Setting. The first part of the story takes place in and around the narrator’s home in a
neighborhood in Dublin, Ireland
. At the end of the story, the action moves to a bazaar (a kind of traveling market) across town.
What is the setting of Araby?
The setting of “Araby” is
Dublin, capital city of Ireland and hometown of James Joyce
. The unnamed narrator lives in a place called North Richmond Street, which is described as “blind.” We get a sense of Joyce is referring to as blindness in his description of this respectable but bland part of town.
What is the point of Araby?
Joyce uses a first person narrative point of view in “Araby” to
tell the story of a boy who learns that his romantic feelings for a girl are illusory
. The boy’s perspective is mirrored by his environment in this story. Setting takes a central place in the story…
Where is the epiphany in Araby?
The epiphany in “Araby” occurs
in the last sentence
, in which the boy narrator has a realization: Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.
What is the main theme of Araby?
The main themes in “Araby” are
loss of innocence and religion, public and private
. Loss of innocence: The progression of the story is tied to the beginning of the narrator’s movement from childhood to adulthood.
What is the plot of the story Araby?
‘Araby,’ a short story by James Joyce, is about
a young boy in Ireland obsessed with the girl living across the street
. When the young girl mentions how badly she wants to attend a certain bazaar, he sees an opportunity to win her heart by attending the bazaar himself and bringing her back a gift.
How does the setting in Araby influence the meaning of the story?
This setting actually
propels the narrator toward his epiphany or awakening
, during which he realizes that just as Araby is an illusion, so is his idealized vision of the girl as the Virgin Mary, his view of himself as a religious hero, and his view of their relationship as something special.
What does the boy realize at the end of Araby?
At the end of “Araby,” the boy realizes that
there is a gap between desire and attaining one’s goals
. Fulfilling his promise to the girl becomes impossible, and shopping at the bazaar proves less satisfying than he had anticipated.
Why is Araby written in first person?
Because this story is about the boy’s confused feelings and emerging curiosities of adolescence, the first person point of view
allows the reader to see how the young boy (narrator) thinks and feels
. Since this is a first person narration, the reader is privy to the narrator’s epiphany at the end of the story.
Why does the boy in Araby not buy anything?
Though he dreams of getting to the bazaar and buying Mangan’s sister a gift, he arrives there very late, when it is near to closing. He doesn’t have much money to begin with and has to spend almost two-thirds of it, a shilling, on the entrance fee. … Therefore, he
loses all heart to
buy a gift for Mangan’s sister.
Why is the boy so late in leaving for the bazaar in the story Araby?
Answer Expert Verified. The boy is late going to the Araby, the bazaar, is
because of his uncle’s fault
. The boy can’t leave for the bazaar until he acquires some money. They boy does not want to go to the bazaar for his own but somewhat because he swore to buy Mangan’s sister something while they are there.
What happens in the end of Araby?
“Araby” ends with this passage: …
When he learns she wants to go to the bazaar but cannot, he promises to bring her a gift from Araby
. He thus goes on a quest to win the heart of the woman he loves, a romantic adventure. Araby turns out to be a cavernous warehouse filled with cheap goods.
What is the conflict in Araby?
The central conflict in “Araby” concerns
the struggle between the narrator’s imagination and the bleak reality of his interaction with Mangan’s sister
. In the story, the narrator is infatuated with Mangan’s sister and daydreams about winning her heart.
What is the irony of Araby?
The main irony in “Araby” is
that the unnamed boy expects to buy Mangan’s sister a nice gift at the bazaar but ends up with nothing
. This is an example of situational irony, as there is a gap here between what is expected and what actually happens.
How is Araby a loss of innocence?
The narrator of “Araby” looses his innocence
because of the place he lives, his love interest, and his trip to the bazaar
. In the opening scenes of the story the reader gets the impression that the boy lives in the backwash of his city. His symbolic descriptions offer more detail as to what he thinks about his street.
Who is the main character in Araby?
The main characters in “Araby” are
the narrator and Mangan’s sister
. The narrator is an unnamed young boy. Over the course of the story, he transforms from an idealistic child into a burgeoning adult as he is forced to face the often disappointing realities of life.
