James Joyce’s Araby was thought provoking and I
enjoyed it very much. My initial impression of Araby was that it was a dark,
and dismal story with little significance on the surface. However, as the story
progressed it became evident that there were significant hidden meanings within
the text. Joyce’s ability to create this hidden meaning results in an interesting
story with no parameters. I thoroughly enjoyed Joyce’s appeal to emotion in Araby and how the protagonist has the
ability to influence the mood of the reader from the start of the story.
The first line
of the story “North Richmond Street being blind, was a quiet street except at
the hour when the Christian Brothers School set the boys free” seems
unimportant but later, it actually becomes very significant. Joyce cleverly
provokes confusion in the reader with his use of eccentric language that is hard
to recognize at a first glance. This ambiguity
contributes to the beauty and mystery of the story. The priest was described as “a very charitable
priest” when in fact he had just been giving his belongings away because he was
no longer alive. The last line of the story, “Gazing up into the darkness I saw
myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with
anguish and anger.” was very odd and appealed to me because of its ambiguity. It
is the darkest point in the story when the narrator is showing maturity by
blaming himself for his actions.
The first time I
read Araby I thought it was very different and thoroughly enjoyed it. . It did
not make much sense at first and seemed like it did not have much of a purpose.
After analyzing the deeper meaning of the text and contributing to a Harkness
discussion on Araby, I have come to enjoy
and have a better understanding of the story.
After thoroughly
studying and analyzing Araby, the hidden meanings became more clear. This gives
the story more dynamic and flexibility. Readers can take more out of a story
that includes this. I learned how the Holy Grail relates to Araby and what it really means. The
quest for the Holy Grail is relatable to the story because the narrator is on a
quest for a girl and goes to extreme measures in an attempt to impress her. I
have taken a lot out of the analysis of this story and enjoyed the process. The
use of implied language demonstrates the ability of the author to provoke the
reader’s thoughts through indirect description and is significant in creating a
meaningful impression.
