Infatuation In Araby

In many short stories, the main characters make a startling discovery about themselves. This happens in the short story, “Araby,” which tells the story of a young boy and his infatuation with his friend’s sister. The story is told by the boy’s older self, who makes a discovery about himself that leaves him utterly devastated. In the short story, “Araby,” the speaker comes to the realization that his first love was based on vanity and displays this revelation to the reader by using a bleak and disappointed tone. Throughout the story, “Araby,” the speaker looks back on his childhood crush and discovers, at the end, that his infatuation was based on vanity. As the speaker describes his feelings for Mangan’s sister, readers are given a glimpse …show more content…
As the speaker begins to doubt his feelings and understand where they have truly come from, the story takes on a more depressing tone in order to show the impact the revelation had on the main character. Joyce uses imagery to manifest the character’s changing feelings as the discovery hits. The speaker looks at a shop’s merchandise and sees “great jars that stood like eastern guards.” The imagery this conjures up is helpful in foreshadowing the oncoming discovery, as it takes a new and exciting experience (walking around and seeing the different stands) and turns it into something terrifying. As the story goes on and the revelation is made, the tone becomes darker and even more depressing. The speaker uses strong to diction to describe his feelings towards his admission saying that his eyes “burned with anguish and anger.” These words are very strong in their representation of the resentment that the speaker feels for his younger self.

The speaker in “Araby” discovers that he was attracted to his first crush for reasons that stem from pure vanity. This realization is shown to readers through the use of a dreary and furious tone that demonstrates the self-hatred the speaker feels. Though it can be good and beneficial to analyze oneself, it can also be hard to deal with the outcome. This story is perfect example of the heartache that can come with