The narrator in the short story, “Araby” by James Joyce, resides not in a fantasy world full of dragons and wizards, but in a fantasy-like state of mind that is set on the theme of escape. Joyce describes North Richmond Street as, “... dark muddy lanes behind the houses, where we ran the gauntlet of the rough tribes from the cottages, to the back doors of the dark dripping gardens where odours arose from the ashpits…”(3); there is a reoccurring theme of darkness. The young narrator lives in this dark society, but he cannot face reality. The narrator in this story discovers his own fantasy; Mangan’s sister, and the bazaar. The narrator turned this girl, who he had never really met before, into the light that lifts him from reality. Mangan’s
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I have found that similar to the young protagonist, the author, James Joyce, also lived in Dublin on North Richmond Street. This short story seems to go back to the days when the author lived in a society that was struggling against oppressive forces, and when Ireland was against Britain. Joyce also lived in a dark world where he longed to find something that would take him away from reality. The author purposefully decided to recall such a humiliating, troubling experience to remind him of a time when he created a fantasy for himself that lifted him from the darkness for a while. As people grow older, their minds begin to stick with reality, and it becomes more difficult to fantasize, and escape from reality. Perhaps, Joyce conjured this memory for the sheer purpose to remind himself of the days when he was able to enlighten himself, despite what was going on around him. He writes this short story to show both himself and readers that it is possible to escape harsh realities, just like him when he was a child. The fantasies that he created for himself during the dark times that he went through, made it seem as if he was truly happy: “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...But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires”(4-5). Therefore, although the
I have found that similar to the young protagonist, the author, James Joyce, also lived in Dublin on North Richmond Street. This short story seems to go back to the days when the author lived in a society that was struggling against oppressive forces, and when Ireland was against Britain. Joyce also lived in a dark world where he longed to find something that would take him away from reality. The author purposefully decided to recall such a humiliating, troubling experience to remind him of a time when he created a fantasy for himself that lifted him from the darkness for a while. As people grow older, their minds begin to stick with reality, and it becomes more difficult to fantasize, and escape from reality. Perhaps, Joyce conjured this memory for the sheer purpose to remind himself of the days when he was able to enlighten himself, despite what was going on around him. He writes this short story to show both himself and readers that it is possible to escape harsh realities, just like him when he was a child. The fantasies that he created for himself during the dark times that he went through, made it seem as if he was truly happy: “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...But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires”(4-5). Therefore, although the