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Maturity In James Joyce's Araby

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James Joyce's “Araby" is a short story centering on an Irish adolescent who encounters a quest, which ultimately leaves him with an answer he was not expecting. His fantasies and expectations provide him with an escape from the harsh realities of everyday life in his country. Joyce employs the literary devices of suspense and juxtaposition to illustrate the narrator's journey and ultimate realization conveying an overall theme of maturity. Joyce throughout the story skillfully illustrates the importance of time, as it ticks away the reader is put on edge, curious if the main character will be able to complete his journey, emphasizing an overall tone of maturity. Instead of creating a light-hearted love story, “Araby" ultimately ends in tragedy. …show more content…

Everyday life described as “flaring streets, jostled by drunken men and bargaining women, amid the curses of labourers, the shrill litanies of shop-boys who stood on guard by the barrels of pigs’ cheeks” (?). When he promised her that he will go to Araby and bring her back something it provides an escape, as he encounters something that causes him to overlook his dull responsibilities. “The syllables of the word Araby were called to me through the silence in which my soul luxuriated and cast an Eastern enchantment over me” (?). The boy idolizes the girl, his thoughts about her fill the emptiness of his life. He begins to think about her to forget about his surroundings, “her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance” (?). Although when the narrator arrives at the bazaar, this apparent juxtaposition between the unknown and mundane is revealed to be a mirage. He realizes that Mangan’s sister will never meet his expectations as she was just a fantasy that provided excitement to his uneventful existence, he alludes this as he states, “I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger. (?) While attempting to escape from his mundane life, he realizes that this pursuit is unrealistic. He cannot avoid his day-to-day responsibilities. The protagonist’s ability to realize this illustrates his coming of age, conveying the overall theme of maturity. The development of change as we grow is unavoidable. Maturity is an important aspect of human nature, “Araby” is much different than many other coming of age stories as it illustrates the difficulties. The abrupt ending shows the challenges we face might not always end in success, but the way we learn and reflect from them is

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