The Quests in “Araby” and “A Worn Path”
In the two short stories “Araby,” by James Joyce, published in 1914, and “A Worn Path,” by Eudora Welty, published in 1973, both stories view life as a journey. Both protagonists, Phoenix Jackson, the main character in “A Worn Path,” and the Narrator in “Araby” embark on an errand out of love. In “Araby,” the Narrator develops an infatuation for Mangan’s sister, who for the longest period does not notice him. He laments, “I had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood” (Joyce 200). He volunteers to pick up something for her at the bazaar, Araby; but, he does not arrive until it has closed. Seeing the empty bazaar allows the Narrator …show more content…
In “Araby”, the Narrator confesses his adoration of Mangan’s sister with “my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires” (Joyce 201). Donald Morse’s essay suggests that Joyce used a simile comparing the Narrator to a knight highlighting a boy’s first subconscious, sexual awakenings (282). When Mangan’s sister tells him that she is unable to attend the bazaar, he jumps at the opportunity to go and bring her back a souvenir just as young people infatuated with another tend to be. However, Phoenix Jackson’s mission stems from a pure, mature love that a grandmother has for a grandchild. The nurse makes the comment that Phoenix did not make the trip for herself – that it was unselfish of her to make the trip. Terry Heller summarizes “Love also accounts for Phoenix’s courage, making it natural and unconscious, simply necessary rather than extraordinary” (2714). This pilgrimage is necessary to keep her kin alive. Therefore, both characters have a task to fulfill for someone they care …show more content…
Phoenix Jackson fulfills her task along with a healthy dose of goodwill presented toward her, but the Narrator finishes as a deflated young man who is looking at the world quite differently than when he left to go to the bazaar. He arrives, and it becomes clear to him that this is not what he imagined. In Susan Rosowski’s critique of “Araby,” she says, “by this time the incongruity between his imaginative ideal and the reality of the actual world is so great that there is no possibility in the reader’s mind for the success of the specific task” (276). The Narrator does not finish his quest and loses his idealism at the same time. However, Phoenix does complete her trip. The nurse brings the medicine to Phoenix, and she “held the bottle close to her eyes, and then carefully put it into her pocket” (Welty 461). Not only is her quest complete, but she manages to attain enough money along the way to buy her grandson a little surprise. Bartel’s essay suggests that similar to the literary phoenix rising from the ashes, so has Phoenix Jackson “for the last time”
In the two short stories “Araby,” by James Joyce, published in 1914, and “A Worn Path,” by Eudora Welty, published in 1973, both stories view life as a journey. Both protagonists, Phoenix Jackson, the main character in “A Worn Path,” and the Narrator in “Araby” embark on an errand out of love. In “Araby,” the Narrator develops an infatuation for Mangan’s sister, who for the longest period does not notice him. He laments, “I had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood” (Joyce 200). He volunteers to pick up something for her at the bazaar, Araby; but, he does not arrive until it has closed. Seeing the empty bazaar allows the Narrator …show more content…
In “Araby”, the Narrator confesses his adoration of Mangan’s sister with “my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires” (Joyce 201). Donald Morse’s essay suggests that Joyce used a simile comparing the Narrator to a knight highlighting a boy’s first subconscious, sexual awakenings (282). When Mangan’s sister tells him that she is unable to attend the bazaar, he jumps at the opportunity to go and bring her back a souvenir just as young people infatuated with another tend to be. However, Phoenix Jackson’s mission stems from a pure, mature love that a grandmother has for a grandchild. The nurse makes the comment that Phoenix did not make the trip for herself – that it was unselfish of her to make the trip. Terry Heller summarizes “Love also accounts for Phoenix’s courage, making it natural and unconscious, simply necessary rather than extraordinary” (2714). This pilgrimage is necessary to keep her kin alive. Therefore, both characters have a task to fulfill for someone they care …show more content…
Phoenix Jackson fulfills her task along with a healthy dose of goodwill presented toward her, but the Narrator finishes as a deflated young man who is looking at the world quite differently than when he left to go to the bazaar. He arrives, and it becomes clear to him that this is not what he imagined. In Susan Rosowski’s critique of “Araby,” she says, “by this time the incongruity between his imaginative ideal and the reality of the actual world is so great that there is no possibility in the reader’s mind for the success of the specific task” (276). The Narrator does not finish his quest and loses his idealism at the same time. However, Phoenix does complete her trip. The nurse brings the medicine to Phoenix, and she “held the bottle close to her eyes, and then carefully put it into her pocket” (Welty 461). Not only is her quest complete, but she manages to attain enough money along the way to buy her grandson a little surprise. Bartel’s essay suggests that similar to the literary phoenix rising from the ashes, so has Phoenix Jackson “for the last time”