john updike ap and james joyces araby

John Updike's A & P and James Joyce's Araby

share many of the same literary traits. The

primary focus of the two stories revolves around a

young man who is compelled to decipher the

different between cruel reality and the fantasies

of romance that play in his head. That the man

does, indeed, discover the difference is what sets

him off into emotional collapse. One of the main

similarities between the two stories is the fact

that the main character, who is also the

protagonist, has built up incredible,yet

unrealistic, expectations of women, having focused

upon one in particular towards which he places all

his unrequited affection. The expectation these

men hold when finally "face to face with their

object of worship" (Wells, 1993, p. 127) is what

sends the final and crushing blow of reality: The

rejection they suffer is far too great for them to

Updike is famous for taking other author's

works and twisting them so that they reflect a more

contemporary flavor. While the story remains the

same, the climate is singular only to Updike. This

is the reason why there are similarities as well as

deviations from Joyce's original piece. Plot,

. . .
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Approximate Word count = 1224
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)