |  3 Pages Loss Of Innocence In James Joyce’s Araby the boys loss of innocence may be confusing and even painful but at the same time it is important . It begins his journey into adulthood . The boy in Araby is experiencing something all young men experience , the first crush . It is a time in his life where he is having new feelings, and trying to express those feelings to the object of his affection is next to impossible . Even the simple act of watching Mangan’s sister brings up emotions in the boy .Read MoreAraby, By James Joyce1013 Words   |  5 Pages James Joyce’s short fiction, â€Å"Araby†, speaks of the loss of innocence when one enters adulthood. 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