Short Story Examination of "Araby" by James Joyce
Short Story Examination of "Araby" by James Joyce
After a close examination of the short story “Araby” by James Joyce, several instances of religious symbolism seem to be intertwined throughout the story. “Araby”, in its simplest form is the story of a young boy’s first experience concerning infatuation with the opposite sex. In the text there are questions primarily concerned with Joyce’s rearing in Catholicism and the beliefs the church encouraged in opposition to his true feelings. This moral dilemma is expressed through symbolism that occurs in several interactions between the story’s central character and the world around him. In the opening line of the story, Joyce describes the street he lives on as “being blind”. This lack of sight indicates that the street is a dead end. He goes on to describe the houses occupying its sides as “gazing at one another with brown imperturbable faces”. These houses reflect the attitudes of their inhabitants, who seem satisfied and content with their lives. The unchanging people seem as though they are strictly catholic and extremely set in their ways. These people represent everything that the boy questions because, naturally, he is apprehensive in accepting completely the lifestyle that these people exhibit. After all, there must be a world beyond North Richmond Street.
The former tenant of the boy’s house was a priest. The boy describes the rooms in the house, as well as the room the priest died in, saying, “Air, musty from having been long enclosed, hung in all the rooms, and the waste room behind the kitchen was littered with old useless papers”. This gloominess represents what Joyce probably would have felt like if he had remained on North Richmond all his life. Joyce describes the boys playing in the street, which is symbolic of the children’s lack to conform to the spiritual confines of the church, unlike the adults who are trapped on North Richmond. This point is conveyed further by the aunt and uncle’s lack of enthusiasm concerning the boys’ trip to Araby.
There seems to be an eerie shadow cast on the boy’s trials and tribulations throughout the story by his lack of clarity concerning the grand scheme of life. Joyce often describes many things...