“Araby,” a short story written by James Joyce, depicts a boy that lived on a quiet street in Dublin. This kid finds himseld fantasisng over a girl across the street only known as Mangan's sister. He fantasized over every detail of her. Once he finally spoke to her, she asked him if he was going to Araby. He believed that he was going on a search for the “Holy Grail” of a present for her. When he arrived at the bazaar, all of his fantasies turned into reality, and he was left with nothing but “anguish and anger.” The boy fantasized about being with the girl, what Araby was like, and the gift he was going to give her. Although, in reality, his relationship with the girl and his vision of Araby proved to be the opposite of what he dreamed. …show more content…
The boy allows his fantasy to mask the darkness and reality of his surroundings. The boy sees the girl as a angle through “the light from the lamp… lighting up her hair, and how “ the soft rope of her hair tossing from side to side” fuels his emotions. (Joyce James) He is consumed with her every action and lives his life by her to the extent of thinking of her “ even in places the most hostile to romance.” The boy lives in such darkness he doesn't even see it because of how deeply in love he is of her. His life is dark and dull within a quiet street, a detached house in which a person has died in and rooms “ musty from having been long enclosed,... and the waste room behind the kitchen was littered with old useless papers.” once he finally talked to the girl, even though he didn't know if he “would ever speak to her or not.” He engulfs himself with another fantasy which includes Araby a thought to be magical