Loss Of Innocence by James Joyce

             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 . To say the least the boy is overcome when Mangan"s sister.

             actually speaks to him . He is in fact so overcome that he doesn"t even know how heanswered the girl . To think a girl he has secretly watched every day and shyly followed from a distance while he walked to school is actually showing him some attention .Unfortunately for the boy the attention is mistaken for something more than it is.

             As the boy waits for the day he can go to the bazaar , he thinks of nothing exceptMangan"s sister. The boy sees her when he is going to sleep , when he wakes , and in school in his papers. The boy wants nothing more than to see Mangan"s sister again , but ,in his mind for him to do that he needs to get her something from Araby. The boy is so charged from his encounter that he says he wishes to annihilate the days separating him from going to Araby and ultimately Mangan"s sister . Finally when the day has arrived that he can go to Araby he has to wait for Uncle to get home . To the boys dismay his Uncle gets home late and is drunk . The boy is apparently familiar with this situation and knows.

             how to handle his Uncle in this state . The boy now waits even longer so that his Uncle can finish some of his diner and get in a better mood . Finally after the boys mother tells the boys uncle to give him the money he is on his way . The boy goes to the local train station and boards a special train that goes to and from Araby . When the boy arrived it was ten minutes to ten .

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