Maturity Through Hope and Failure
Coming-of-age is a chapter that every individual must eventually trek through in order to grow and mature into one’s own self. In John Updike’s A&P and James Joyce’s Araby, the theme of growth permeates throughout the narrative as their respective protagonists initially struggle to understand the world from a naive perspective, only to shed their ignorant fantasies about? and truly understand the cruelty of the world they live in. Dismissing the pragmatic aspects of life can lead to the downfall of a person’s ideals, and they inevitably and eventually come to the realization that their dreams are impractical, and even impossible. This forces them to grow up and understand that their childish hopes are worthless in the face of life’s truths and facts, which largely ignores one’s hopes. Growth requires the dichotomy of hope and failure; together they allow one to have an epiphany and realize that something, whether it be an action or an idea is amiss and then, with newfound knowledge, they may reflect and adapt. The young often make hopeful wishes that can never be realized due to the lack of experience that acts as a reality check. In James Joyce’s Araby, the narrator depicts a life of observing his crush, Mangan’s sister, and fantasizing her attention. One day his wish is granted as she finally shares a conversation with him about the bazaar in Araby and how she unfortunately cannot go. The protagonist takes the opportunity to potentially impress Mangan’s sister as the text depicts, “‘If I go,’ I said, ‘I will bring you something.’ What innumerable follies laid waste my waking and sleeping thoughts after that evening! I wished to annihilate the tedious intervening days” (Joyce 2). The brief encounter brings hope and excitement to the character, that perhaps by bringing his crush a gift from Araby, his feelings may be realized and she may share a mutual affection for him. Instead, as the story goes on, the boy arrives in Araby after overcoming obstacles like his apathetic uncle and the work of school only to arrive in Araby during its closing time. After witnessing the store clerk’s lack of interest he decides not to buy anything and then, upon his failure, he realizes how
John Updike's “A & P” and James Joyce's “Araby” are very similar. The theme of the two stories is about a young man who is interested in figuring out the difference between reality and the fantasies of romance that play in his head and of the mistaken thoughts each has about their world, the girls, and themselves. One of the main similarities between the two stories is the fact that the main character has built up unrealistic expectations of women. Both characters have focused upon one girl in which they place all their affection. Both Sammy and the boy suffer rejection in the end. Both stories also dive into the unstable mind of a young man who is faced with one of life's most difficult lessons. The lesson learned is that things are not
Change and growth often leads people to face challenges or take chances in their life and those challenges might impact their maturity or way of being in multiple aspects. Herbert Otto claims, “Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life.” In other words, Otto believes a person will experience new developments and alterations by trying out different tasks in his/her daily life. These two short stories will try to illustrate Otto’s quotation and emphasize the lives of different characters in different settings around the world, undertaking risks and not knowing the outcome until it is all over. “The Araby,” written by James Joyce, takes place in Dublin, Ireland
Coming of age is a recurring theme that is universally known throughout many different pieces of literature. Whether it’s influenced on true experiences, childhood memories, or even based on one’s current juvenile reality, many of theses works have a correlation between them that include many similar ordeals and struggles that the character goes through in order to metamorphosize into taking their first step out of childhood. One prominent theme that often appears is how one experiences and faces a time of tribulation and other walls that stand in one’s path. In effect, hardships mature and enlighten one, causing the loss of something such as childhood innocence. Lastly, these three combined points finally lead to one’s metamorphosis out of childhood. All in all, these three factors take one out of childhood, and slowly allows one step out into the reality of this world.
In coming of age stories, the protagonists often experience a pensive and dramatic moment where either they break through to adulthood or retreat to childhood - it is this moment that unveils the magnitude of growing up for the reader.
Joyce’s “Araby” and Bambara’s “Lesson” pose surprising similarities to each other. Despite the narrators’ strikingly clear differences, such as time period, ethnicity, social class, and gender the characters have important similarities. Both narrators are at crucial developmental stages in their lives, are faced with severe adversities, and have a point of clarity that affects their future.
In his short story "Araby", James Joyce portrays a character who strives to achieve a goal and who comes to an epiphany through his failure to accomplish that goal. Written in the first person, "Araby" is about a man recalling an event from his childhood. The narrator's desire to be with the sister of his friend Mangan, leads him on a quest to bring back a gift from the carnival for the girl. It is the quest, the desire to be a knight in shining armor, that sends the narrator to the carnival and it's what he experienced and sees at the carnival that brings him to the realization that some dreams are just not attainable.
