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Araby Analysis Essay

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In realist author, James Joyce’s short story “Araby”, he tells a tale of the main character’s coming of age in late 19th century Dublin, Ireland. The story gives an account of a young boy coming face to face with the bitter reality that in life things are not always as they appear. Given that it is a short story there is not much room for long-winded or overly detailed explanations of setting, or character development and this is an issue which the author adeptly handles with the use of visual imagery. In “Araby”, Joyce gives us insight into the evolving thoughts and feelings of the boy, not through literal means, but instead through his consistent use of imagery linked to the perceptions of the main character. The themes of light, darkness, …show more content…

He gives us a short, yet detailed, description of the street where the boy grew up, which through his use of imagery, helps establish the mood. Joyce writes, “North Richmond Street, being blind was a quiet street” (212). His use of the word blind in this sentence is not to be taken literally but instead refers to the fact that North Richmond is a dead-end street. From the inclusion of this little piece of information, one could derive deeper meaning. The dead-end street symbolizes that this street and its inhabitants are figuratively dead and are condemned to forever remain confined to this little corner of the world, complacent with their station in life. Joyce further alludes to this in his description of the houses on the block that, “conscious of the decent lives within them gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces” (213). The author depicts the boy and his friends as playing in “dark muddy lanes behind the houses” and describes the “dark dripping gardens” and “dark odorous stables” through which they ran (Joyce 213). Not even the street lights that, “lifted their feeble lanterns” could bring light into the long, dark nights of the Dublin winter (213). The extensive use of this dark imagery by the author serves to convey the boy’s overall sense of gloom and unhappiness within his

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