John (Jack) Ward

EN.101.12
Dr. Nicholas Miller
Due Date: 4/15/14
Growing Up the Meaning of Araby
Araby, by James Joyce, is one of the most obscure short stories I have ever read, but in
the same degree not so obscure. Joyce does an incredible job at detailing essential parts of
Araby to point out the meaning of the story and leaving certain aspects like characters names,
that would seem taboo, out of the story because they hold no weight in the meaning. All Joyces
detailed descriptions hold so much value to the topic of the story; like his description of the place
the main character lives to the description of Mangans sister. Joyce also correlates the meaning
of the story so well with the outside world, considering the story takes place in a very Catholic
state of Ireland. An analysis of Araby reveals that the main character, the boy, deals with
problems associated with the transition from childhood into adulthood and where these problems
came from in early twentieth century Ireland.
The first dilemma the young boy, never given a name, has to encounter is the fact that he
is driven by physical features and what seems to be sexual fantasies. As Joyce wrote, The light
from the lamp opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested
there and, falling, lit up the hand upon the railing. (Joyce 2). Joyce depicts such a clear picture
of what is occurring and this helps clarify the situation. Considering the situation today it would
be pretty normal a teenage boy, who is probably going through puberty, fantasizing over the
physical features of a beautiful girl, Mangans sister. It is not only once that the boy describes
her beauty, but he does it multiple times so Joyce must be stressing the fact that physical features
are an important aspect of this boys life. Since, this setting is during the early twentieth century
in Ireland it kind of proposes a conundrum. The fact that a young, you could say man, is in love

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with an individuals physical beauty is made out to be pretty ridiculous, but that has to do with the
world of the text. In this case a religion driven area such as Ireland values a person more for
their character than their beauty. The boy is so in love with Mangans sister that even in his
spare time he thinks about her so vividly. Joyce wrote from the young boys perspective, All
my senses seemed to desire to veil themselves and, feeling that I was about to slip from them. I
pressed the palms of my hands together until they trembled, murmuring: O love! O love! Many
times. (2). The young boy seems to ignore the idea that values and character are what make you
fall in love not just beauty, since the boy does not really even seem to know Mangans sister
personally but is awe struck by her looks. In fact when the boy did finally speak to Mangans
sister he was baffled. Joyce wrote, At last she spoke to me. When she addressed the first words
to me I was so confused that I did not know how to answer. (2). This is a point where conflict
between childhood and adulthood comes to play due to the fact that the boy was driven to speak
to this girl because of being sexual driven which is more adult; but when he does finally talk to
her he can not get the words together to speak to her which seems childish. So this is a case of a
transition period for the boy. He is not fully an adult because he cannot have a conversation but
he is not a child anymore because the beauty of this girl drives him. Yet he tries to make it seem
that he is an adult with particular phrases that separate him from being a child. The young boy
says, I had hardly any patience with the serious work of life which, now that it stood between
me and my desire, seem to me childs play, ugly monotonous childs play. (2). Now it takes
more than saying that something is childs play to be an adult, it takes action, but most
paradigms of adults would assume hardworking individuals who are working to provide for their
family. The boy states contradictorily that he had hardly any patience for serious work and
referred to it as childs play. Another point of conflict between childhood and adulthood where

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the boy is making it sound that he is an adult but his actions that he does not want to deal with
serious work makes him still a child. Joyce in another scene writes, I asked him to give me the
money to go to the bazaar. (3). An adult would not ask his or her guardian for money because it
is a childish thing to do indicating that the boy is still a child.
All these situations stem the question where did all the conflict between childhood and
adulthood come from? It takes a lot more of a keen eye to derive where this turmoil came from.
It goes back to the fact that Joyce is very descriptive about certain parts in the story and one of
those parts is the description of the place he lives and the books that the priest left there. Joyce
wrote, Among these I found a few paper-covered books, the pages of which were curled and
damp: The Abbot, by Walter Scott, The Devout Communicant, and The Memoirs of Vidocq. (1).
These books are so important because of there content which leaves clues to why the boy became
the way he is. The books are very racy, which entails that they would include some naughty
parts that are most likely sexual. Most sexual scenes are described physically so that would
indicate why the boy is so enthralled by physical beauty. Now another question is why was the
boy taught not to only value someone on physical appearance, but on character as well. The
reason he does not do this is because he has no older figure like a mom, dad or older sibling that
could teach him what is right and wrong. The boy has an aunt and uncle, but his parents are
either dead or just not in the picture because Joyce never addresses them. The boys aunt and
uncle do not seem to be role models because the uncle is portrayed as a drunk and the aunt is just
a benign figure in his life that is neither beneficial nor hurtful to him. The boy also does not have
an older figure in his life to teach him what is right and wrong. Since the boys only exposure is
to the racy books that is what he lives by. So it can be assumed the boy is maybe a little more
obsessed then the average teenage boy would be, but it makes sense if he only knows one way to

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handle a situation like this. The one way is the one he has learned in the racy books, the one idea
that beauty is what drives all.
The theme of childhood and adulthood bring many parts that constitute the idea of a
conflict between civilized and uncivilized. The fact that animal instinct drives the boy, which is
that beauty drives this boy, is the uncivilized aspect. Joyce writes in the last line, Gazing up
into the darkness I saw myself a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with
anguish and anger. (4). This line represents a scene where the boy realizes that his childish,
uncivilized aspect is getting the better of him. He realizes that he is being irrational, but Joyce
leaves the story open ended. Does the boy actually learn that he should not buy something for
Mangans sister because he does not really know her? Everything leading up to this indicates
that the boy is strictly driven by the way this girl looks and that is childish. Yet he makes it seem
that he is in fact an adult, but all the choices he makes point to the contrary. The last sentence
makes it sound that he is coming full circle and making an adult decision, which would indicate
growing up. Joyce leaves it so that you have to figure it out did the boy really come of age or is
he still driven by beauty? The fact that the boy came to the bazaar with the use of his uncles
money is a childish thing in itself. So everything indicates that the boy has been a child this
whole time and that the one scene could not have changed him that much and that he in fact did
not grow up.
Joyce addresses the important conflict with a young boy growing up and the problems he
faces while growing up. Araby gives a different perspective of what growing up is like
because of the time and place. But today it can still be argued that the same conflicts still arise
when growing up as people are exposed to so many different things that affect how they become

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adults or how long it takes to become one. As long as humans exist the transition period from
childhood to adulthood will be filled with confusion and inner turmoil.