Sammy is stuck in that difficult transition between childhood and adulthood. He is a nineteen-year-old cashier at an A&P, the protagonist in a story with the same name. John Updike, the author of "A&P," writes from Sammy's point of view, making him not only the main character but also the first person narrator. The tone of the story is set by Sammy's attitude, which is nonchalant but frank--he calls things as he sees them. There is a hint of sarcasm in Sammy's thoughts, for he tends to make crude references to everything he observes. Updike uses this motif to develop the character of Sammy, as many of these references relate to the idea of "play."
In her story, "Araby," James Joyce concentrates on character rather than on plot to reveal the ironies inherent in self-deception. On one level "Araby" is a story of initiation, of a boy’s quest for the ideal. The quest ends in failure but results in an inner awareness and a first step into manhood. On another level the story consists of a grown man's remembered experience, for the story is told in retrospect by a man who looks back to a particular moment of intense meaning and insight. As such, the boy's experience is not restricted to youth's encounter with first love. Rather, it is a portrayal of a continuing problem all through life: the incompatibility of the ideal, of the dream
In “Araby,” the narrator unconsciously goes through the stages of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood in an attempt to grow up for Mangan’s sister, or his love interest. He wants to ‘grow up’ in an attempt to impress her and to have the satisfaction of being a ‘grown up.’
A young man's ego is often inflated, they consider themselves to be supreme and believe that the sky's the limit. In the short stories “Araby” by James Joyce and “A Sunrise on the Veld” by Doris Lessing; the characters responses to the conflicts faced in their respective journeys makes apparent the fact that the narratives serve as tales of emotional maturation and humankind's propensity for vanity. The way the narrator in “Araby” and the boy in “A Sunrise on the Veld” perceive themselves as before the significant events in their lives is what set them up to realize their vanity, resulting in their egos being crushed. In “A Sunrise on the Veld” the boy had this image of himself that he can handle anything and nothing could stop him. The boy’s
Expectations and reality consistently oppose one another for numerous situations in one’s lifetime. Humans tend to desire something and act to obtain it. Although, what is expected may not always occur thus the result is mostly disappointment but, a lesson is usually learnt. This is explicitly presented in the short story “Araby”, by James Joyce, which is a short story released in 1914 as a collection comprised of 15 stories named Dubliners. Through the first-person point of view of a boy, the story emphasizes a prime example of how reality does not agree with expectations. This unnamed boy transitions from a playful individual to a person in love with the sister of his closest friend.
“Araby,” is a story of emotional passion carefully articulated by the author, James Joyce, to mark the end of childhood and the start of adolescence. It is told from the perspective of a young boy who is filled with lust for his friend, Mangan’s, sister. He lives in a cheerless town on a street hosting simply complacent families who own brown faced houses that stare vacantly into one another. The boy temporarily detaches himself from this gloomy atmosphere and dwells on the keeper of his affection. Only when he journeys to a festival titled Araby, does he realize that his attempt at winning the heart of Mangan’s sister has been done in an act of vanity. Joyce takes advantage of literary elements such as diction and imagery to convey an at times dreary and foolishly optimistic tone.
James Joyce’s short story Araby delves into the life of a young adolescent who lives on North Richmond Street in Dublin, Ireland. Narrated in the boys’ perspective, he recounts memories of playing with friends and of the priest who died in the house before his family moved in. With unrestrained enthusiasm, the boy expresses a confused infatuation with the sister of his friend Mangan. She constantly roams his thoughts and fantasies although he only ever catches glimpses of her. One evening she speaks to him, confiding that she is unable to visit Araby, a bazaar. Stunned by the sudden conversation, the boy promises he will go and bring her back a small memento. In anticipation, the boy launches into a period of restless waiting and distraction
Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you. Love is in the air like the aroma of a fresh lit candle lingering in a room. People are consistently looking and finding love each and every day, in all sorts of ways and places. In Araby written by James Joyce the story of a boy who falls in love with one of his playmate’s sister. Love is seen all throughout the book, making this book have relatable connections to the reader; due to its relevance in the world today. Araby is a prime example of a child hitting puberty, and starting to fall in love. In this book, Joyce shows us how love can make one change their ways and give someone purpose.
In the stories “Araby” by James Joyce, and “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro, there is a common theme of growing up. In both of these stories the characters came to a realization of who they were and what they wanted to be. They both are of the age when reality strikes and priorities take on meaning. The characters in both stories evolve through rites of passage but the way in which these revolutions occur differ with each character.