Araby by James Joyce

A detailed Summary of Araby by James Joyce


James Joyce's novel, Araby, is a story depicting a boy's yearning for romance, as he mentally becomes older. The setting is portrayed in a low-income family where the neighbors are conscious of their appearance. Materialism seems to capture almost all of the characters. Despite the boy's sexual awakenings, he longs for an idealized romance.

This boy is provoked by a girl's beauty and how she presents herself. This can first be seen when he stares at her when she calls him and Mangan in from playing. As her brother teases her all he can do is watch her. "Her dress swung as she moved her body and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side." His description is about her appearance, which is all that he knows about her. From this it can be concluded that he desires her beauty which of course attracts most in the beginning of a relationship. Secondly, he fantasizes about her, as would someone infatuated. "Her image a


never lets love control his body again. This could only take place if he felt romantic notions about her and not sexual desires.

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All this boy could think about was the bazaar and how he promised her a gift when he goes. As his friends went out to play he remained inside waiting for his uncle to return home with money to go. "From the window I saw my companions playing below in the street." He is giving up playtime to wait to please his beauty. This is promoting the idea of romance. Secondly, it can be assumed that his family is not in the wealthy bracket. "I held a florin tightly in my hand as I strode down Buckingham Street towards the station." So him taking money from an already low-income uncle, suggest that buying this girl something to please her is more important than anything else. When he arrives at the bazaar, he purchases her nothing.

Some common words found in the essay are:
James Joyce's, Buckingham Street, sexual awakenings, idealized romance,

Approximate Word count = 630
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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